Monday, March 12, 2007

Gopher Hockey advances to WCHA Final Five


The Minnesota Golden Gophers hockey team opened the postseason with a 6-2 win over the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves on Friday, March 9th. The maroon and gold never trailed during the Friday night game, taking a 2-1 lead into the first intermission and a 4-2 lead into the second. The Gophers padded its lead in the third period with two more goals to cruise to the 6-2 victory.

The Gophers looked like they were on top of the world Friday, but it came crashing down when Alaska Anchorage shocked Minnesota 2-1 in overtime on Saturday night to force a decisive game three. It was the first ever WCHA Playoff first-round loss for the University of Minnesota men's hockey team at Mariucci Arena. Leading 1-0 in the third period, the Golden Gophers allowed the Seawolves to tie the game at 16:25, setting the stage for Luke Beaverson's game-winning goal at 5:45 of the extra session. Minnesota out-shot UAA 22-14 through two periods, but Alaska Anchorage turned the tables in the last two stanzas, owning a 14-4 advantage on the shot board in the third period and overtime. It was pathetic! The puck was in the Gophers end the entire third period and overtime. Even the start of the game looked sloppy with both teams spending a lot of time in the penalty box. It was a disturbing loss.

On Sunday, the Gophers used a gritty defensive effort to upend Alaska Anchorage 3-1 and claim the best-of-three WCHA Playoff series 2-1 at Mariucci Arena. The Golden Gophers trailed 1-0 after the first period, but rallied with three unanswered goals in the second and third periods. With the win, the Golden Gophers head to the 2007 WCHA Final Five as the tournament's top seed. Minnesota will take on the winner of Thursday's play-in game between Wisconsin and Michigan Tech on Friday, March 16 at 7:07 p.m., at the Xcel Energy Center. There are still Gopher Hockey tickets available so don’t miss this hot, hot playoff series at the “X.”

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