One thing no one expected in Sunday’s matinee against Canisius was a goalie duel. After all, Minnesota was ranked No. 2 in the national polls, the Golden Griffins are picked for the lower half of the Atlantic Hockey Association. When Minnesota's Kyle Rau scored only twelve seconds into the game, it looked like Minnesota was off to the races.
But wait: The Golden Griffins have a terrific goalie in Tony Capobianco. After allowing Rau’s goal before the paying customers had even settled into their seats, he proceeded to slam the door on a determined Minnesota attack for the rest of the afternoon. The Griffs’ junior netminder made 41 consecutive saves and the tilt could have gone to overtime.
Wilcox Is the Man: That said, Minnesota has a big-time starting goalie in Adam Wilcox. There’s no goalie controversy here. Mike Shibrowski is a solid netminder but Wilcox, a puck handler who drops and covers as needed, looks like the starter the Gophers need to lead them through the long WCHA campaign.
The freshman from South St. Paul via the USHL’s Tri-City Storm clocked 20 saves Sunday to post his first collegiate shutout. The coaching staff will remain officially neutral on the subject of who the starting goalie will be for a bit longer, I suspect, but the job appears to be Wilcox’s to lose. He has both the consistency and the poise to backstop a long winter of high-tempo hockey. Just as important, the players are comfortable with him in the pipes and that’s critical.
Welcome To The Front Line: Head Coach Don Lucia has an abundance of defensemen who can play. So many, in fact, that he can afford to experiment once in awhile. On Sunday, he moved Ben Marshall from the blue line to left wing on a line with Erik Haula and Zach Budish. The line jumped all afternoon.
Will Marshall continue as a forward? After the game, Lucia told me, "I have no reservations whatever about playing him up there again. We’ll just see what works best."
Marshall knows how to find the net and create chances. Playing him as a forward—whether or not it’s a regular assignment—is a good way to utilize his offensive skills and to give other defensemen chances to crack the lineup. It could also be a potent surprise weapon to keep opponents guessing about which players they need to key on in order to control what still looks like a potentially explosive offense.
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