Scott BrownMinnesota center Matt Koalska is expected to be out three weeks after surgery to repair a hernia. The Gophers expect him to return for their Feb. 7-8 series at Colorado College. Koalska has been playing for the past few weeks with the hernia under the approval of team doctors, who recommended surgery soon. With Minnesota … Read more
Saturday night’s game between North Dakota and Minnesota looked very much like Friday’s series opener. In reverse. In a contest which mirrored the scoreboard from a night earlier, Minnesota got down one early, then rallied for four consecutive goals in a 6-3 win. With the game tied at two entering the third period, the Minnesota … Read more
If it was the Battle of the Rookie Phenoms, Zach Parise took a substantial edge in Round One. North Dakota’s freshman sensation scored a goal and added two assists, fellow rookie Mike Prpich tallied two goals and the Sioux — who went down twice early on — shut down Thomas Vanek and the rest of … Read more
If Joe Jensen was just biding his time, he picked quite a moment to make an impression. The freshman fourth-liner, who had just one assist in 15 games coming into Friday night, scored his first three collegiate goals — including the game winner with 29 seconds remaining in regulation — to give St. Cloud State … Read more
After Minnesota and Boston College played 62 minutes of hockey which somehow managed to be both wide-open and defensively sound, it still took just one innocent-looking shot to end it. At 2:30 of overtime, Minnesota defenseman Chris Harrington’s slapshot from above the left circle hit BC goalie Matti Kaltiainen, then Gopher winger Troy Riddle, then … Read more
For the second straight night, Yale goaltender Josh Gartner put forward an outstanding effort. Saturday, the Bulldogs were able to enjoy the fruits of his labors. Gartner — the son of NHL great Mike Gartner — made 44 saves to lead the Bulldogs to a much-needed 5-1 victory over Bowling Green in the consolation game … Read more
(See also: Day One Notebook) MINNEAPOLIS — Yale and Minnesota met Saturday in the Dodge Holiday Classic, each shorthanded thanks to the ongoing World Junior Championships. But one Gopher who wasn’t quite missing helped to leave no doubt about the outcome. Minnesota rookie Thomas Vanek — already back from leading Austria to victory in the … Read more
The last time Minnesota and Michigan faced off, a trip to the NCAA title game was on the line. Sunday’s contest might not have carried the same gravity, but on the ice it was hard to tell. In an up-tempo affair at Mariucci Arena, Michigan’s red-hot special teams provided all the offense the Wolverines needed … Read more
Saturday night at Mariucci Arena, Michigan Tech played its game to a T, bottling up Minnesota for most of the contest, frustrating the Gophers with penalty-killing and shot-blocking. But it took only 29 seconds for the Gophers to get the win anyway. Minnesota (7-3-3, 4-2-2 WCHA) scored a bang-bang pair of goals midway through the … Read more
Gopher freshman Thomas Vanek scored the tying goal in the third period, offsetting a pair of tallies by CC’s Peter Sejna as Minnesota rallied to draw, 2-2, with the Tigers Saturday night.
A season of streaks — all positive — continued Friday for Colorado College, which opened up a five-goal lead and then fought off a Minnesota rally for a 7-3 win, the Tigers’ seventh straight. Peter Sejna scored the eventual game winning goal and added two assists, extending his scoring streak to 12 games. CC took … Read more
One night after crushing visiting Alabama-Huntsville, Minnesota got a different look Saturday at Mariucci Arena. The Chargers started slowly again, but recovered to put a scare into the defending national champions, who scored two goals in the third to get the win by a score of 4-2. Nick Anthony scored the game-winner, his first goal … Read more
Minnesota raised its national-championship banner Friday night at Mariucci Arena, then pounded Alabama-Huntsville for a 12-1 win. Amazingly, three Gophers — Thomas Vanek, Jon Waibel and Troy Riddle — totaled hat tricks in the victory.
A game that started out a little flat and a touch slow morphed into a lopsided affair Saturday night, as No. 1 Minnesota opened defense of its national championship with a 7-2 win over No. 15 Ohio State in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Faceoff Classic at the Xcel Energy Center. “Well, it’s better … Read more
Colorado College had an uphill battle, but the Tigers appear headed back to the NCAAs.
Minnesota needed overtime to complete its series sweep of North Dakota, but finally got the win at 18:36 of overtime. Blueliner Keith Ballard scored the winner, overcoming a spirited UND effort to send the Gophers to the WCHA Final Five.
In a game that sometimes looked more like target practice than hockey, third-ranked Minnesota put forth a dominating effort to top North Dakota 7-2 Friday night at Mariucci Arena. The first line of John Pohl, Troy Riddle and Nick Anthony scored the first three goals and totaled 10 points; Pohl led the way with two … Read more
In a game which simultaneously meant nothing and everything, Minnesota scored twice in the second period, then held on to beat St. Cloud 3-1 Saturday evening before a record crowd of 10,248 at Mariucci Arena. The game, the last of the regular season for both squads, had no impact on the WCHA standings or playoff … Read more
Minnesota beat Wisconsin 4-3 in overtime in the back end of their weekend series, thanks to Jordan Leopold’s winner. The Gophers were also buoyed by the person of Joey Martin, who was released from the hospital early in the morning after sustaining only a concussion and cut after a scary injury Friday.
Gopher blueliner Joey Martin fell hard and hit his head on the ice in a frightening moment that overshadowed the Gophers’ 6-3 win Friday against Wisconsin. Martin was reportedly lucid at a downtown hospital after sustaining a possible concussion and laceration.