Key Injuries Leave Gophers Shorthanded

Our Gophers haven’t allowed a power play goal this season, having killed off all penalty minutes assessed to them. To kill off a penalty, a team’s 4-skater PK unit has to play as five, using speed and tenacity in clogging passing lanes, maintaining an effective and consistent back check, blocking shots, and refusing to allow the offensive skaters between the circles with the puck and into the higher percentage scoring zones. And of course the goaltender has to have his head on a swivel to be able to adjust positions in an instant to turn away shots from undefended skaters who find their way into scoring positions.

This Sunday, the Gophers will find out if their conditioning training has paid off, since it appears they will be playing somewhat short handed, being potentially down two skaters for their game against the Sioux. Garrett suffered a head injury at school and will definitely be unable to go for at least a week. Zach injured his foot, is doubtful for the contest, and could be a game time decision. In addition to the injuries that will limit the number of players available, only 7 Gophers skaters were able to attend the Wednesday skating session, raising concerns that the Gophers’ brass may need to solicit the help of an additional player to fill the lines. And having to add a player from a rival team to a tight-knit Gophers squad makes this Gopher fan as nervous as the Chief Marketing Strategist for an Alec Baldwin Childcare Center.

The Gophers eagerly welcomed back a healthy Jake Dale to the lineup, which will allow Sunny to head back to a more familiar position on the ice. Losing two of their top players could prove challenging to overcome however, as other players will need to step up their play to compensate, in addition to having more shifts on the ice.

The Gophers are coming off a stretch of games in which they’ve hit stride in both the offensive and defensive ends of the ice. They’ve scored 5 or more goals in 5 of their last 7 games and have outscored their opponents 33-20, going 5-2-0, but only losing one conference game in the process. And although the Wolverines carry the best overall record (9-3-1) into this weekend’s games, our Gophers share the conference point lead with the Pioneers at 14, and hold the tiebreaker advantage against them. The Sioux are 5 points off the pace with 4 games to go and are coming off a 3-3 draw with the tenacious Badgers who have yet to defeat a conference opponent, but who play tough in each and every game, regardless. The Sioux have been on a bit of a downslide of late, going 0-3-2 in their last 5 games, and scoring only a single goal in 4 of those . It could even be argued that the Gophers initiated the Sioux’s downturn in week 4, as the 2-1 Gophers defeated the 3-0 Sioux by a count of 3-2. They’ve won only twice since then, going 2-5-3 since making it through the month of November without a loss or tie.

The Wolverines play the Badgers this Sunday, and although the Badgers certainly have the capability of defeating the boys in blue, recent history suggests that the Wolverines will most likely earn at least one point this weekend, and probably two. If they do defeat the Badgers, the Gophers will need to come away with a win against the Sioux to maintain 1st place in the conference standings.