By Rachel Blount Gophers 3, Maine 2 Gophers captain Ryan Kraft warned his team mates that if they didn't sharpen up considerably after Friday's 6-1 DRUBBING BY MAINE, they could expect another sound defeat in Saturday's rematch at Mariucci Arena. Kraft's powers of persuasion proved very effective, as the Gopher's used a superb effort to beat the Black Bears 3-2. After showing little spark in the first period of Friday's loss, the Gophers (1-1) played an outstanding period Saturday and took a 2-0 lead off goals by Bill Kohn at 5:39 and Dave Spehar at 7:08. They out shot the Black Bears 27-15 in the first two periods and did not give up a goal until Steve Kariya scored on a break away at 7:49 of the second. Rico Pagel made it 3-1 on a power play goal at 2:12 of the third period, but the Black Bears (1-1) again cut the lead when Kariya scored on a power play at 4:07.Gophers goaltender Steve DeBus stopped 20 of the 22 shots, and Black Bears goalie Alfie Michaud stopped 28 of 31. The Gophers felt both HUMBLED AND HUMILIATED after Friday's loss, largely because they were ASHAMED of their SUB-PAR EFFORT. They responded Saturday with a polar-opposite performance, completely reversing the situation of the night before. They began the game with much more spirit, roaring into the Black Bears' zone right from the first drop of the puck. On Friday, the Gophers were OUTMUSCLED, OUTHUSTLED and OUTSHOT 16-9 in the first period. Saturday,they outshot the Black Bears 17-8 in the opening period and saw many more good scoring chances slip just wide of the net. Kohn gave them a 1-0 lead shortly after a faceoff when he got the puck in the left circle, skated toward the net and beat Michaud from the bottom of the circle at 5:39. Seconds later, DeBus preserved the lead when he stopped Kariya on a breakaway. Spehar pushed the Gophers' lead to 2-0 on a nicley executed play. Ryan Kraft carrried the puck to the top of the right circle and as Spehar crossed in front of the net, Kraft passed to him. Spehar darted to the left side ane slip ped the puck past Michaud at 7:08. The Gophers continued to pepper Michuad through the rest of the period. The goalie scrambled to stop the puck when a shot by Kohn hit Casey Hankinson and fell behind Michaud. Hankinson and Mike Anderson misfired from point-blank range,and Anderson just missed on a shorthanded two-on-one. The Black Bears cut the lead to 2-1 at 7:49 of the second when Kariya got loose in the neutral zone and leapt out on a breakaway, finishing it off by tucking the puck between DeBus's pads. Kariya's team-mates got a bit testier as the period wore on, taking three penalties-including one in the final minute when Jason Vitorino cross-checked DeBus into the goal post. But the Gophers were not intimidated and their energy and enthusiasm did not sag. The Gophers, who failed to score on four power play chances in the first two periods, finally connected on their fifth when Pagel beat Michaud from the center point at 2:12 of the third period. Less than a minute later, Brett Abrahamson was called for hooking, giving the Black Bears a power play period. Kariya beat DeBus from the bottom of the left circle to cut the Gopher's lead to 3-2. Vicki Price