Minnesota (0-3-1, 0-3-1) vs. Alaska Anchorage (3-3, 1-1)
Date: Friday & Sunday, Oct. 30 & Nov. 1
Time: 7 p.m. (Fri.) / 4 p.m. (Sun.)
Location: Mariucci Arena (10,000)
Series History: Minnesota leads 46-15-7
Radio: KYCR 1570 AM (Fri.) / WCCO 830 AM (Sun.) - Wally Shaver and Glen Sonmor
Television: Fox Sports North (tape on Fri.) - Frank Mazzocco and Doug Woog
A stretch of season-opening conference games continues for the Gophers, who aim for their first win of the season against Alaska Anchorage in a two-game series at Mariucci Arena. Having played four straight games against teams in the top five of the national rankings, Minnesota is winless through four games for the first time since 1999-2000.
Last Time Out
Minnesota was shutout two straight nights and three times in the first four games in a pair of 3-0 losses to Denver last weekend at Mariucci Arena. The Gophers put 30 shots on goal in each game, but Denver goalie Marc Cheverie stopped them all and has shut out Minnesota three straight times, dating to last season. Alex Kangas made 31 saves in Friday's loss and Kent Patterson stopped 23 shots in Saturday's setback.
Series History
Minnesota holds a 46-15-7 lead in the all-time series, which dates to 1986. The Gophers are 13-2-2 in the last 17 meetings between the teams. The Gophers took a win and a tie in the only two meetings last year. The squads tied 2-2 the opening night before the Gophers bounced back for a 4-2 win the following night. Alaska Anchorage has won or tied at Mariucci Arena each of the past three years, having also won a game in a 2007 WCHA first round playoff series.
About the Seawolves
Alaska Anchorage handed North Dakota its first loss of the season in its most recent outing with a 2-1 win on Saturday. Bryce Christianson made 22 saves and the Seawolves got goals from Kevin Clark and Kane Lafranchise in the victory. North Dakota took a 5-0 victory the preceding night, holding the Seawolves to 16 shots on goal. Alaska Anchorage also has wins over Mercyhurst and Rensselaer and losses to Michigan and Robert Morris. Clark and Tommy Grant each lead the team in scoring with six points as Clark has four goals and two assists, while Grant has two goals and four assists. Senior Jon Olthuis has played four games in goal and owns a 3.28 goals against average and .879 save percentage, while Christianson, a junior, has a 3.50 goals against average and .850 save percentage. Olthuis is one of seven seniors in the Seawolves' lineup. This weekend will be Alaska Anchorage's first of seven trips outside Alaska this season. The Seawolves finished 14-17-5 overall and 9-14-5 in the WCHA last season as Minnesota was the only WCHA team they didn't beat.
Tough Tasks
The Gophers played their first four games of the season against opponents ranked in the top five of the national rankings. North Dakota was ranked fourth and Denver was fifth in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. The Gophers played only two games against a top five team last year as New Hampshire was ranked fifth when they played. The last time Minnesota played top five teams in back-to-back weeks was Dec. 2-3 and 9-10, 2005 when they were swept by top-ranked Wisconsin, but bounced back to sweep fourth-ranked North Dakota.
Into the Fire
The Gophers are in the midst of a streak of eight straight league games to open the regular season, including series with each of the three teams picked ahead of them in the WCHA preseason poll. North Dakota was picked second in the WCHA and Denver is the league favorite, while next week's foe, Wisconsin, is picked third. It is the second straight year Minnesota has opened with WCHA competition after sweeping St. Cloud State to open last year en route to a 4-0-2 start in six season-opening conference games.
Milestone Marker
Senior Jay Barriball needs one point to become the 78th player in Minnesota history to record 100 points for his career. Barriball picked up his 99th point with an unassisted goal in the tie at North Dakota. He would become the first Gopher player to reach the 100-point mark since four players accomplished the milestone in 2005-06. Danny Irmen was the most recent, netting his 100th point against Minnesota Duluth on March 3, 2006. Chris Harrington, Ryan Potulny and Gino Guyer also scored their 100th points that season.
Quality Starts
Sophomore Kent Patterson made his third career start last weekend against Denver and continues to face strong competition in each of his appearances. In the nine games he's played, Patterson has faced some of college hockey's top teams. Patterson has faced North Dakota three times, Minnesota Duluth twice, Michigan, Denver, Minnesota State and Michigan Tech.
Saving the Day
Junior Alex Kangas owns a .921 save percentage to rank 23rd nationally through his first two starts after posting a .901 save percentage for the 2008-09 season. The Gophers have failed to score in each of his first two starts. His 39 saves against North Dakota marked the third-highest total of his career and most in a regulation game. Kangas made 44 saves in each of Minnesota's double overtime games against Minnesota State in the 2008 WCHA playoffs.
About Face
Minnesota showed significant improvement on faceoffs last weekend after struggling at North Dakota. The Gophers were 62-51 on faceoffs last week against Denver after going 63-76 against North Dakota. Minnesota has improved on faceoffs every game and went 40-25 in Saturday's game with Denver. Taylor Matson led the turnaround, winning 11 of his 15 draws last weekend after winning just 7 of 18 the previous week.
