The expectations for the 2014-2015 Gopher Men’s Hockey team are through the roof as a new season gets underway. Last season, the Gophers fell one game short of their 6th National Championship in history. This year, the Gophers return as the favorite to win it all. How can they not be after what happened last year and what didn’t happen this summer? The Gophers were a very young and inexperienced team last season, and it finally caught up with them when they met Union College in the National Championship. The experience of Union was on display as they dominated the young Gopher team 7-4 to take the title. The biggest losses for the Gophers are forward Nate Condon, and defensemen Jake Parenteau and Justin Holl. All three were seniors and played a major role in last year’s National Championship run. In fact Holl was the reason we made it to the Championship with his last second heroics against North Dakota.
However, we are returning the core group that led us to that title game. Guys like Brady Skjei, Kyle Rau, and Mike Reilly chose to put their NHL dreams on hold in hopes of raising another National Championship banner in Mariucci Arena. Other key returning players from last year include Sam Warning, Justin Kloos, Hudson Fasching, Seth Ambroz, Ben Marshall, and of course Adam Wilcox.
As a result of the Gophers’ youth, success didn’t come very easy early on. When things got tough they turned to goaltender Adam Wilcox. Only a sophomore last year, Wilcox put up some unreal stats, his Save % was .932 and his GAA was just 1.97. Those two facts alone are reason enough as to why he was in discussions for the Hobey Baker Award (the Heisman Trophy of hockey). Wilcox was the backbone of this team last year, and they are going to be looking for another stellar year from him. Another name that jumps out to me is sophomore forward Hudson Fasching. He was a contributor last year that made the defense of opposing teams miserable. Fasching is a big kid at 6′ 2″ and weighing in at 207 pounds. He needs to use his size to his advantage and be in front of the net and in the corners all season. The Gophers aren’t typically a physical team, but look for Fasching to be banging bodies all over the ice this season. He reminds me of Charlie Coyle for the Minnesota Wild. Big, fast, physical, and always seems to be involved in the action.
Home Opener
The Gophers are coming off yet another beginning of the season tournament championship two weeks ago. These don’t mean much to a team with as much history as the Gophers, but it’s still a good sign to see them get off to a good start. This weekend is the home opener at Mariucci against Bemidji State. The Gophers have dominated Bemidji for as long as I can remember with a record of 16-1-1 all-time against the Beavers. Bemidji squeaked into the WCHA Playoffs last year getting the eighth seed with a 10-21-7 record. They return their 4 top scorers from last season and are going to need them to produce even more this season.
What to Look For
Gophers:
- Senior and second year captain Kyle Rau will be playing in his final home opener as a Gopher. Expect him to be all over the ice and a pest for the Beavers’ defensemen.
- Brady Skjei will need to have a great series. He will be tasked with shutting down Bemidji’s top lines. Now in his junior year here, look for Skjei to be a leader on the blue line.
Beavers:
- Cory Ward led the team in points as a sophomore, and he needs to produce big time if the Beavers want a chance at an upset.
- Returning everyone from the blue line, look for captain Matt Prapavessis to lead this veteran group of defensemen against the young and skilled forwards from the Gophers
The Gophers plan on raising the Inaugural Big Ten championship banner on Friday night, and on Saturday night junior defenseman, Mike Reilly will be recognized for being named First Team All-American. I expect Mariucci to be buzzing as the Maroon and Gold start their journey to Boston in quest for their 6th National Championship.
Prediction
Friday: 5-3 Gophers
Saturday: 4-0 Gophers
Skyline Sports 