Gopher athletic director Joel Maturi said he and hockey coach Don Lucia have spoken about some day adding seats to Mariucci Arena (present capacity 10,000). There are no plans now but if there ever was an expansion it would likely involve dropping the floor and making the rink smaller.
The first basketball games ever played in the hockey arena will be held there on March 26 and 27. Several boys’ state high school tournament games will be played at Mariucci because the usual site, Williams Arena, will be occupied with a robotics (yes, robots) competition.
The Gopher hockey team, seeded seventh, will open the WCHA playoffs on the road for the first time since the 1999-2000 season when they play a three game series starting on Friday night at Minnesota State Mankato. The Gophers’ total of 15 wins (15-14-9) is the program’s lowest since 1972-73 when Minnesota was 15-16-3.
The Minnesota Minutemen announced yesterday that Aaron Ness from Roseau High School is the recipient of the 24th annual Mr. Hockey Award, given to the outstanding senior boys player in the state. Joe Phillippi of Hill-Murray School received The Frank Brimsek Award, in recognition of Minnesota’s top senior goaltender. Ken Essay (Mankato West) and Curt Giles (Edina) received The John Mariucci Award, given to the Class A and Class AA high school coaches of the year.
The Mr. Hockey Award winner is selected by a panel of judges, including NHL scouts, Division I coaches and selected media from around the state. Other finalists for this year’s award: Tyler Barnes (Burnsville High School), J. T. Brown (Rosemount High School), Cory Fienhage (Eastview High School), Jake Gardiner (Minnetonka High School), Joe Gleason (Edina High School), Justin Jokinen (Cloquet High School), Zack Lehrke (Park Rapids High School), Drew Olson (Brainerd High School) and Jake Youso (International Falls High School).
On Friday, 19,559 fans attended the boys’ hockey tournament Class AA semifinals at Xcel Energy Center, setting a new record for the largest crowd to ever attend a hockey game in the state. The record breaks the total of 19,463 set on March 17 for the 2007 Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five championship game. Also, a new all-time tournament attendance record was set with 129,721 fans attending Class A and AA sessions at Xcel Energy Center and Mariucci Arena. The previous all-tournament attendance record was in 2006 when 125,201 attended the tournament.
The Wild recalled center Steve Kelly, 31, on Saturday from Houston. He had scored 28 points there, ranking third on the team in scoring. He led the Aeros in game winning goals with six. He’s played previously in the NHL with Edmonton, Tampa Bay, New Jersey and Los Angeles.
The Big Ten Conference will have minimal representation in the McDonald’s All American Basketball Games showcasing the nation’s best prep boys and girls. Twenty-four boys and twenty-four girls have been selected for the games to be played on March 26 in Milwaukee, according to a press release from PRNewswire. Two boys, guard William Buford from Toledo and center B.J. Mullens, and one girl, guard Samantha Prahalis, will play in the Big Ten, all of them attending Ohio State.