Some say leaders are born and not made.
Yet there are countless schools, academies and training facilities around the world designed to train young men and women to be just that. So perhaps the qualities that leaders share, and the habits and tendencies by which their leadership qualities manifest themselves, CAN be engrained into an individual through coordinated mental and physical repetition.
Regardless of where it comes from, the underlying quality that leaders invariably exhibit is a "Follow me! We can do it together!" mentality.
The Gophers' voices were heard and their leaders chosen from the ranks of their peers to proliferate this ideology amongst their comrades, and to lead them in the locker rooms and on the ice, and to be the calm and inspirational voices of confidence in the face of all challenges.
And so Kannon donned the Captain's "C" on Sunday with Sunny and Zach each snapping the Assistant Captains' "A" to their jerseys and they set out to lead their team to victory against a formidable foe.
And they led.
And as history tends to repeat itself, they began their leadership in less than ideal circumstances.
Starting goaltender Jake Dale, who had suffered from illness for the better part of a week was unable to go at game time, and Sunday's starting left winger, Brett, had suffered similarly earlier in the week but had an extra day or two to recover and bravely made the start.
Sunny practiced well as goalie during this week's practice during Jake's absence, and stepped up to fill the skates of arguably this conference's most effective net minder thus far. His first (and most likely only) start of the season between the pipes came against the visiting 14-1-4 Hudson White Raiders.
All of these factors during this sequence of events might have seemed, to the casual observer, to be a harbinger of an impending defeat, and as the sun set and darkness fell upon Hastings for this 6pm game, a positive result still hung in the balance.
But leaders lead.
And confidence and success are just as contagious as the illnesses that have swept through the river valley this winter season. Whether inspired by their newly elected captains, the courage of Sunny to stand in goal, or Brett to lace up his skates, or from each individual player's drive to succeed and help carry his team to victory, the Gophers skated as hard as they have all season. Missing a point machine and defensive stopper like Sunny out on either the offensive or defensive line also meant others would have to step up as well.
And step up they did.
Offensive pressure through teamwork and slick passing culminated in 4 first period goals for the Gophers. Brett showed no visible signs of weakness or fatigue, logging two shots on goal in the first period and scoring from up front. Joe scored on a pretty shot from the slot, and Kannon managed 3 shots on goal and an assist in the first period from his defensive position.
Zach followed a 2 goal performance last week with a hat trick Sunday, putting 4 shots on goal in the first period, with two of them finding their way onto the scoreboard. His third goal of the game, which also ended up being the Game Winning Goal, was an astounding effort, and the shot actually originated behind the goal line and looked, from its angle of entry into the net, as if it may have deflected off the back of the goalie or his skate.
And after giving up a goal to the Raiders, the Gophers led 4-1 as the clock ticked down towards the first intermission. But the Raiders won a draw in their offensive zone and Raiders' #7 wristed one through traffic into the net as the buzzer sounded to pull to within 2 and give his team a boost heading into the 2nd period.
The aggressiveness and physicality of the game heated up as soon as the middle frame began. Blake and Garrett found their way to the penalty box in the period for minor penalties as battles for the pucks intensified, both along the boards and in front of the nets.
During the 2nd period, all of the Gophers players hustled hard and the defensemen were busy and tested as the Raiders played well as a team and pushed the puck down the ice with skill. Payton and Kannon worked together as a defensive tandem and their unending hustle and teamwork were decisive in this game. Garrett and Joe complemented each other perfectly on the blue line Sunday also and their efforts likely had Raiders wingers muttering questionable terms of endearment for their maroon and gold opponents.
To highlight one of the many plays that exemplified the type of effort the Gophers brought to the ice on Sunday, I'll use a play team Captain Kannon was involved in during the 2nd period...
The Gophers were hotly contesting a Raiders offensive possession, and as the puck was finally cleared down the ice, a lone Raiders defenseman skated towards his defensive zone to collect the puck since it was on goal and icing would not be called. Before he could get his stick on the puck, Kannon (remember he was playing defense near his own net when the puck was cleared) suddenly passed the defender at full speed and nearly put the puck past the shocked Raider and into the net. The Raiders player did manage to pull Kannon off the puck and down onto the ice before the shot made it on goal. However, watching your teammate put that much effort into chasing down a loose puck on the opposite end of the ice should be enough to get even Brad Childress to jump out of his recliner, shout, and pump his fist with excitement!
So the teams each put a marker on the board during the 2nd, and as the final period began, the Gophers were up two, 5-3, but knew that without bringing the same passion to the ice in the 3rd as they had in the first 2, the victory was anything but secured.
The 3rd period was as physical as two moms in a department store tug-of-war over a discontinued sale item, with 2 Raiders players getting sent to the box on penalties. Fortunately for the Raiders, they were able to kill off the time and hold off the Gophers' rushes.
Also aiding the Gophers in their efforts was the outstanding play of Sunny in the net. With only 2 practices under his belt in the goal, he stopped 15 of 19 shots including 2 or 3 breakaways in which he held his ground, didn't commit to the puck too early, and completely stonewalled the Raider wingers' attempts at taking over the game.
Another factor in the Gophers' success Sunday was their ability to win face-offs. Centers Anders and Zach dominated the dots, winning 10 of 18 and 12 of 18 draws, respectively. This gave them a distinct advantage, as it meant more than 6 out of every 10 drops of the puck ended with a Gopher having it on his stick.
Hudson standout winger, #9, wristed one through the defense and past Sunny midway through the 3rd to close to within 5-4, and their determination brought them a 3rd period shot advantage of 6-5, their only period to lead that category as a team, having been outshot 13-6 in the first, and 8-7 in the second by the Gophers.
But they would get no closer, as the Gophers shut them down the rest of the way, even fighting off the last 90 seconds in which they faced the inevitable 6 on 5 skater disadvantage following the Raiders' goalie racing off the ice.
I'm reminded of a quote...
"The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already."
— John Buchan
It seems apparent that coach John Dale and his assistant coaches have a knack for putting their players in positions and situations in which they will be successful, and in doing so they are eliciting the greatness of these boys both as hockey players and as young men.
So as you raise your proverbial sticks towards the arena ceiling in tribute to the Golden Gopher all-stars of our hearts, give an extra raise to the rafters and a “hoo-rah!” to the coaching staff who tirelessly lead them!
Sunny patrols the blue line.
The Gophers led by 2 with less than a half minute remaining.
The Gophers led by 2 with less than a half minute remaining.
But time was running down under 2 minutes, and they pulled their goalie for the man advantage.
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.
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.
