Minnesota defenseman Keith Ballard, a 2004 Hobey Baker Award finalist, signed today with the Phoenix Coyotes, foregoing his senior season. According to his agent, former Minnesota skater Ben Hankinson, Ballard received a $1.2 million signing bonus, and the rookie maximum of $1.185 million per year for three years. “Keith Ballard was arguably the best defensemen … Read more
The Buffalo Sabres have contacted Minnesota star Thomas Vanek to open contract talks, the Associated Press is reporting. Vanek, the 2003 NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player, just completed his sophomore season for the Gophers. He was the No. 5 overall pick of the Sabres in the 2003 NHL Draft. Sabres general manager Darcy Regier told … Read more
Everything seemed to be falling into place for the Gophers, but something funny happened along the way…
Wendell, Darwitz, Stephens explode as Gophers win it all.
UMD coach Shannon Miller was back at the NCAA women’s Frozen Four on Thursday, but in an entirely unfamiliar role. She was sitting in the back of the press room watching questions being answered instead of taking them herself. UMD has won all three NCAA championships contested but just missed the NCAA cut this time … Read more
Minnesota women’s coach Laura Halldorson has suspended freshman defenseman Danielle Ashley for the remainder of the 2003-04 season for violating team policies. Ashley played in 26 games for the No. 1 Gophers, scoring two goals and 13 assists for 15 points. She was also the national leader in penalties with 37, all minors. Minnesota had … Read more
Minnesota coach Don Lucia is expected to return to his team later this week after undergoing surgery to relieve and prevent permanent numbness in his right arm and hand, the school announced Wednesday. Lucia Lucia, who has led the Gophers to two straight national championships, had some of his cervical vertebrae fused Tuesday afternoon at … Read more
Natalie Darwitz, who, it was feared, would miss the remainder of the 2003-04 season due to torn ligaments in her right elbow, has been cleared by Minnesota to play this weekend. The injury was suffered on Jan. 10 at Minnesota-Duluth. At the time, Darwitz, a sophomore forward, led the nation in scoring with 41 points. … Read more
Minnesota captain Grant Potulny is expected to be out until early March after injuring his shoulder during the second period of Saturday’s game against North Dakota. This is the second straight season Potulny will miss significant playing time due to injury. The senior from Grand Forks, N.D., fractured his ankle in the 2002-03 season opener … Read more
The bad news just keeps coming for the No. 1 Minnesota women’s hockey team. In a matter of days, the three U.S. Olympians in the Gophers’ lineup have dwindled to one. Minnesota revealed today that freshman defenseman Lyndsay Wall, the youngest member of the 2002 U.S. Olympic team, will be academically ineligible to compete for … Read more
Minnesota announced today that sophomore forward Natalie Darwitz, the leading scorer in Division I women’s hockey, will likely miss the remainder of the the 2003-04 season due to torn ligaments in her right elbow. The injury was suffered on Jan. 10 during the No. 1 Gophers’ 4-3 overtime victory at No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth. Natalie Darwitz, … Read more
Even at 2-7-1, the defending champs were down but not out. And after a critical win, Minnesota looks forward to the second half of the season.
Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis, Dec. 20-21 New Hampshire vs. Miami, 4:05 CT Saturday Princeton at Minnesota, 7:05 CT Saturday New Hampshire/Miami vs. Princeton, 4:05 CT Sunday New Hampshire/Miami vs. Minnesota, 7:05 CT Sunday Television: Fox Sports Minnesota (DirecTV Ch. 641). Derek Edwardson, the nation’s leading scorer, brings first-place Miami to Minneapolis. No. 13 Miami (10-6-2) Players … Read more
Former Minnesota player and U.S. Olympian Lou Nanne has been inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame. He is one of 12 inductees being honored by the IIHF in player, builder and referee categories. The Hall of Fame induction and ceremony will be held during the 2004 IIHF Men’s World Championship in … Read more
In the moments before each game, Don Lucia is “scared to death” wondering whether his team will win. But the Minnesota coach will counter claims that his team has to be feeling extraordinary pressure as the first two-time defending national champion in 31 years. “I think winning it doesn’t put any extra pressure on our … Read more
Travis Weber, the Frozen Four all-tournament goaltender last season, is leaving Minnesota for personal reasons, taking another chip off the Gophers’ back-to-back national championship teams. Weber, who stopped 57 of 60 shots in last year’s Frozen Four as a sophomore, made no indication as to the precise reason why he was leaving in a statement … Read more
A service for Herb Brooks, the legendary coach at Minnesota, the U.S. Olympic team and the NHL, who died Monday in an auto accident, will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. CT at the Cathedral of St. Paul, Minn. In advance of that service, a wake will be held Friday from 3-8 p.m. CT, and … Read more
Paul Martin signed a contract with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils on Friday, leaving two-time defending NCAA champion Minnesota without its most experienced defenseman two months before the season starts. Martin, a second-team All-American for the Gophers last season whose departure had been rumored since he was named to the Frozen Four all-tournament team in … Read more
Minnesota forward Thomas Vanek, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2003 Frozen Four, will return for his sophomore season. The Buffalo Sabres, who drafted Vanek in the first round of this year’s NHL Draft, said they believed it was best for Vanek to return to school. (Offseason coaching and player moves) “Our view is another … Read more
Former Boston College star John Cunniff and the entire 1980 U.S. Olympic team are among the latest inductees to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minn. They will be joined by Richard Dougherty, a former standout at Minnesota, and long-time NHL stars Pat LaFontaine and Mark Howe. The 1980 squad, a team filled … Read more