During Friday's game between the Mavericks and Gophers in Mankato, an MSU fan held up a sign displaying the WCHA standings. There were the once-mighty Gophers, sitting at the bottom of the list with a winless record and the Mavericks a few spots ahead of them.
What a difference a weekend makes.
The Gophers swept the Mavericks and moved back ahead of them by a point.
Second periods killed MSU this weekend. In first and third periods, the Mavericks outscored the Gophers 5-2. The middle periods: 7-1 Minnesota, including a four-goal outburst Saturday.
"We were horrible in the second period," Mavericks coach Troy Jutting said.
Said forward Mick Berge, who had two goals Saturday and a three-goal weekend: "(Minnesota) made us look silly in the second period."
Minnesota is 15-0-3 against the Mavericks in their last 18 meetings.
Another look at the keys to the weekend:
1. Great goaltending: Jutting went with Dan Tormey in place of Mike Zacharias and like, Zacharias Friday, Tormey was good but not great. Tormey made a few outstanding saves but would probably like to have another crack at Kyle Okposo's long power-play goal that tied the game at 2-2. Officials reviewed Tony Lucia's goal that made it 4-2 because it appeared that Minnesota forward Ryan Flynn bumped Tormey as he tried to make the save. The goal stood. Jutting said he didn't see the play.
2. Stay out of the box: The Mavericks were called for seven penalties for 25 minutes, including Jerad Stewart's major penalty for kneeing Mike Howe. Stewart was also given a game disqualification, which, if it stands, means he will have to sit out Friday's game at Denver. The Gophers scored two power-play goals, including one at the end of the Stewart's penalty. A Jon Kalinski interference penalty killed some third-period momentum, and a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty with 1:35 left kept the Mavericks from pulling Tormey for an extra attacker.
3. Home ice advantage: The Mariucci Arena crowd of 10,031 can be an intimidating environment. The crowd was quiet in the first period after a nasty head injury to Howe, who was taken off the ice on a backboard (it was later announced that he would be OK) and especially after the Mavericks grabbed a 2-1 lead on a Berge power-play goal. But the Gophers got their buldin back during their four-goal outburst in the second period.
9 comments:
What game were you watching? Both games showed that Zacharias and Tormey had no support in the 2nd periods of both games. We were out shot 16-1 in the second period. Zach and Tormey had to deal with backdoor power plays and point blank shots. Both had strong games. You should watch the TV replays.
Rocco- I agree. The defense left both Zach and Tormey out to dry both nights. Only about one goal each night could be considered their fault.
Sitting Kilburg last night for "poor play"? Dumbest move yet by Jutting.
hmmm. maybe they were left to dry, but to win games your goalies cant just make routine saves, they have to make a difference in the game...
For example. Look at Mannino's performance in the 1st period 1st game against the Goph. The Gophers were killing denver (shots 12-6), but Denver came out of that period up 1-0. Mannino made some great saves that should have been goals, but by weathering that storm Denver took advantage and swept.
On the other hand, the mavs went down 1-0 in the first being outshot 12-7. (It was a pretty even period) But the second period killed the mavs. 8 shots, 3 goals. Cant win games giving up that many goals in one period. Not saying they were bad goals, but one more big save the mavs go into ot 3-3.
In order for the mavs to win games against top 20 teams they're going to need great goaltending, not just good/ avg. goaltending every night.
How about taking a time out in the 2nd period?
Does anyone think we should have taken a timeout in the 2nd period when all hell broke loose? At least to get a breather. To sit there and let it happen was a brutal thing to watch, I know that.
How many more years do we need to put up with this mediocore team? It starts at the top, Jutting needs to go. He had 1 great year and has shown NOTHING since. If this program is actually moving, it's moving backwards. It's no wonder we can't pack the civic center more often then when the Gophs come to town.
We're in for a long season, boys. Defense is terrible. To many times players go unchecked in front of the net. Hanson is no Morin and needs to be set up for scoring opportunities. Kalinski, our only physical player. We need Kilburg in their. And ever since I can remember, the magic number for goals allowed is 4. We hold the opposition to 3, we've got a chance.
As a Gopher fan and native Mankatoan, I was both relieved at the Gopher sweep and impressed by the Mavs' effort this weekend.
As I mentioned in my post earlier this week, I wasn't surprised to see a meek Alltel Center crowd silenced virtually out of the game after the early Gopher goal. I think that everyone would agree that it may have been a different story if MSU could have scored first and kept the "Amiable Alltels" (:-) ???)interested. As predicted, the crowd seemed to be about 20% Gopher supporters.
The Saturday game was much more about the Gophers than the Mavs. The second period was one of the best periods of hockey that the Gophers have played in the last few years. I was VERY impressed with how MSU came out in the third period. A few bounces in the Mavs favor in either Friday or Saturday night's games and we could be singing a different tune here in Minneapolis.
Kalinski's play all weekend was impressive for someone who doesn't watch a lot of MSU hockey. I'd love to see the MSU take the next step and possibly host a WCHA playoff series this season. The crowd of 5,100 and change on Friday night has to be exciting for MSU supporters.
Ski-U-Mah: 26-2-4 and counting...
As far as the sign with the standings is concerned, you have to realize that the Gophers were not winless. There is much more to college hockey than the league that you are in. Remember, MSU has Three wins. One against a hapless Alaska team, and two against an even more hapless team from Alabama. I believe the Gophers had a .500 record coming into the weekend, against some quality teams. In the overall picture of things, the league record is important, but so are national games. Go MSU fans. You guys are so smart about hockey. Why not start rooting for your own team instead of throwing hatred at the other teams?
Signed-- An impartial HOCKEY fan.
The Mavericks defense is not so much bad as it is young. Canzenello and the three freshmen defenseman still have alot to learn. I more worried about the offensive production from leaders like Joel Hanson, and sophmores Goeff Irwin and Jared Stewart. Jason Wiley is a player that I think has a chance to make a huge difference this year in making the Mavs more offensive.
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