Some people have posted already about this game, but I'll throw my two cents in. Give Dean Blais and his team lots of credit. After what must have been a heartbreaking way to end the game on Friday, they came back and played very hard and got a win they deserved on Saturday. Given that they were playing a team that was (read: WAS) ranked number 1 in the country, it must make the victory all the sweeter. The Gophers looked like they tried, unsuccessfully, to pick up North Dakota's style of game. No more set up plays (and the few times they tried, the puck was turned over), lots of dump and chase, and crashing the net. But they didn't execute very well, and that led to opening a 4-0 deficit by the end of the second. As several people pointed out, I had correctly predicted Woog's change in goaltender for Saturday's game...I almost wish I had been wrong. Poor Jeff Moen got beaten up pretty badly in his first start, going only two periods and giving up all four goals. Minnesota finally got on the board in the middle of the third on a power play goal on my favorite play of the night. I was watching on MSC (Minnesota Sports Channel), and the announcers did a classic play-by-play: "The Gopher's power play looks much weaker than before, not as strong as we have seen in past gam... A GOAL!!!" It made me wish they had been complaining about the Gophers all night long. The news was not all bad. The penalty killers were again perfect, stopping all ND power play chances. They are at 93(?) percent or so, and after seeing them, especially last weekend against St. Cloud (they killed off a minute and a half of 5 on 3), I can't help but think they may have the best penalty killing in the nation. Now we just need to increase those shorthanded goal numbers! :-) The Gophers looked outstanding in the final 10 minutes, scoring three goals, and nearly getting the tying goal (for the second night in a row) in the last minute. Scott Bell, I believe, fired the puck from the right side of the goalie. It crossed behind Kvalevog, and bounced off the left pipe at such an acute angle that the goal light went on, and the announcer started to yell, and sensing another last minute miracle, we were all dancing around the room. But it was not to be, as the puck never crossed the line, as clearly seen in the replays. If the Gophers had started their rally at the beginning of the third instead of the middle...who knows? This should teach them a lesson they won't soon forget. My overall feelings about the weekend were pretty neutral. The Gophers didn't play so well, true, but we all knew that they wouldn't go undefeated, so if they were going to lose, I think that this weekend was a good time to do it. Woog will work them hard over this week and the next, preparing them (hopefully) for a tough Michigan Tech series, where the Huskies will try, no doubt, to make up for their rough outing against Wisconsin. Then onto the big Thanksgiving show--I look forward to it more each day. The games help North Dakota more than they hurt the Gophers, so all is okay. I think what BOTH teams need to get from the series, though, is that a hockey game is played for 60 minutes (barring OT, and shootouts in HE), and a team can't stop playing for the last ten minutes, even with a four goal lead; alternately, you NEED to play in the first if you are going to win consistently. One last, quick point. I think the highlight of the weekend was listening to Andy Brink, who was serving an undeserved disqualification on Friday, announcing the game for the last period on MSC. He did a great job, and may someday have a career in calling hockey games. I still can't help but wonder how he kept himself from yelling and screaming when Bonin tied the game up at 19:59. I just wish his getting back in the game could have helped the team more on Saturday (although he DID score a goal). Lee-nerd [log in to unmask] "Violence is the last resort of the incompetent." --Isaac Asimov