Tubby Smith and his staff are hosting Golden Gopher Alumni Basketball Day on Saturday, February 9. Activities consist of a breakfast, watching practice, socializing and attending the Iowa game in the afternoon. Basketball alums needing more information should call the basketball office, 612-625-3085.
The Wolves’ Ryan Gomes had 25 points and 10 rebounds in the team’s 83-67 win over the Bulls Wednesday night, Minnesota’s third straight win at home. Gomes came into the evening averaging 14.8 points and 8.6 rebounds in his previous 20 games, all starts. That’s a nice streak for the third year forward who entered this season with a career scoring average of 10 points and 5.26 rebounds.
Asked about his improvement, Gomes said on Sunday: “Just going into the game being aggressive from the start. Not trying to wait around and see how the game is going. I think when I first came here (traded from Boston last summer) that’s what I was doing, trying to pick and choose when I had the opportunity instead of being aggressive on the catch every time. And that’s opened up many opportunities for me to get in the lane, (and for) me to get other guys open shots. …”
Wolves’ personnel needs include adding a big center so that undersized Al Jefferson can vacate that position and play power forward. Coach Randy Wittman said earlier this week a “bruiser” could complement Jefferson, reducing his rebounding load and not force him to guard bigger players. If foes keep using centers on Jefferson hoping to negate his low post scoring with height, then Wittman foresees mismatches for a big Wolves’ center guarded by a power forward.
Among the NBA’s 32 teams, through games as of Wednesday night, the Wolves ranked 23rd in attendance averaging 14,474 fans. The Minnesota Wild ranked ninth in the 30 team NHL, averaging 18,568 and playing to 102 percent of capacity.
Minnesota is an NHL best 21-0-0 when leading after two periods. The Wild and Vancouver (20-0-0) are the only teams without a loss when taking a lead into the third period.
After nine games without a goal, left wing Brian Rolston has scored in each of the past four games, his longest streak of the season. The Wild is 13-3-2 when he scores a goal this season.. He is three assists away from becoming the fifth player in team history to reach 100.
Right wing Pavol Demitra had two assists Wednesday, giving him 400 for his NHL career. He ranks ninth all-time amongst Slovakian-born players. Demitra has 676 points in 720 career games. His point total is also ninth-best for players born in Slovakia.
The Gopher hockey team, fifth in the WCHA standings, hosts second place North Dakota tonight and tomorrow night. North Dakota has won seven straight and is tied with Miami for the nation’s longest winning streak. North Dakota has held five of its last six opponents to one goal and ranks third nationally in scoring defense at 2.00 goals per game. North Dakota is eighth nationally in offense at 3.28 goals per game. Goaltender Jean Philippe-Lamoureaux leads the defense, ranking sixth with a 1.80 goals against average and .932 save percentage. Defending Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Duncan leads the offense with 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points, while linemate T.J. Oshie has a team-high 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points.
Minnesota’s Alex Kangas ranks third among all Division I freshmen goaltenders with a 2.28 goals against average and a .918 save percentage. He has not allowed more than three goals in any game this season and six of his 14 games have gone to overtime. Kangas has a .900 or better save percentage in 10 of his 13 starts.
The Gustavus Adolphus women’s hockey team is 10-0 in the MIAC, 15-1 overall and ranked fourth in the nation in the USCHO.com Division III poll. Michaela Michaelson of St. Catherine is the conference’s player of the week after scoring five goals in games last Friday and Saturday.
Three Gopher recruits who have signed National Letters of Intent have been named candidates for the Let’s Play Hockey Ms. Hockey award. Sarah Erickson (Bemidji High School), Anne Schleper (St. Cloud Icebreakers) and Kelly Seeler (Eden Prairie High School) are in the top 10 for the award, announced yesterday by the hockey publication.