Gopher Hockey loses two in a row

I guess Gopher Gal shouldn’t have been so excited for the Gopher hockey season to start because it sure didn’t start that well. The Gophers got swept on the road by Colorado College dropping Friday nights game 3-1 and then losing Saturday night 2-1 in overtime. It was the first time since 2004 that Minnesota was swept in a road series and opened the Western Collegiate Hockey Association season with two losses. It was the first time since 1999 that the Gophers were swept by Colorado.

Saturday night was a tough match for the Gophers. Minnesota fired 21 shots on goal in the third period and had the Tigers on their heels, but Colorado College finally broke through against Gophers’ goaltender Jeff Frazee when Chad Rau (from Eden Prairie - Donny Lu should have recruited him!) launched a shot from the slot over Frazee for the game-winner 2:42 into the extra period. The goal came after a short flurry where Frazee made three solid saves. The junior was strong in net all night long with 25 saves, including several outstanding first period stops.

The losses were tough for sure, but let’s hope the Gopher hockey team can bounce back and not take any lessons from the habitual losing Gopher football team.