Sizing Up The Gophers

We use our Tuesday video links post to take a closer look at the Eagles first round NCAA opponent, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers:

Opponent: University of Minnesota
Colors: Maroon and gold (sounds familiar)
Nickname: The Golden Gophers
Animal Class: Looks cute and cuddly, actually a type of rodent
Newsworthy Gophers: Gophers 1, Man 0
Mascot: Goldy, which controversially might actually be a chipmunk

Record: 19-16-9
Conference: Western Collegiate Hockey Association
PairWise (Hockey’s version of RPI) Ranking: #11
National Ranking: #10
Road to NCAAs: Finished #7 in WCHA regular season, defeated St. Cloud State and Colorado College in the WCHA Final Five, lost to Denver in the WCHA Final
Odd fact: Every player on this year's roster hails from the state of Minnesota

National Championships: 5 - 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002, 2003
Hobey Baker winners: 4

This Year vs. the Eagles

Minnesota was actually in both holiday tournaments the Eagles were in this year, however we didn’t get to face the Gophers. In the IceBreaker Invitational, the Eagles fell to Michigan 4-3 OT, denying an opportunity to play Minnesota in the final. In the Dodge Holiday Classic, BC held up their end of the bargain in an 8-2 opening game win over Air Force, while Minnesota fell to RIT 4-3.

BC tied the only WCHA team they faced this year (North Dakota), and Hockey East as a conference went a mere 4-6-2 (.417) against WCHA teams this year.

History vs. the Eagles

The Gophers lead the all-time series 14-10-2. The first meeting was a 14-1 Eagle beat-down on March 11, 1954. The last game between the two was in 2002 where Minnesota beat BC 2-1 in the Mariucci Classic final in Minneapolis. The teams have faced each other 8 times in the National tournament. Series is tied at 4-4. The Gophers also won back-to-back National Championships (2002, 2003) in the years immediately after the Eagles ended their 52-year title drought.

Advantage Gophers?

Our band may be able to perform on the ice, but Minnesota cheerleaders actually cheer while ice skating. Now that's coordination.