Gophers seniors look to close out time at Mariucci with important wins
MINNEAPOLIS -- For the six seniors on the Gophers men's hockey team, this weekend marks the last two games they'll play at Mariucci Arena. Given what's at stake on Friday and Saturday, though, those seniors haven't had much time to reflect on their final home series.
Minnesota is on the bubble of making the NCAA tournament one year after making it all the way to the NCAA championship game. The Gophers can possibly win the Big Ten's regular-season title this weekend with a sweep of Penn State, but they could also seal their postseason fate if things don't go well.
Because of all that, forward Travis Boyd and his fellow seniors haven't had a chance to reflect on playing at Mariucci for one final weekend.
"I think Sam Warning yesterday in practice said, 'Last week of practice in Mariucci.' I hadn't thought about it before then," Boyd said Wednesday. "Not really thinking about it, I guess, which is good and bad. It should be fun. Hopefully we can close it out with two wins for the seniors."
Two wins over Penn State wouldn't necessarily guarantee the Gophers are in the NCAA tournament, but a sweep would do wonders for Minnesota's postseason resume. A stumble or two this weekend against the Nittany Lions, however, and the Gophers may very well have to run the table in next weekend's Big Ten tournament in Detroit to keep their season alive.
Entering the final series of the regular season, Minnesota sits in a tie for 14th in the Pairwise rankings. While 16 teams make the NCAA tournament, the Pairwise doesn't factor in things like conference tournament champions, which earn an automatic NCAA bid.
That's one way for the Gophers to get into the playoffs, but they'd rather not have to push their luck in Detroit. They want to take care of business this weekend.
"Winning takes care of everything, doesn't it?" said Minnesota head coach Don Lucia. "We weren't even on the (tournament) bubble at the end of January, but you win games and you put yourself in a better position. Same thing now. You win, you take care of it. Other teams are going to play each other. You're going to get some losses along the way, but we have to win games so it doesn't come down to next weekend and winning the Big Ten title."
The Gophers are the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the Pairwise, but Minnesota is vying for the conference crown with three other schools. Michigan State (34 points) currently leads the Big Ten by one point over Michigan and the Gophers, while Penn State is just a few points behind with 31. In just its second season of existence, Big Ten hockey has proven to be a tight race down to the last weekend.
That's not necessarily a good thing for the Gophers, who would have much rather had a conference title wrapped up heading into the final two regular-season games. Then again, being in the position they're in sure beats the alternative.
"It's certainly more fun to be in the position where you're still playing for it than not at this point," Lucia said. "We knew the league was going to be much more compressed this year. . . . It'll be a great test. I'm looking forward to it. I think our kids have answered the bell most nights.
"Every journey's different. It's been a little meandering journey with this group, but hopefully we can end it on a good, positive note."
Minnesota's players admit they've looked at the standings and the Pairwise rankings, and there's a chance they'll be scoreboard watching this weekend, too -- particularly Saturday when Michigan and Michigan State face off at 4 p.m. CT, three hours before the Gophers and Penn State take the ice.
Yet winning the Big Ten regular-season title, something Minnesota did last year, isn't the goal for the Gophers. This year's group of seniors have won conference titles in each of the past three seasons. What they've failed to do is achieve their ultimate goal: win a national championship.
Minnesota came one win shy of doing that last year. If the Gophers don't play well this weekend, they might not have another chance to play for a national title. At this point in the seniors' careers, another conference championship won't mean a whole lot. They're hungry for more.
"It's cool, but that's not why I came here. That's not why anyone in our locker room came here," Gophers senior Kyle Rau said of winning the conference title. "I'm sure it'll be something when I'm older and I come to Mariucci Arena and I look up and see the banners and I can say I played on those teams. But that'll probably be about it. . . . We were close last year. That's why people come here."
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