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Gopher home opener vs Pioneers ends in 3-0 defeat, Gophers start WCHA 0-2-1
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Tonight's 2009 home opener at Mariucci Arena was a stiff test for ever aspect of Gopher hockey, from the special teams to defensive and offensive plays that seem more like routine. I previewed it here: http://www.examiner.com/x-1562-Minnesota-Golden-Gophers-Hockey-Examiner~y2009m10d23-Inside-the-numbers-previewing-the-weekend-series-vs-Denver.
The first period saw no scoring, but a flurry of action that started with the Gophers trying to keep their team fresh by imposing quick shifts. The first five minutes went along penalty free, then at 7:02, Ryan Flynn got sent off for hooking. The ensuing powerplay was unsuccessful for the Pioneers. Special teams would prove to be key in the second period, but let's wrap up the opening period first. Shots in the opening frame were Minnesota's 14-11 with Denver going o-fer on the only powerplay in the period.
Thirty seconds into the second period saw coincidental roughing minors assessed to William Wrenn of Denver and Mike Carman for the Gophers. Such is life when you get into a scrum in college hockey these days. Cade Fairchild visited jail at 1:29 for tripping and the 3-man penalty kill for the Gophers looked weaker. Denver's opening goal of the game came at 3:36 when Tyler Ruegsegger lit the lamp. He had assists from Matt Donovan and Patrick Wiercioch. Rhett Rakshani added to the scoring at 11:19 when he hit the twine on a stiff shot from the circle. Tyler Ruegsegger and Anthony Maiani (Rakshani's top line-mates) assisted him. There were eight penalties called in period number 2 with the majority being small roughing calls. Shots in the second period were 14-9 in favor of Denver for a two-period total of 25-23 in favor of the Pioneers.
The third period saw the Gophers skating on tired legs for much of the opening minutes of the period and you will not have valuable shot opprotunities on tired legs. Past the 10:00 mark, the Gophers came alive but it was too little, too late as the Pioneers skated to a victory tonight at Mariucci. Alex Kangas showed prowess in the nets for much of the night, and I'd attribute the two main goals scored to members of the defensive corps. Rhett Rakshani added the third goal for good measure at 19:58. Rakshani had an assist from Matt Donovan. Powerplays saw each team going 0-3 in total, with Denver going 0-1 in the third period and Minnesota not having a chance to skate with the advantage. Shot totals ended up being 8-6 in the third period to Denver, who outshot the Gophers 33-29 in the game.
Overall, the Gophers need to come back strong on Saturday evening to salvage a split. They take the ice at 7PM on Saturday evening, but the TV broadcast with Frank Mazzocco and Doug Woog will not air until 3PM on Sunday afternoon. So, I'll have a full postgame wrapup tomorrow evening from the rink.
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