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Welcome to
Minnesota Men's Club Hockey! This past weekend Minnesota traveled to Chicago to play an important weekend series against #4 ranked Depaul. Minnesota took away a very important split on the weekend. With the split, Minnesota hopes to hover around the 10-spot in the ACHA central division. Minnesota travels next to Marquette, Michigan to take on season ranking contender Northern Michigan.
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2008 WCCHA Conference Champions |
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Depaul Series Recap 1/21/2009 As visions of the 10-spot in the Central division dance in their heads, Minnesota traveled to Chicago this past weekend to take on the statistically dominant DePaul Blue Demons. Regardless of their success this season, DePaul did not prove to be a number four ranked team as Minnesota turned the tide of dominance against the Blue Demons. Minnesota surprisingly had their legs right at the drop of the puck. A quick early goal in the first period by Nick Ternes put Minnesota in the driver’s seat for the rest of the game. Minnesota goalie Brandon Isakson showed much more composure than DePaul’s starter, as Isakson come up big when needed and remained in the game until the final buzzer. Ternes eventually tallied two more goals for the trick as Minnesota never fell behind in the 6-4 final. Coming off a very important win on Friday, Minnesota needed a win on Saturday to help the ranking committee make an easy decision on the next ranking period. Again, Minnesota came out strong as they gained the early lead with a tally from Phillip "Flop" Dunn. After ending the first period with the lead, Minnesota fell behind at the end of the second period as DePaul took advantage of the power play after a couple arbitrary calls by the referee. In the end, Minnesota lost the game 3-5, but certainly walked away with their heads held high. Despite DePaul’s comfortable position as the 4th ranked team in the Central, Minnesota left Chi-town knowing that they were the better team both nights. The last ranking period will prove very important for Minnesota as they travel to Marquette, Michigan and try to protect its title as reigning WCCHA champs in St. Cloud, where they could find themselves playing ranked St. Thomas for the third time. With a sweep already on St. Thomas and a split with 4th ranked DePaul, Minnesota absolutely deserves the chance to be ranked, especially if its dominant streak continues. Lindenwood Series Recap 11/12/2008 With only 12 skaters traveling this past weekend, Minnesota was forced to play 8 forwards and 4 defense in an important matchup for the rankings. While gasping for air in between shifts, Minnesota's opponent, Lindenwood, dressed a full 4-line roster. Friday night looked to be an early blowout as Lindenwood went up 7-2 early in the second period. However, the tides changed soon after the Minnesota skaters retaines their road legs and fell into the rhythm of the fast pace game. Goaltender Jacob Shully started standing on his head as Minnesota scored three unanswered goals to bring the score to 7-5 at the end of the second period. Once the Lindenwood referee put his whistle in his pocket, the third period showed to be a respectable battle. Scoring one goal in the final minutes of the game was not enough as Minnesota fell short 6-7. The intensity of the third period in Friday night's game carried into the entire game on Saturday. However, once again, the size of Minnesota's bench proved disadvantageous at the final horn, as Minnesota could not tallie the GW to break away from the 5-5 tie that ensued. After letting in a couple goals (that he wished he could have back) in the first period, goaltender Brandon Isakson played fantastically to keep Minnesota in the game. Minnesota goes 4-6-2 on the season and looks to sweep conference opponent St. Cloud this weekend in a classic MMCH home-and-home series. Michigan Tech Series Recap 10/29/2008 Minnesota should be respectfully disappointed with a month of the season already in the 2008 history books. Unlike last year's undefeated record in the first eleven games of the season, Minnesota has already tagged five losses on the season. However, with a sweep this past weekend at home against conference opponent Michigan Tech, Minnesota hopes to turn the season around with their high scoring offense. With an early 4-0 lead in the first period, Minnesota never looked back as they cruised on to an easy victory all the way up to the third period buzzer, preceded by running time. The depth of the Minnesota forwards proved themselves worthy once again, with all three lines contributing to goals. Goaltender Jacob Shully did not have a lot of action as most of the play resided in Minnesota's offensive zone, but he certainly came up big on a few defensive breakdowns. Hinging on that, Minnesota could absolutely go undefeated the rest of the season if they suppress the defensive breakdowns and continue to play as a team. Saturday proved a similar contest as Minnesota pulled away with another victory. Although Michigan Tech came out stronger, Minnesota played discipline throughout the game, pulling away with a 4-1 victory. With a difficult road trip ahead to Lindenwood and three important conference weekends before the end of the fall semester, Minnesota can absolutely redeem themselves with a conceivable undefeated run.
St. Cloud Series Recap 9/28/2008
Just a few weeks into the 2008-2009 school year, Minnesota's season is officially underway. The team is looking forward to another successful season after making numerous additions to an already very talented team. The new players include defensemen Adam Brower, Casey Horgan, and David Holl; and forwards Grant Larson, Bho Olson, Chris Jessen, and Brandon Weinzierl.
In the first game of their series against St. Cloud Friday night Minnesota was able to pull of a 3-2 victory thanks to a game-winning goal late in the third period by senior Chris Chapman, assisted by freshman Chris Jessen.
The real excitement came Saturday night when Minnesota's starting goalie was declared inactive just minutes before face-off. With Minnesota's only other goaltender stuck in Minneapolis, unable to make the trip, the team was forced to dress their third-line center and hope for the best. The junior Matt Hochbrunn had a rough start, letting in St. Cloud's first shot of both the first and second period, but was able to pull off a win with the help of some great Minnesota defense.
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