Gophers rally late but fall to Wolfpack 4-3

After gearing up all week for a game against Eastview's Blue squad, the Gophers' players discovered 20 minutes prior to game time that their much anticipated matchup had been changed... Their expected opponents' lockerroom was occupied by a fired-up Cottage Grove Black team.

Eastview Blue had previously fallen to the Gophers' conference rivals, the Pioneers, by a final count of 12-0 on December 7th, and although the Gophers weren't taking their matchup lightly, they were eager and confident that they'd emerge victorious.

Their foes from Cottage Grove hit the ice with intensity from the opening face-off, outshooting the Gophers in the first period and taking an early 1-0 lead as their ability to keep the puck in the offensive zone kept the Gophers' skaters busy.

But the Gophers battled back and moved the puck down the ice with Garrett scoring the equalizer late in the 1st period on a goal from up close, with the assist going to Anders.
But the opening period was to belong to the Wolfpack, who put the puck into the Gophers' net three times. The period came to an end with the Gophers facing a two goal deficit, down 3-1, and marked only the 2nd such time they've been down by two goals this season. The last time was in the season opener against the Wolverines, and coincidentally was also the last time the Gophers had been defeated, while running up a 6 game unbeaten streak since.

As Coach John Dale spoke to the Gophers along the boards after the 1st period, the players looked to him intently and it was apparent that the Gophers were in a hotly contested game against a formidable opponent.

The Gophers regrouped and fought hard during the 2nd period, outshooting theWolfpack but remaining unable to get a goal, as the Wolfpack was able to frequently break up Gopher passes and block shots.The shots that got through to their goalie were all stopped, and rebounds and second chance shots were in short supply.

Each team got a chance to put their penalty kill lines on the ice as Kannon earned a 2:00 minor for checking and the Wolfpack's #15 found the penalty box later for the same offense. But the PK units proved up to the challenge as neither team could turn the odd man advantage into a goal.
The opening drop of the puck in the 3rd period found the Gophers still down by a score of 3-1.

But the boys hustled and their faces never showed defeat and they never quit even when the visiting team put in what ended up being the game winning goal to bring it to 4-1.

Partway through the final period, the Gophers' sense of urgency was at its highest point and they put together a scoring opportunity with Kannon taking control of the puck from his defensive position and bringing it into the offensive zone. Mike skated with him, taking position in front of the net as Kannon deked and put the shot on goal. There was a bit of a scrum in front of the Wolfpack goalie, and the whistle blew as the Gophers' sticks went into the air. The refs called the goal "9 from 7" to award Woody the goal on the official scoresheet with Kannon receiving credit for the assist, but common opinion was that it appeared to be Kannon unassisted on the goal from the original shot.

Mike would score with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game, bringing it to 4-3, and the Gophers were surging. But shot after shot was turned away by the Wolfpack netminder as the clock wound down under 2 minutes.

Coach Dale strategically pulled his goalie in favor of an extra skater as the gameclock ticked under a minute. And although the Gophers were able to keep the puck in the offensive zone for most of final minute, and were able to outshoot the Wolfpack over the final 2 periods, their courageous and determined efforts were unable to culminate in a game-tying goal, and the final buzzer ended the game with a score of 4-3 and with the visiting Wolfpack of Cottage Grove Black earning the non-conference win.

The Pioneers did their part to help the Gophers in the standings by defeating conference leaders, the Wolverines 6-2, creating a 3-way tie at the top of the conference points list with the Sioux, Pioneers and Gophers leading the way with 8 points, closely followed by the Wolverines at 7.
The Gophers overall record falls to 4-2-2 but they remain the only team in the conference with only a single conference loss.

The Gophers take on the Sioux next Sunday who defeated the Badgers yesterday 8-0 and who have a current 3 game undefeated streak; a stretch in which they've outscored their opponents 14-4.