Re: Minnesota @ Colorado College 12/7 & 12/8: The potheads vs the *******
And Wilcoxblox (c) Quizmire was AWESOME tonight!
That's a bit better than Twocox....but I think ya'll need to keep brainstorming
I don't really agree that MN took a 30, or 20 minute nap last night. They had a couple mistakes defensively, and CC is a good team that will make you pay for mistakes. The first part of the 2nd CC rung up a good number of shots, but the majority of the 2nd the Gophers played either 4x4 or a man down, so...
What the hell was Alt doing on that first goal? He made the decision to leave the puck carrier and take the passing option, but then he didn't take the passing option...just kind of backed up and let Skalbeck receive and shoot. The 2nd goal was just a total team effort in defensive-zone negligence.
Warning was awesome for the 3rd game in a row since his return. Maybe his injury helped him to really focus in, or maybe he was already there and the injury prevented us from seeing it earlier. Either way, I agree that line looked good. But I'm not getting off my desire to see Budish back on the first line, mostly because I think his play helps Rau and, to a lesser extent Bjugstad, more than it does Haula/Warning. And Bjugstad/Rau have been too quiet this season IMO.
Both teams scored a couple nice skill-type goals last night. The difference was MN (and Serratore) getting to the hard spot and scoring a dirty goal. Good to see. Serratore now has 5 goals on the year, tied for 4th most on the team. Not bad for a kid who was supposed to be a perpetual 4th-liner. I think it's important to remember that he put up 32pts (.55ppg) his last year in the USHL, so he has the ability to score goals.
A win tonight would be huge. It would complete this first chunk of the season with the Gophers more-or-less on pace despite some underwhelming performances against the middle-band of teams in conference.
That being said, at least heading into tonight, I'd be pretty happy with a tie.