Re: Minnesota @ Penn State: 1/12 & 1/13
Well, that moment has finally arrived hobos and clowns as the Gophers travel to famed Penn St. - the reason for the season.
IMO it would be a mistake to view Penn St. on home ice as a W doormat this weekend. They obviously don't have the freshman talent like the Gophers, and they're also a very young team with 7 freshman and 14 sophs. I suspect PSU's game plan will be to throw the Gophers off their puck possession game with their brand of strong, close checking at both ends, crowding the neutral zone, stacking the box with their big D in front to block shots, and getting as many pucks on net as possible to test Adam Wilcox near the paint (PSU @ 35 SOG/game vs. Gophers @ 37).
Penn St. is not a highly skilled puck possession team, but they lead the nation in goals/points percentage indicating their affinity for going to the net hard and often for garbage goals and juicy rebounds. Seven out of 15 games they've played have been decided by one goal. Their leading scorer Erik Scheid played for UAA last season and has been hot lately (5-4-9 in last 7 games) already surpassing his goal scoring total from all of last season with the Seapups. Matthew Skoff will most likely be in nets and played big minutes last season with a 9-7 record and a SV% of 91.7. His numbers are down this season at 89.5% (4-6-1).
With a physical team like PSU, if the Gophers run into penalty problems this weekend, PSU tends to be on the doorstep ready to take advantage of it. Their PP has been productive (21%) and they're nearly dead even with the Gophers PP pts./game (Gophers:2.28, PSU: 2.27) but with much fewer PP opportunities.
The Gophers will need to play their high tempo, puck possession style game, match PSU's physicality and look for Grade A chances on rebounds and scrums in front, as Penn St. will most likely flood the box to block shots and attempt to keep MN's shot totals on the perimeter. PSU and the Gophers are nearly dead even in total penalties, so it would be nice if the Gophers can fix the PP asap too (16%). The chief advantage for the Gophers this weekend is their ability to use their speed and offensive D to fly thru the neutral zone and generate odd man rushes. If the Gophers can execute that consistently this weekend and stay out of the penalty box, they'll most likely return home with sweep in hand. If the Gophers struggle, there's a good chance the underdog Penn St. Nittany Lions ek out a tie or a W. Go Gophers! Rah!
