In a game which simultaneously meant nothing and everything, Minnesota scored twice in the second period, then held on to beat St. Cloud 3-1 Saturday evening before a record crowd of 10,248 at Mariucci Arena.
The game, the last of the regular season for both squads, had no impact on the WCHA standings or playoff pairings, which were fixed by Friday’s results.
But the Gophers’ win kept them moving in the opposite direction from their bitter rivals, and at least partially erased the memory of last season’s Final Five loss to the Huskies, which effectively gave St. Cloud a bye in the NCAAs. Minnesota then lost to Maine in the first round of the tournament.
Going into the playoffs, Minnesota is now 7-1 in its last eight games, while St. Cloud has lost three of its last four. Senior netminder Adam Hauser got the win for the Gophers, extending his personal win streak to seven.
“I thought Adam looked sharp,” said Minnesota coach Don Lucia. “He’s had a very good year … We knew Adam was going to play this time of year, so we’ve just been keeping him fresh, keeping him rested.”
SCSU totaled 26 shots on goal to Minnesota’s 23, but the Huskies’ only goal came while skating five-on-three as Minnesota largely shut down the nation’s top power play, along with taking away whatever spark St. Cloud might have had.
“The buck stops here,” a downcast SCSU coach Craig Dahl said of his team’s flat performance. “Whatever it is, I’ll fix it.”
“You know, we didn’t have our jump either,” said John Pohl, who scored the Gophers’ third goal. “I know I was tired out there — I’m sure their guys were, too.
“I don’t think we’re playing our best hockey, but we’re winning.”
With both teams concentrating as much on hitting as shooting, scoring chances were few early. One exception was a beautiful move by Troy Riddle, who faked Nate DiCasmirro out of his shorts to get one-on-one with Moreland (20 saves). Moreland, though, was equal to the task, sprawling wide and putting a glove on the ice to stop the puck short.
“Jake played great, [Ryan] Malone played great,” said Dahl. “After that, it’s hard to find somebody.”
A pair of misconnected passes in the defensive zone nearly cost Minnesota, giving St. Cloud its first power play after Matt Hendricks intercepted Nick Anthony’s ill-advised feed in front of Hauser (25 saves), forcing Matt DeMarchi to haul down his man.
Minnesota killed that penalty without a Husky shot on goal, though, sending the teams to the locker rooms scoreless. Gopher center Matt Koalska changed that, going end-to-end and splitting two defenders before roofing the puck at 2:02 of the second period.
A Gopher power play ensued when SCSU defenseman Matt Gens got caught holding after losing his stick. An ordinary-looking point shot by Paul Martin turned into a 2-0 Minnesota advantage when a screened Moreland never got his glove up as the puck sailed into the net.
St. Cloud survived two more close calls, the first a hard-angle wrister from Gopher freshman Jake Fleming that hit the far post and sat in the crease until Moreland covered it. The second was another sterling glove save, as Moreland robbed Jeff Taffe on a wide-open wrister, point-blank.
The Husky power play continued to struggle, registering a single shot on goal despite two more attempts. Overall, shots in the period favored Minnesota 11-4.
The third period opened much as the second had, with a Gopher goal. Keeping a Husky clearing attempt in the zone, Pohl cut to the slot and fired a backhander into the upper right corner to make it 3-0 just 33 seconds in.
St. Cloud got one back on a five-on-three at 2:25, after Grant Potulny and Keith Ballard went off seconds apart — Ballard on an obstruction call that riled the liveliest crowd of the season at Mariucci. Jon Cullen, parked alongside the net to Hauser’s right, fed Malone through the crease for an easy putaway.
The Huskies kept up the pressure, but another borderline call, this one a hold against Husky Jeff Finger, put Minnesota on the power play once more, forcing Moreland to make another good stop on Taffe.
Back five-on-five, SCSU kept coming, but without tangible results. Moreland vacated the Husky net at 19:00, but SCSU could not score as the Gophers closed out the sweep.
Second-seeded St. Cloud will entertain Minnesota-Duluth in the first round of the WCHA playoffs next Friday, looking to recapture its form of a month ago.
“I’m more concerned with what kind of character we’re going to show,” said Dahl. Asked how he could help his squad regain that form, he smiled and said, “Trade secret.”
Minnesota, meanwhile, hosts dangerous North Dakota, which seems little reward for the Gophers’ third-place finish. But Lucia suggested that the identity of the opponent wasn’t the most important thing.
“You know, in my nine years in the league, I’ve never had an easy first round,” he said.
