If you are a fan of University of Minnesota sports then Saturday was a great day. The men's hockey team completed a sweep of the St. Cloud State Huskies (SCSU) by way of a late 3rd period goal giving them a hard earned 3-2 win. The men's basketball team took down Illinois in overtime 77-72 after tying the game with four seconds left in regulation on a dandy layup and free throw by guard Austin Hollins.
The Gopher hoopsters got 53 of their 77 points from their guards on the way to Saturday's win. (Basketball statistics from http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=320280135) Illinois guard Brandon Paul led all scorers with 28. Hollins and guard Chip Armelin led the Gophers with 14 points each.
The Gophers might have sealed the win in regulation had they performed better at the free throw line. They made 21 of 33 free throws including several down the stretch during the overtime but missed five of seven free throws during a second half run during which Illinois wiped out a double-digit Gopher lead. If the Gophers hope to stay in contention in the Big Ten they will need to make more than 2/3 of their free throws.
After downing SCSU 2-1 on Friday in Minneapolis, the Gopher men's hockey team had to score late in the 3rd period Saturday in St. Cloud to finally put away a pesky SCSU team. (Hockey statistics from http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2012/01/28/minnesota-vs-st-cloud-state)
SCSU took a 1-0 lead into the 2nd period on a goal by Ben Hanowski, the best Huskie player currently not injured. The Gophers responded in the 2nd period with two solid power-play goals; one from defenseman Ben Marshall and the other from forward Erik Haula. Hanowski tied the game again late in the 2nd period when a shot from behind the net hit Gopher goaltender Kent Patterson's equipment and wound up in the net.
The Gophers outshot SCSU 46-12 for the game and throughly dominated the 3rd period, outshooting the Huskies 18-3. SCSU freshman goaltender Ryan Faragher stood on his head however, making 43 saves for the game but the Huskies luck ran out at 18.41 of the 3rd period when Sam Warning completed a beautiful passing play with teammates Justin Holl and Jake Hansen by burying the puck in the net from the right side of the goal.
The best news of the night for the Gopher pucksters may have come from the out of town scoreboard though; second place Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) was shutout on its home ice by Michigan Tech 5-0 after tying Tech 4-4 on Friday night.
With UMD falling down on its home ice this weekend taking one of a possible four points, and the Gophers sweeping SCSU, the Gophers now lead the defending NCAA champion UMD Bulldogs by five points in the WCHA standings.
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