Gophers Senior Class Review

With all due respect this year's class may end up being remembered more for what the Gophers didn't do rather than anything that was accomplished in their four years in the maroon and gold. Sure, there was leadership on the ice and certainly things behind the scene that have been solid contributions to the program, but Minnesota has fallen short of expectations now for the past three years.
Seniors Mike Howe and Ben Gordon scored the only goal in the 5-2 loss to Boston College, but it wasn't enough for the offensively challenged Gophers.

Here's a review of the seniors and their careers...

Ben Gordon

• Gordon was a model of consistency during his career finishing between 29 and 31 points for three of his four seasons.
• He played on a line with Blake Wheeler, which meant often tough match ups, but he took more shots on net than any other Gopher this year and finished second on the team in scoring with 15 goals and 14 assists.
• Senior season at International Falls Gordon led the state in scoring with 81 points and was a finalist as Mr. Hockey, which was won by St. Cloud State's Nate Dey.

Mike Howe

• Never did become the goal scorer that the Gophers thought they were getting. seven goals and 14 assists senior year and 32 career goals.
• Was named 2004 USHL player of the year while with River City Lancers.
• Had 61 goals and 59 assists in 108 career USHL games.

Evan Kaufmann

• Served as a faceoff and defensive center specialist while scoring nine goals and 10 assists this year, sixth on the team in points.
• Kaufmann's the kind of center that the Gophers need, but with more production around him on the wings.
• Was named to the USHL All-Rookie team when he scored 20 goals adding 30 assists with the Lancers.

Derek Peltier

• Peltier was the best senior, best defenseman and sometimes the best player this year for the Gophers while serving as the captain.
• Had his best offensive season with four goals and 17 assists.
• May have shown the Colorado Avalanche more ability this year. He's a 2004 sixt round draft pick of the Avs.

Tom Pohl

• Tom Pohl was a hard-working kid who become well-known around the country because of his head injury suffered in the opening round of the WCH A playoffs against Minnesota State Mankato.
• Pohl played in 34 games this year scoring one goal and assisting on five others. He finished his career with four career tallies.
• Pohl was an All-Star with the Tri-City Storm in the USHL and while a prep at Red Wing finished 29th in the state in scoring with 24 goals and 30 assists in 25 games.

Brent Solei

• Was a walk-on goaltender and only played in one career game, an exhibition game where he recorded 28 saves and a win against Wayne State.
• Before Minnesota Solei was named NAHL MVP while playing for the Fairbanks Ice Dogs . He had a .935 save pct and recorded seven shut outs and a 24-10 record.
• During his prep career at Elk River he won a state championship during his junior year and was named All-State honorable mention in his senior year.

On the end of the career.....

Howe:

It’s pretty emotional. The last four years have been years I’ll never forget. Losing the way we did today, we fought real hard, we just didn’t get a couple bounces to go our way. Playing for the University of Minnesota has meant the world to me. It’s sad to say goodbye this way.


Gordon:
For me, I guess the hardest part is saying goodbye to a lot of good friends that we’ve made over the years. I just want to say a special thanks to my class. They are some of my best friends in the whole world. I am so fortunate to get a chance to play for this school and with such a great coaching staff. I’ve loved it.

NHL Scribbles

• It's been a rough go lately for a pair of former of St. Cloud State Huskies. Mark Parrish has been a healthy scratch for the Wild several times in the past couple of weeks and it couldn't come at a worse time for the competitive veteran. The Wild are no the playoff bubble and you can tell from his interview with PA and Dubay on Thursday that not playing is rough on the Bloomington native. Parish KFAN Interview
• Another former Husky star Matt Cullen has been scratched for the past four games, but the Moorhead native's inactivity is due to a head injury. He's been out since March 20th and last played on March 14th against Buffalo. Prior to the game against the Sabres Cullen had a four game period where he scored two goals and three assists.
• Jordan Leopold has not been the kind of player that Colorado was hoping to get when the Avalanche acquired him in a 2006 trade. He's only played in 58 games in two years because of injury and he's played in just under half the games this year. However, Leopold is seeing ice time on the power play and has scored two power play goals in the past two games including the game-winner against Calgary on March 24th.
• Minneapolis native and a member of the 1999 Class A state A champions Benilde-St. Margaret's Andrew Alberts was recently featured as a Boston Bruins player to interact with fans in an online chat. Here's a link to that transcript
• Former Gopher Thomas Vanek is 10 points shy of 200 career points in just three seasons. Vanek has 32 goals and 26 assists on the season including four goals and one assist in his past three games for the Sabres.

Well rested Huskies ready for Clarkson and East Regional

The upside (if you are one to believe that something good can come from something bad) to St. Cloud State losing in the play-in-game of the WCHA Final Five to Minnesota is that the the Huskies will have had a full seven days of rest when they take the ice to play Clarkson on Saturday in Albany, New York in the East Regional.

But the draw for St. Cloud State puts them against another team that failed in its conference tournament and is looking at the NCAA as the "real post-season" and a second chance. Clarkson won the ECAC regular season with a 15-4-3 conference record but fell to Colgate in the best-of-three playoff series despite entering it as a heavy favorite.

The Golden Knights struggled against non-conference opponents going 6-8-1.

It's actually a somewhat tough draw for the Huskies if you take into consideration the No. 3 and No. 4 seeded teams in the east are not playing far from home and the No. 1 seed might be the nation's best team. Clarkson was disappointed to not have qualified for the league championship, which ironically was also in Albany.

Clarkson coach George Roll said "It is certainly nice to stay close to home. For us, the Times Union Center is a place we have familiarity with. We expect to have a good fan base there."

The No. 4 seed in the east is Niagara, which plays No. 1 seed Michigan in the late game Saturday.

St. Cloud State Scribbles

• It's the seventh time in program history for St. Cloud State to play in the NCAA tournament and the Huskies have never won a NCAA playoff game. However, that is something that shouldn't affect this team because it is led so heavily by a talented group of underclassmen.
• Last season the Huskies were sent to the East Regional and they fell to Maine 4-1 in the first game. Clarkson was also in the regional and lost its first game
• Clarkson and St. Cloud State met back in November and the teams split in a series at Clarkson.

Clarkson Scribbles

• Clarkson is one of only three teams in the 16 teams NCAA field to not have a Minnesota native on its roster.
• Nine of the Golden Knights are from the home state of New York, while 12 players are from Canada.
• Clarkson also played Colloroado College from the WCHA and was swept in Colorado Springs in early February.
• Clarkson beat Boston College 4-2 on January 5th and did not play Niagara.

East Regional Scribbles

• Michigan, which is looking to win its first title in 10 years, has more Frozen Four appearances and more national titles than any team in NCAA hockey with 22 and nine respectively.
• Michigan only has four players from outside the United States, but none from Minnesota and 15 from Michigan.
• Niagara is making its third trip to the NCAA tournament. In its last trip in 2004 the Purple Eagles lost to Boston College and in 2000 they upset New Hampshire before losing to eventual National champion University of North Dakota.
• Niagara has one Minnesota native. Junior defenseman Travis Anderson is a 2002 graduate of Coon Rapids. Anderson played for Des Moines in the USHL. He has six assists and is tied for 4th on the team with a +10.
  
• St. Cloud Times Article on talented young Huskies
  
  Clarkson Game Preview

Gophers are in unfamiliar yet not uncomfortable spot

As Minnesota heads east to take on Boston College in the opening round of the NCAA tournament the Gophers are in a position as underdog, something that has been said more this year than any year with Don Lucia as head coach. Yet, the Gophers have rallied around that concept and it has become a role that they somewhat enjoy.

Last night while appearing on KSTP AM 1500 Blake Wheeler said that it's been a fun ride surprising people and winning tough games the last couple of weeks and said that it will be similar playing BC in Massachusetts.

Don Lucia was down the dial today on PA and Dubay and talked about the challenge the Gophers face when playing BC. While admitting that this year's team may not have a star skater Lucia did say that goaltender Alex Kangas is the the Gophers' star and that's where to start.
Lucia Interview Here


BC's best player is also one of the nation's best. Michigan native Nathan Gerbe is a small player, but his impact on the Eagles is anything but. He leads the nation in scoring with 57 points. As good as the Gophers have been defensively lately while facing top of the line forwards, none were quite as quick and shifty as the Hobey Baker Finalist.
Pioneer Press Article on Minnesota vs. Boston College

Boston College has nine players on its roster from the state of Massachusetts, five from New York, three from Canada and two from Minnesota. Wayzata's Joe Adams is a senior on the roster but has only appeared in four games. Sophomore defenseman Carl Sneep from Brainerd is one of the top defenseman for the Eagles. Sneep has three goals and 11 assists in 40 games this year.

Most young hockey players in Minnesota dream of some day playing for the Gophers and have a handful of other options if that difficult dream doesn't work out while others are willing to try to walk on. Around Boston, it's similar for aspiring hockey players with Boston College, but with Boston University having such a strong tradition as well, it's not always the case. One of the Eagles seniors walked on for BC eventually earning a scholarship and hoping to win the National Championship that has eluded his team in recent years.
Boston Globe Article on Pat Gannon

Minnesota Game Preview

Star Tribune Article on Tom Pohl's recovery

Wild Win; Hill steps up

The Wild won a crucial game last night versus the Edmonton Oilers. Sean Hill scored the game-winner for Minnesota, which was his second goal in as many games. The Duluth native and for Wisconsin Badger is taking advantage of more playing time due to the injury of Kurtis Foster. The two goals are his only two of the season. He also has five assists in his 31 games played this year. This week's games against Edmonton are a good sign because Hill has struggled this year with a plus/minus of -17. This could be the final season for the 38 year old.

Game Stories
Minnesota Wild Game Story
Star Tribune Game Story
Pioneer Press Game Story
Pioneer Press Sean Hill and Tom Gilbert Story
Edmonton Journal Game Story