Two Score Two as Balanced Gophers Attack Sinks Sioux

Pregame chatter in the Gophers' locker room Sunday circled around the key injuries to Garrett and Zach, who earlier in the week had suffered a concussion and broken toe, respectively. So it almost seemed more like a gesture of toughness, than anything when Zach walked through the door into the locker room... Except for the fact that he was fully dressed and ready to play. The boost the Gophers must have felt from seeing their Assistant Captain (and scorer of 5 goals in the last 2 games, including each game's GWG) stroll in with his familiar beaming smile, and seemingly oblivious to any pain whatsoever, must have been tremendous.

The first period jumped off with the Gophers' typical fast start, as Kannon fired one into the net from the slot after only 3 and a half minutes of play to give his squad the early 1-0 lead. The lead was short-lived however, as the Sioux answered just a minute and a half later as their #4 put in a rebound off a shot from #10 to knot it at 1.

The tie was broken 3 minutes later, as Payton skated the puck towards the Sioux goal and put a shot on net that bounced right out to Blake who easily netted the puck to put the maroon and gold up again, 2-1.

But the first period would end in a tie as the guys in green scored with under 3 to go, on a goal by their #10, this time assisted by #4. That same combination would get together for another marker late in the 3rd, and accounted for 10 of the Sioux's 25 shots on goal for the game, for 3 of their 4 goals and all 4 of their assists.

The second period was more of a defensive battle, with the Gophers leading in shots by only 5-4. The only scoring of the frame came on the first shift of the period. The Gophers' second line took the ice for the opening draw which was won by Sunny and picked up by Joe who fired a shot from inside the right face-off circle that went off a pad, got collected by Sunny and promptly got put right back at the goal and into the back of the net. This pattern of winning face-offs was repeated all game, as Gophers' centers Kannon and Sunny dominated the draws. Kannon won an outstanding 11/18 overall, and was 7/7 in the 3rd period. Sunny took an amazing 17/19 face-offs for the game, led all skaters with 8 shots on goal, and scored twice.

The third period began with the Gophers up 3-2, and in one of their most intense contests of the season. Jake and Joe got together again in the opening of the third much the same way as they did in the 2nd, and with that the Gophers held a 2 goal lead until Blake took the puck in unassisted and put home the eventual game winner with just over 8:00 to play to give them a 5-2 lead that seemed to put the game out of reach.

But the Sioux weren't about to give up without a fight, and with 3:00 to go, the Sioux's #4 once again put in a pass from #10 to close within 5-3. And then it got really interesting, when on their very next shift on the ice, the same line scored, with #22 taking the feed from #10 this time and the game was all of a sudden 5-4 and the Sioux were revitalized and surging.

But time was running down under 2 minutes, and they pulled their goalie for the man advantage.
The strategy nearly allowed them to earn the equalizer, as they logged 6 shots on goal in the final minute and a half. Jake was up to the task between the pipes however, even making several diving saves and having to lunge out of the crease to cover a few loose pucks. But Jake stonewalled the Sioux's efforts at stealing a tie, and the Gophers were able to clear the puck from their zone and Joe went with it, carrying it all the way down the ice ahead of the Sioux defender and deposited it neatly into the net with :20.4 remaining to seal the 6-4 victory for the Gophers' 9th triumph of the season.

In another solid effort on defense, Jonathon played well, and during the 3rd period as the Gophers were on the attack and our #5 was patrolling the blue line, the puck was stolen and a Sioux winger started streaking down the center of the ice towards the Gophers' zone and Jonathon found himself all alone, the last line of defense. I'm not sure if Jonathon yet knows who General George Custer was, or about the Battle of Little Big Horn, but either way, he faced a daunting challenge at that moment. He held his composure, skated backwards down the center of the ice, not allowing his opponent to take the middle away and get a good scoring chance. It worked. He was able to poke the puck away and stifle the 1-1 rush without allowing a shot or a pass! Jonathon and his line mates, both offensive and defensive, each ended with a +2 rating on the game. Both Gopher offensive lines manufactured 13 shots on goal and scored 3 times, demonstrating the balance in their attack.

Also playing with distinction Sunday were Anders, Woody and Brett who didn't make it into the scorebook with goals or assists this week, but whose hustle, determination and teamwork were decisive in achieving the outcome. Payton skated hard again this week, earning an assist on the first of Blake's 2 goals, and putting 4 shots on goal. Kannon scored the first marker of the game, had 5 shots on goal and played the center iceman's position nearly flawlessly as he repeatedly led the backcheck effort on defense, and never let a play by an opposing skater go unchallenged. Joe assisted Sunny on both the Gophers' 3rd and 4th goals of the game, and had the empty net deal-sealer at the end.

So the top 3 teams in the conference each added a W to their record this week leaving the standings the same as they were when the weekend began, with the Gophers leading the conference points list, and the Wolverines up a point on the Pioneers and Gophers in the overall standings.

It won't get any easier next week, when the Gophers take on the Pioneers who share their overall record, but have one more conference loss than their rodent rivals, at 6-3-2 compared with the Gophers' mark of 7-2-2.

The Pioneers defeated Farmington White on Sunday 3-2 with their own #25, Jake, leading the way with 2 goals and an assist.

Thanks to Doug Thooft for game photographs!!