=46rom Monday's (2/19/96) Minnesota Daily:
Huskies deflect Gophers' comeback
Jeff Sherry - Staff Reporter
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Related Links: Golden Gopher Hockey
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After losing three of its last four games and falling out of WCHA
title contention, the Gophers hockey team shifted its focus last week for
the rest of the regular season. It was no longer chasing Colorado College,
but preparing for the playoffs.
On Saturday night in St. Cloud the team's weekend outlook changed about as
quickly.
After cruising past the Huskies, 8-3, at home on Friday, the Gophers
surrendered the game-winning goal with 19 seconds left in overtime to lose
the series finale, 4-3. And just like that the Gophers' weekend switched
from a step in the right direction to another recent step backward.
"It hurts every time you lose to St. Cloud," Gophers senior Dave Larson
said. "You can't take a step back like we did tonight. It didn't help us at
all. We need to know how to play in these situations."
Minnesota's loss doesn't look that important on the surface. Colorado
College swept Alaska-Anchorage over the weekend to become the first team in
league history to win the league title three years in a row. Also, the
Gophers are guaranteed a home-ice first-round WCHA playoff series against
the Seawolves in two weeks.
But Minnesota badly wanted to get back on track with a pair of wins this
weekend. The whispers and somber expressions in the visitors' locker room
showed how disturbed the team was about its loss, which was the most
heartbreaking of the season.
The tea ms were tied at one at the beginning of the third period when St.
Cloud erupted for two quick goals. Brian Bonin and Erik Rasmussen, the
Gophers' heroes Friday night, each scored to force overtime.
The comeback ended with 19 seconds left, when the Huskies' Adam Rodak
deflected a shot off the shin pad of Minnesota's Mike Crowley past goalie
Jeff Moen for the win. Moen said he played the puck to his right but
couldn't respond in time to stop the deflection.
Several aspects of the game bothered Gophers coach Doug Woog:
St. Cloud had four breakaway opportunities and scored on two of them. The
first one in the third period came on a Minnesota power play.
The Gophers held a 15-4 shots-on-goal advantage through the third period and
overtime but were unable to convert enough of those chances into goals.
Moen stopped only one of the four shots he faced in the late periods.
"We shouldn't be in a position to be in overtime," Woog said. "You can
dissect it however you want but we didn't make the big save when we needed
it, and we didn't make the big play when we needed it."
The mood was much more festive Friday night, when the Gophers rode hat
tricks by Bonin and Rasmussen to an easy win. It was Bonin's first hat trick
of the year and the first hat trick of Rasmussen's college career.
The hat trick wasn't the only reason Bonin's night was special. Prior to the
game he and Minnesota's other nine seniors were honored with their parents
in a ceremony at center ice to commemorate their last regular season home
game.
He also added three assists to become only the eighth player in team history
to reach 200 points. His six points were a career-high.
"I think my parents were a lot more emotional than I was," Bonin said. "But
it was really a special night. It all hasn't sunk in yet, but I'm sure I'll
be able to appreciate it more when I look back on it later."
But Bonin reiterated his message of all season that he would prefer eventual
team success to his own individual honors. And for that to happen, he and
fellow co-captain Dan Trebil know the team needs to get back on track soon.
"We've just got to put this behind us and prepare for the next series,"
Trebil said. "We've got to get something going here before the playoffs.
We're going to have to have a good two games at Wisconsin. We can't just be
down going into the playoffs. That's not going to do us any good at all."
=46RIDAY'S SUMMARY
St. Cloud State 1 0 2 - 3
Minnesota 4 2 2 - 8
=46irst period: Min -- Rasmussen 9 (Moser, Bonin), PPG 3:45. SCSU -- Paradis=
e
17 (Goulet), 6:25. Min -- Larson 12 (Crowley, Moser), 12:52. Min --
Rasmussen 10 (Bonin, Crowley), PPG 15:08. Min -- Bonin 24 (Rasmussen),
17:58.
Second period: Min -- Berg 17 (Crowley), 4:40. Min -- Bonin 25 (Moser,
Rasmussen), 14:30.
Third period: SCSU -- Maristuen 3 (unassisted), 4:53. SCSU -- Rodak 6
(Geisbauer, Best), 8:08. Min -- Rasmussen 11 (Moser, Bonin), 12:50. Min --
Bonin 26 (Brink), 19:13.
SATURDAY'S SUMMARY
Minnesota 0 1 2 0 - 3
St. Cloud State 1 0 2 1 - 4
=46irst period: SCSU -- Cullen 11 (Melson, Paradise), PPG 9:06.
Second period: Min -- Berg 18 (unassisted), 8:49.
Third period: SCSU -- Rieder 11 (Melson), SHG 1:34. SCSU -- J. Goulet 9
(unassisted), 2:51. Min -- Bonin 27 (Rasmussen, Moser), PPG 4:03. Min --
Rasmussen 12 (Bonin, Crowley), 11:54.
Overtime: SCSU -- Rodak 9 ,4:41.
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=A9The Minnesota Daily
Pam Sweeney
Ski-U-Mah!
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