Season wasn't supposed to end so soon for talented Gophers
MINNEAPOLIS -- This wasn't how things were supposed to end for the Gophers men's hockey team.
Minnesota was coming off a trip to the NCAA championship game last year, one win away from the program's sixth national title. Because of last year's success, the Gophers came into the 2014-15 season as the No. 1-ranked team in college hockey.
Fast forward six months, and Minnesota's season is over earlier than the Gophers hoped it would end. Coach Don Lucia's team lost 4-1 to Minnesota Duluth on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Despite being a No. 3 seed, Minnesota felt poised to make another deep playoff run, perhaps earning a trip to the Frozen Four in Boston.
The Gophers aren't playing anymore, though, as they watch from afar as the final four teams in college hockey continue their quest for a trophy. How did it come to this for Minnesota?
Lucia's squad dug itself a big hole midway through the season when it lost seven games in a 10-game span to drop to 11-9-3 overall in late January. At that juncture, Minnesota was in danger of not making the postseason. Yet a 12-3-1 run to end the regular season and Big Ten playoffs earned the Gophers a spot in the 16-team NCAA tournament.
Minnesota felt it was playing with momentum heading into the postseason, and several Gophers players used the word "confidence" when asked what had changed for the team over the last two months. It certainly seemed as if Minnesota had more reason to be confident heading into Friday's game than Minnesota Duluth, which had lost three straight before facing the Gophers and only had two wins in its last nine games. Still, the Bulldogs were the higher seed at No. 2.
When the puck dropped Friday, it simply seemed as if Minnesota Duluth wanted it more. The Gophers had said that during their rough patch this year they were too easy to play against and didn't do some of the little things important to win games -- blocking shots, battling for pucks, etc. Some of that resurfaced against the Bulldogs, who outworked the Gophers for much of the game. Minnesota Duluth outshot Minnesota 12-9 in the first period and 16-6 in the second. By that point, the Bulldogs had a comfortable 4-0 lead as the Gophers saw their championship hopes slip away.
Minnesota's senior class was a big reason for the Gophers' late-season push, but that group was relatively quiet against the Bulldogs. Senior Seth Ambroz did score Minnesota's only goal, but not until the Gophers were already trailing 4-0. Leading scorer Kyle Rau didn't tally a point against UMD, nor did fellow seniors Sam Warning or Christian Isackson.
The landscape of college hockey has changed drastically since the Gophers won their last national championship in 2003. One-fourth of the 16 teams in this year's NCAA tournament were from the state of Minnesota. The Gophers and Bulldogs were joined by No. 1 seed Minnesota State and No. 3 St. Cloud State in this year's tournament. There were three Minnesota schools in the playoffs in both 2013 and 2014. Back when Minnesota won it all in 2003, there were also three in-state schools, but two of them (Minnesota State and St. Cloud State) were No. 4 seeds.
The competition level and recruiting process is more intense in the state of Minnesota now than it was a decade ago, as the Gophers found out the hard way Friday. The 4-1 loss to UMD was the Bulldogs' fourth win in five meetings with Minnesota this year. The Gophers also faltered in the North Star College Cup in January, a tournament designed to pit the in-state teams against each other. Minnesota lost two games that weekend, with Bemidji State -- the only Division I team from the state not to play in the NCAA tournament this year -- winning the trophy.
In fact, the Gophers aren't the most recent team in Minnesota to win a national championship. That honor belongs to Minnesota Duluth, who won it all in 2011.
Some argue that the move to the Big Ten has hurt the Gophers over the last two seasons. After playing in the very competitive WCHA conference for years, Minnesota is now in a six-team Big Ten conference that boasted only one NCAA tournament team. The drawback of fewer games against top-tier teams shows up come playoff time. The current WCHA -- which looks different than it did two years ago -- had two tournament teams, while the National College Hockey Conference, which contains several former WCHA schools, had six of the 16 teams in the NCAA tournament.
After falling short of their ultimate goal once again, the Gophers have some big skates to fill next year. Rau graduates as one of the best scorers in the Don Lucia era, finishing his career with 164 points in four seasons, 18th in school history. Travis Boyd emerged as the Gophers' third-leading scorer this year (19 goals) during his senior season, while fellow seniors Warning and Ambroz were tied for fourth in goals with 12.
Minnesota must also wait to see if any players leave early to turn pro. Junior Mike Reilly, who led all Division I defensemen in scoring, is a candidate, as is fellow defenseman Brady Skjei. And junior goalie Adam Wilcox, last year's Big Ten Goaltender of the Year and a draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, also has a decision to make.
As is typically the case with Minnesota, the Gophers will reload with more talent next year. However, Lucia's team has found out the hard way the last few years that talent alone doesn't necessarily translate to national championships.
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