Final: Minnesota weathered a MSU storm as the Mavericks scored two quick goals. To gain the momentum back, Marvin put her tenth goal of the season to make the game 6-3. After the second: The Gophers looked like they let down a bit when Minnesota State tied the game at one but they picked it up and and scored four goals in a matter of five minutes. The line change I keep talking about (Marvin with the Lamoureux sisters) is proving to be worth the time. They have a hand in all five goals so far. It make me wonder, though, if that is the Gophers only scoring threat. If the other lines cannot produce, that may be a problem down the road with opponents only having to shut down one line instead of four. After the first period: Something has sparked the Gophers- they look much sharper than last night. Last night, the Gophers had seven shots in the first but today they already have 13. Most of the period was spent in the Maverick’s end. Moving the Lamoureux twins up with Marvin seems to have worked. Monique Lamoureux scored the Gophers only goal. Marvin has played center and won all four of the face-offs she has been in. As far as penalties, the Gophers only took one in the first and were on the power play twice. The power play is looking decent. A couple breakdowns forced two face-offs in the Gopher’s defensive end.

Pre-game:

Coach Brad Frost usually is very coposed after the games, talking calmly in interviews but last night he wasn’t. He expressed his disappointment in his team’s slow and sloppy start in their 2-1 win. The fourth line saw more ice time than the top lines last night. Today’s line-up reflects that and it is the first time this season that significant changes have been made. The defense have stayed the same but the forwards have been jumbled. Here are the lines:

Marvin-J.Lamoureux-M.Lamoureux

West-Erickson-Blankenship

Rasmussen-Schoullis-Francis

May-Horton-Zebro

Seeler-Gagnon

Drazan-Maunu

Schleper-Willey

The greatest change I see is moving Marvin to a wing, instead of her normal center position. Pairing her wtih the Lamoureux twins may prove successful since those three are the top three in points and goals this season.