Weekend Overview: Minnesota welcomes Wisconsin to Mariucci Arena for a pair of games this weekend. The two teams played two series last season and split both and are 4-4-2 in their last 10 games against each other. However the two teams that face off this year hardly resemble last year's squads. The Gophers lost players who scored eight of their 15 goals against Wisconsin last year and the Badgers lost players who scored six of their 10 goals against Minnesota. Both teams are entering this weekend after sweeping their previous opponent. The Gophers won two games at Colorado College, while Wisconsin won two home games against Michigan Tech.
Last Time Out: Minnesota won both games at Colorado College to earn their first WCHA roach sweep since Dec. 11-12, 2009 when they won a pair of 3-2 games at Michigan Tech. On Friday, Taylor Matson had two goals, Erik Haula had a shorthanded tally and Kent Patterson recorded 27 saves in a 4-1 win.
On Saturday, the Gophers offense erupted for a 9-4 win. The nine goals were the most Minnesota had scored since they beat Alaska Anchorage 9-0 at home on Nov. 11, 2005. Freshman Nate Condon had five points and eight different Gophers scored. Condon is the first Gopher to record five points in a game since Ryan Potulny (4g-1a) against St. Cloud State on March 17, 2006, in the WCHA Final Five. He is the first freshman to do so since Phil Kessel (1g-4a) had five points on Nov. 11, 2005.
Series History: Minnesota leads the all-time series with Wisconsin 152-83-18. The teams split both series last year. The Badgers won both Friday games a year ago, while Minnesota won both Saturday games. The Gophers are 15-5-2 in the second game of two-game series against Wisconsin under coach Don Lucia. Gopher assistant captain Mike Hoeffel missed the team's 5-2 win in Madison due to an allergic reaction. Jacob Cepis was not yet eligible for that series because of NCAA transfer regulations and Jay Barriball was lost for the season the previous week. The Gophers were 5-for-8 on the power play in a 6-1 win on Senior Day (March 7, 2010) last year at Mariucci Arena. That was the only game contested between the teams at Mariucci, as they played two days prior at Target Center.
About The Badgers: Wisconsin reached the Frozen Four last year where they beat RIT 8-1 in the semifinals and lost to Boston College 5-0 in the final. This year's team looks nothing like last year's squad, but has continued to win. The Badgers lost seven of their top eight scorers from their 2009-10 Frozen Four team, including Hobey Baker finalist Brendan Smith, Hobey Baker winner Blake Geoffrion and U.S. Junior Team captain Derek Stepan. The seven players combined for 284 points (an average of 40.6 points per player). Their leading returning scorer, Craig Smith, leads the team in scoring though eight games this season (5g-6a). Goalie Brett Bennett is third in the nation in GAA, allowing exactly a goal per game and is second in the nation with a .960 save percentage. The Badgers are 5-2-1 and 4-0-0 at home. They are 1-2-1 away from Kohl Center (0-1-1 away and 1-1-0 neutral site) and 2-1-1 in the WCHA. They are 5-0-0 in games decided by three or more goals and are 0-2-1 in games decided by two goals or less.
. And we hardly made the NCAA's the season before that. I enjoyed that NC game last year......a lot! However, you will not hear me talk any s$%^ about it, that much I know.