Another weekend, another nationally-ranked opponent for Gophers
Gophers still number two: Minnesota remains in the second slot on both national college hockey polls as the Gophers head into their final regular-season home series against Denver University. And, for the 15th and 16th times, they're facing a nationally-ranked team. Denver is rated No. 10 and No. 11, depending on which poll you check. Regardless, the Pioneers have been a force to be reckoned with much of the season.
It says something about the tightness of the WCHA standings that the Pioneers enter the weekend tied with Wisconsin for sixth place – yet still have a shot at first. Going into Friday's game in Minneapolis, DU has 27 points, six behind front-running St. Cloud State – with four games and eight points remaining. Of course, the Huskies and four other teams would have to tank heading to the wire. Still, the math is interesting.
Playoffs too close to call: As the WCHA itself says, "There are still too many scenarios possible to outline what can happen over the final two weeks." It could well be that tie-breakers will be needed and in that case, St. Cloud State has the nod over the Gophers. But I'll deal with all that in greater detail next week when things are at least a little clearer.
Here are the remaining schedules, ranked by their present conference standings, for the four teams that realistically have a shot at finishing first or close to it (T = tied):
#1 St. Cloud State
3/1-2 #T10 Michigan Tech
3/8-9 @ #T6 Wisconsin
#2 MINNESOTA (-2 pts SCSU)
3/1-2 #T6 Denver
3/8-9 @ #T10 Bemidji State
#T3 Omaha (-3 pts SCSU)
3/1-2 #T6 Wisconsin
3/8-9 @ #9 Minnesota-Duluth
#T3 North Dakota (-3 pts SCSU)
3/1-2 # T10 Bemidji State
3/8-9 @ #5 Minnesota State-Mankato
Obviously still way too close to call or even speculate.
Last man standing: Saturday is Senior Night. It will be a brief event. That's because Minnesota has only one senior, defenseman Seth Helgeson. Big Number Four has played in 114 straight games – 142 in his Gopher career – and in addition to providing a solid, sometimes punishing, presence on the blue line has been outstanding as a representative of the team in the community.
Helgeson (photo at right courtesy of the University of Minnesota) told me this week, "It's a very big deal. The time has really flown by and I wouldn't have traded it for anything."
The thing about Helgeson, a New Jersey Devils draft pick, is that you may not even notice him when he's on the ice unless he crunches an opponent or busts a laser-like pass out of the defensive zone. It's the plays that don't happen for the opposition because of his hard work and skill that make the 6-foot-4 blueliner from Faribault stand out.
Helgeson entered the program with three other freshmen. Two left the program. The third is Zach Budish. He's technically a junior after missing most of the 2010-11 season with a knee injury caused by a moped accident. Budish got a re-do of his sophomore season last year so while this is the fourth season in which he has played, that injury-shortened (seven games) 2010-11 campaign means he won't be graduating until next spring. It also means the Gophers will have him for another season and no one is complaining about that.
Scouting the Pioneers: Denver was the terror of the league in the early going, winning ten of its first eleven games. Then the worm turned and the Pioneers became mired in an eight-game winless string (0-5-3) between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since then, they've been on and off. DU enters the Minnesota series following a split at home against sixth-ranked North Dakota (5-4 win, 6-1 loss). That loss snapped a seven-game home unbeaten streak. It marked a rare time when the Pioneers lost after scoring the first goal of the game. Unfortunately, that first-period marker by Ty Loney was followed by six straight from The Team Formerly Known As the Fighting Sioux.
The Pioneers have had the hot hand at Mariucci Arena in recent history. They're 4-1-0 in the last five games in Minneapolis, 8-2-0 in the last ten.
Tending the twine: While the Pioneers have used all three of their goalies this season, the hottest hand belongs to Finn Juho Olkinuora. A Hobey Baker candidate, Olkinuora was shelled by North Dakota last Saturday but otherwise has been strong. At 2.33/.938 (WCHA games only) he ranks third in the league.
Battle of special teams: In a rarity, Minnesota will face a team whose power play is almost as good as the Gophers' which, at 25.4 percent, leads the nation. DU clocks in with the WCHA's third-best man-advantage performance, 22.2 percent in league games.
To sweep or not to sweep: That is definitely the question for Minnesota. For all their success this season the Gophers have managed to sweep only one conference series. That was against bottom-feeder Alaska-Anchorage. They swept future Big Ten colleague Michigan State in the opening series of the season and Vermont on Thanksgiving weekend. And that was that.
How huge would a WCHA sweep be in the penultimate series of the season? Minnesota is two points behind league-leading St. Cloud State with four games remaining and no games in hand.
The Gophers host Denver on the Big Ten Network Friday night. Casey Hankinson, Ben Clymer, Doug Woog, Tom Hanneman and I will be in the saddle for the regular-season home finale Saturday on Fox Sports North. Be there!
