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Gophers outplayed during the late stages in Madison; Badgers win 4-2
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Tonight's game to open the Border War at the Kohl Center in Madison turned into a game where the Gophers lost endurance late in the go.
It only took 24 seconds for the Badgers to nudge ahead 1-0 in the first period. Blake Geoffrion scored a goal to open the game on a tip-in from point blank. Ryan McDonagh and Craig Smith assisted Geoffrion. That was the only goal, and there were three penalties in the period. Minnesota took the brunt of those, as Jake Hansen and Sam Lofquist went in the box during the period for the Gophers. Wisconsin outshot the Gophers 12-6 in the first, while powerplays had Wisconsin going 0-2 and Minnesota going 0-1. Getting that goal off the "hop" really deflated the Gophers for the rest of the period.
The second period started more positively for the Gophers, as they hit the twine at 1:31 on an even strength play when Mike Hoeffel scored to tie the game. He had assists from new top-liner Nico Sachetti and Jordan Schroeder. It seemed to me throughout that they were especially missing Jay Barriball (out for season with knee injury) and Cody Goloubef exploited this as he put the Badgers back up 2-1 at 2:14 with assists from Derek Lee and John Mitchell. Blake Geoffrion scored his second goal of the period making it 3-1 at 10:16 with the assist from Craig Smith. The Badgers again outshot the Gophers in the second period 10-7, making two period totals fall to the Badgers 22-13. Powerplays in the second had Minnesota going 0-2 while Wisconsin didn't have a powerplay chance.
The third period saw Minnesota claw their way back in at 8:47 as Patrick White got the puck on net with his help coming from Mike Carman and Tony Lucia. Play seemed to be physical yet legal in the latter stages, but you could also tell that Minnesota was playing for the win, or at least a tie. But, you always go for the win til the final whistle and buzzer, and a Ben Street goal at 18:08 effectively put the game on ice (pun intended) as the Badgers won 4-2. Street's goal had the official assists from Michael Davies and Jordy Murray. The third period saw a common theme come to fruition, as the Badgers outshot Minnesota 10-5, for a game total of 32-18 in favor of the Badgers. Powerplays in the period had Minnesota only going 0-1. Game powerplay totals saw Minnesota go 1-4, while the Badgers went an uncharacteristic 0-3.
Minnesota is next in action when the finish the series with the Badgers tomorrow evening at 7pm from Kohl Center. The game broadcast will be led by Frank Mazzocco and Doug Woog on FS North, and it'll be interesting to see if the Badgers resend Brett Bennett to the net. The Gophers, I assume, would send Kent Patterson. All in all, the losses of Barriball and Nick Leddy (out til January) proved costly.
If you'd like to get in touch with the Gopher hockey Examiner, please email me at Disch61@hotmail.com, or leave a comment below. You can also become a fan on Facebook if you search "Minnesota Golden Gophers Hockey Examiner." Until next time, I'll see you at the rink!
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