The Wisconsin Badgers team that faces off against the Gophers at Mariucci Arena this weekend (Friday, 6:30 pre-game on FOX Sports North Plus) would appear to be a plum waiting to be picked. After all, only six games into the campaign, it's already faced a number of woes.
To wit:
-- On October 6, hotshot freshman winger Nic Kerdiles was slapped with a ten-game NCAA suspension for violating its code of amateurism. There was plenty of drama with this one because the NCAA had originally imposed a year-long suspension. Wisconsin subsequently got that reduced to ten games.
-- On October 20, senior alternate captain Derek Lee was involved in an auto accident and had to miss two games.
-- On November 3, the Badgers' top returning scorer (and this season's points leader) Mark Zengerle broke his finger while killing a penalty against Colorado College. He's out four-to-six weeks.
-- Finally, on November 5, former Gopher Bill Butters suddenly resigned his assistant coaching position to return to Christian ministry—in which he's been involved as a hockey chaplain for decades—forcing head coach Mike Eaves and assistant Gary Shuchuk to handle the blueliners themselves while a replacement is found. Butters had also been in charge of the penalty kill.
All in all, it would seem, a team in search of itself. And an opportunity for the Gophers, who badly need to sweep a weekend series against a WCHA rival. Trouble is, teams that appear to be in some disarray often find ways to pull themselves together when the target is big enough. And no target is ever bigger for a Badger than a Gopher.
Gophers update: Backup goalie Mike Shibrowski is out indefinitely. Shibrowski was injured in practice this week and will miss at least three weeks. That means that No. 3 netminder Ryan Coyne (Fr., Plymouth) is now the official backup. Coyne has seen zero action so far. He was a stalwart in high school at Maple Grove and was named First Team All-Metro for the 2010-11 season.
Any concerns about this? Head coach Don Lucia tells me, "We have our goalie." Meaning Adam Wilcox, who's carried the mail in strong style so far.
Mac's game notes:
-- This won't be pretty. Neither will it be high-scoring. Wisconsin plays a 1-1-3 forecheck, meaning three players back in most scenarios. They rarely score but also are seldom scored upon.
The idea is to take away the middle of the ice and force passes along the boards, with one forward staying back with the defense in a triangle formation. The other two forwards operate roughly one behind the other, at least on the white board.
Result: No blowouts either way. Look for a couple of one or two-goal margins this weekend.
The challenge: If the Gophers become impatient when their offense is stymied they could make mistakes that will hurt.
-- Minnesota's four power play goals at Anchorage last Friday were the most they've scored all season. The previous high was three against Minnesota State on November 2.
-- Erik Haula is on fire. He's scored seven points in his last four games, four of which are power play assists.
-- Kyle Rau is averaging a point a game over the first nine tilts. He was held scoreless in Anchorage last Saturday after nailing a pair of power play goals on Friday.
-- Five of Travis Boyd's six points have come on the power play (3-2-5).
-- Both Nick Bjugstad and Nate Schmidt have seven points in their first nine games.
Men-women doubleheader: I'll be attending both the Gopher women's game against Minnesota State Saturday afternoon (4:00 PM) and the men's rematch against Wisconsin (8:00 PM). The Gopher women, who are the defending NCAA champs, are perfect this season (12-0-0) and have been ranked number one in the nation since the puck first dropped in September. Come join me at Ridder then walk next door to catch the Gophers-Badgers tilt!
We welcome former Gopher standout Casey Hankinson to the booth Friday night. Kevin Gorg will work at ice level. Wild play-by-play voice Anthony LaPanta joins Doug Woog for “Gopher Hockey Live” at 6:30, followed by the game at 7:00. Friday's tilt is on FOX Sports North Plus. On Saturday, Big Ten Network takes over.
