Gophers Finish Strong, Look Forward to Tournament!

After seeing the Badgers play several times this season, it's difficult to imagine it's the same team out there on the ice with only 2 conference points.


"They played hard." Payton commented about the Gophers' final regular season opponents.

Nevertheless, the outcome was the same as the Gophers finished their regular season on a high note, defeating the Badgers 5-3 Sunday morning on Hastings Civic Arena's West Rink. They clinched the 2nd seed in next weekend's tournament with the victory.

Showing the same unselfish teamwork, accurate passing, tenacious defense, and timely and effective goaltending that kept them near the top of the standings all season, the Gophers outshot the Badgers 38-19, and only some fancy flashes of the leather, waffleboard deflections and stick and pad saves by the Badgers' goaltender kept the score as close as it was.

Below, Joe demonstrates the never-quit-on-a-play mentality the Gophers' coaching staff has tirelessly instilled in the maroon and gold since November.

Sometimes, even with the aggressive backcheck of the Gophers, the Badgers were able to put good shots on goal and test Jake in the net. Here is an example of this, as the Badgers attack on the breakout and are able to chip the puck into the zone.

Jake used every part of his body to keep the Gophers in the game Sunday. Here, Jake shows he's got his head into the game:

Sunny got in the scorebook again this week on this pretty deke and shot: (We're not sure how pretty the dance is...)

The game was aggressive and defensive on Sunday. Here Blake, Zach, Payton, Brett and Woody battle the Badgers for possession of the puck.

Passing in the offensive zone was good again Sunday as shown by this pass through traffic by Kannon to Anders who almost scored on the one-timer! Anders and Kannon were among the penalty earners today. Congrats to Anders on his first 1:30 of PIM this season! Way to go! :)

Final Score: Gophers 5, Badgers 3