University of Minnesota Athletics
Big Ten Foes Visit for College Hockey Showcase
11/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Minnesota begins a stretch of six straight home games by hosting a pair of Big Ten rivals in the 16th annual College Hockey Showcase. The top-ranked Gophers host Michigan on Friday and Michigan State on Saturday. Minnesota is coming off its first loss of the season after opening the year undefeated through its first 11 games. The Gophers have fared well in the showcase with a 7-1-2 record over the past five years.
Last Time Out
The Gophers extended their season-opening unbeaten streak to 11 games with a 5-2 win at Denver on Friday, but the streak ended in a 4-0 shutout loss to the Pioneers on Saturday. Ryan Stoa and Jordan Schroeder each had three-point nights in the opening game as Stoa had a goal and two assists and Schroeder notched two goals with an assist. Jay Barriball and Mike Carman also scored goals in the opening-night victory.
Series History
Minnesota leads the all-time series over Michigan 127-115-14 and beat the Wolverines six straight times before Michigan’s 5-1 victory in last year’s showcase. The teams played twice last year with Minnesota winning 4-3 in the IceBreaker Invitational earlier in the season in St. Paul.
The Gophers hold a 100-41-10 advantage over Michigan State in the all-time series and are undefeated in the past seven meetings, which have included four ties. The teams played to a 3-3 draw last year in East Lansing. The Spartans’ last win was a 3-2 decision in 2000 at Mariucci Arena.
About the Wolverines
Michigan is 8-6 overall and hasn’t had a winning or losing streak of more than two games this season. The Wolverines were swept last weekend at Miami 2-0 and 2-1. Michigan lost its top two scorers from last year’s team that went 33-6-4 and made a Frozen Four appearance and its NCAA-record 18th straight trip to the tournament. Sophomore Aaron Palushaj ranks 10th nationally in scoring with seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points.
About the Spartans
Michigan State has lost six straight games, scoring no more than one goal in any of the games. The Spartans are 4-6-2 and rank 57th of 58 Division I teams in offense with 20 goals in 14 games, ranking only ahead of Rensselaer. The Spartans feature one of the nation’s top goaltenders in senior Jeff Lerg, who led the team to the 2007 national title and currently owns a 2.54 goals against average and .916 save percentage. Michigan State was swept at Nebraska Omaha 7-1 and 3-1 last weekend.
Top of the Heap
Despite suffering its first loss of the season, Minnesota remained the nation’s top-ranked team and claimed an overwhelming number of first-place votes. The Gophers took 41 of 50 first-place tallies in the U.S. College Hockey Online/CBS College Sports poll and collected 30 of 34 first-place votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. It’s nothing new for the Gophers, who have been ranked No. 1 at some point of the season eight of the last nine years.
Best of the Best
This weekend marks the fifth straight year that the game between Minnesota and Michigan features a team ranked either first or second in the country. Michigan was No. 1 in 2004 and 2005 and Minnesota was No. 1 in 2006. Michigan was No. 2 when the teams met last season, despite spending much of 2007-08 as the nation’s No. 1 team.
At the Top
Through eight league games, Minnesota sits in first place in the WCHA with a 6-1-3 record and 15 points to hold a two-point lead over Colorado College. In 2007-08, the Gophers picked up their 15th point of the season on Jan. 26 in the 18th game of the year when they tied Wisconsin to push their record to 6-9-3.
Showcase Success
Minnesota has enjoyed plenty of success in the College Hockey Showcase with the best record of any of the four participating teams. The Gophers are 16-10-4 in the 15-year history of the event and 7-1-2 in the last 10 showcase games with the only loss coming in the most recent outing last year at Michigan. Michigan is 17-12-1 in the showcase, while Michigan State is 13-12-5 and Wisconsin is 8-20-2. The event has a history of close games with 28 of the 60 games being tied or decided by one goal, including three last season.
Special Effects
The Gophers’ special teams units have been truly special through 12 games this season, ranking fourth overall in combined special teams in the country. Minnesota ranks fifth nationally on the penalty kill at 93.7 percent and eighth in the country on the power play at 20.0 percent. The Gophers rank second in the WCHA in both categories.
Power Surge
Power plays have been one of the Gophers’ biggest strengths this season as Minnesota ranks eighth in the country at 20.0 percent (16-for-80). The Gophers have already scored 16 power play goals after totaling 25 all of last season. Minnesota has scored power play goals in 10 of its 12 games and had scored on the man-advantage in eight straight games before going 0-for-6 on Saturday at Denver. They ranked 50th in the country on the power play last season at 13.0 percent.
Killer Instinct
Minnesota has allowed just five power play goals and ranks fifth in the country on the penalty kill at 93.7 percent (74-for-79). The Gophers have not allowed more than one power play goal in a weekend series this season. Denver’s power play goal in the second period on Saturday snapped a streak of 25 straight successful penalty kills and was only the third five-on-four power play goal the Gophers have allowed.
Fresh Face
Gophers’ freshman forward Jordan Schroeder leads all Division I rookie players in scoring with six goals and a team-high 11 assists for 17 points. Schroeder had 14 points during a seven-game scoring streak that ended on Saturday in the shutout loss to Denver. He has twice been named the WCHA Rookie of the Week and shares the team lead with a plus-12 rating. Schroeder led the U.S. under-18 national team in scoring last season with 53 points.
Streaking Stoa
Junior forward Ryan Stoa was held without a point for the first time this season against Denver after scoring in the team’s first 11 games of the year. Stoa missed the last 43 games of the 2007-08 season with a knee injury suffered against Michigan in the second game of the season. He has bounced back this year to rank fourth in the nation in scoring with 19 points in 12 games. His 10 goals scored lead the WCHA and rank fifth nationally. Stoa has scored goals in nine of the Gophers’ 12 games. He has four power play goals and two shorthanded scores.
