SWEEEEP!! Sam Warning lit the lamp 3X and was the Mad Hatter tonight, as the Gophers beat THE Ohio State University, 4-2 for a weekend sweep. It was the first Gopher hat trick in over a year and it came at just the right time to permanently change the momentum of the game in the 2nd period despite a solid SOG effort by OSU. OSU blocked shots tonight and actually outshot the Gophers in the 2nd period 15-7. But Sam I AM scored off a nice tic-tac-toe setup by Condon and Kloos while sliding into the paint and then got a PPG/GWG 7 min. later for the hatty, his first career hat trick. The "NEW and IMPROVED" 2nd line of Warning/Condon/Kloos seemed to find their mojo tonight and were speedy on the ice, logging 3 Gs and 3 As.
Seth Ambroz finished off the scoring for the Gophers in the 3rd and is now tied with Warning for the Gopher goal lead at 10. Unlike in past seasons, the Gophers haven't really had a "go to" guy or line this season, and are scoring by committee this season as 39 players in the NCAA already have 10 Gs or more! It helps to have the #1 freshmen scoring class in the nation as well. The Gophers improved to 17-2-3 and extend their NCAA leading unbeaten streak to 10 games. Adam Wilcox was stellar in nets again for the Gophers and in EVERY game seems to come up big, making key saves when needed at exactly the right time to give the Gophers a chance to win.
Next week: The North Star College Cup at the X as the Gophers take on St. Cloud State in the battle for MN college hockey supremacy. The Purple Cows will play the winner of the Gopher/SCSU game and are surging lately at 9-3 in their last 12 games. Go Gophers! RAH!