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The gophers looked very good this weekend. Northern Michigan played very well for the first fifteen minutes on Friday, and then the roof started to collapse on them. At the start, they clogged it all up, producing a game played largely in center ice with few chances either way. After Minnesota scored, though, it began to slip away. 10-0 was a score that reasonably reflected the play, as Minnesota outshot the Wildcats 44-11 for the game, allowing only one shot on goal in the third period. The longer the game went on, the more the Gophers dominated. Tonight was much the same, except that Northern didn't come out as strong at the start. The MSC announcers were raving about how well the Wildcats were playing through late in the second period, but I really think that this needs some qualifications. They played an aggressive, physical game and certainly gave it a great effort. They kept it close (1-0 after a period) but this was due largely to good play by Dieter Kochen in goal. In order to play such a hard checking game, they almost entirely gave up offensive play. By keeping it close, they left the door open to something flukey happening, but I never really felt that they were a real threat to come back. Instead, the more predictable happened; Minnesota started finding the cracks and again took over the game. The final score of 7-0 was again not deceiving; the shots were 50-20 for the game and the Gophers owned the second half. On the whole, Northern Michigan played hard. Over the last couple of years, I have developed a strong dislike for the Wildcats; as their success level dropped, their play degenerated into a lot of cheap hockey. That was not true this weekend. Their effort was not lacking; it is a young team that really played its heart out. I hope that they start to have enough success to see that effort rewarded. That said, I think they need for this year to end soon. They don't have it put together enough to win many games the rest of the way and their current focus could easily slip away. They need to step back, take some time off, and have another fall practice to assimilate some experience. There is a real chance that next year could see some real improvement. In a few weeks looking back, this could prove to be a key weekend. Minnesota gained a point on both CC and Denver. It's now been three games since they gave up a goal and they have not at all disappointed in the way they have been taking care of the second division teams in the league. I'm looking forward to the upcoming games against North Dakota. These should be exciting, but I think the Gophers have a real chance to sweep and come back to face Colorado College. In that case, the Friday game against CC will see the Gophs trying to tie the WCHA record unbeaten streak that the Tigers set just a few weeks ago, as well as looking to tie for first place. As a side note, it was a big weekend for Minnesota's occasional scorers. Dan Woog had a hat trick on Friday, which I believe were the 7th, 8th and 9th goals of his three-year career. Brian LaFleur had a goal in each game, his 5th and 6th of both the season and career (again, a junior). And Jay moser had four goals filling in for the injured Dave Larson, giving him five for the season in seven games. Sorry, Carol; Dave may have trouble getting his roster spot back. J. Michael Jackson HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.