For the second season in a row, the lords of hockey did not smile upon Doug Woog's team. At about this time a year ago, the consensus opinion was that the Gophers' first bad season in memory was a fluke....

The Gophers men's hockey team was feeling confident heading into the WCHA Final Five at Target Center. Minnesota had the home ice advantage, was fresh off two commanding shutouts of upstart Alaska-Anchorage...

The Gophers men's hockey team is suddenly very, very dangerous. Minnesota won its first round WCHA playoff series against Alaska-Anchorage with a pair of commanding shutout victories, 4-0 and 1-0. The...

Minnesota men's hockey coach Doug Woog was a little wary of having to play St. Cloud State in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. But the Gophers dodged that bullet by drawing Alaska-Anchorage, which...

It's one of the immutable laws of playoff hockey: If the goalie is hot, the team has a good chance of going deep into the playoffs. If that time-tested rule holds true, watch out for Minnesota. Freshman...

The Gophers men's hockey team will face a series of extremes in the first round of the WCHA playoffs this weekend against Alaska-Anchorage. The Gophers' (12-17-9 overall, 10-12-6 in the WCHA) newfound...

With the first round of the WCHA playoffs a mere one day away, league coaches were in a very aggressive mood during the WCHA teleconference on Tuesday. Each coach is still trying to develop the perfect...

The Gophers men's hockey team has been fighting the biggest, meanest opponent of all -- themselves -- throughout the season, with only limited success. Minnesota's physical and mental breakdowns have haunted...

In its last six games, the Gophers men's hockey team has scored more goals and brought the puck into the offensive zone with more efficiency than in any other stretch of the season. A major reason for...

The bad news for the Gophers men's hockey team this weekend was that it could not beat Wisconsin at home for the first time since 1993. The good news is that the games really didn't mean anything anyway. Minnesota...

The numbers don't lie in this series. The Gophers men's hockey team has owned Wisconsin at home. The Badgers have not defeated the Gophers in Minnesota since 1992-1993 season, and have never won in the...

With the top five home-ice positions for the first round of the WCHA playoffs solidified, all the remaining four teams can do is look back in regret. The teams' fate was set when Colorado College pulled...

In an announcement that should come as a shock to no one, Gophers senior Reggie Berg was named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week. Berg's output throughout the season could be best described as enigmatic....

DULUTH, MINN. -- Of the 14 goals scored this weekend by the Gophers men's hockey team, 11 were netted by seniors. Not bad for a crew that's struggled for most of the season. "I think (the seniors are peaking),"...

DULUTH, Minn. -- Something that looked like a distant, unattainable goal just a few weeks ago came to fruition Saturday night -- the Gophers men's hockey team will host a series in the first round of the...

When Minnesota's men's hockey team takes on Minnesota-Duluth this weekend in the final homestand of the year for the Bulldogs, it will be the first homecoming for freshman Nick Angell. It will also be...

Well, it happened again. For the eighth time this year, Minnesota's men's hockey team has made a player of the week out of a member of the opposing team. This week's winner: St. Cloud State goaltender...

The Gophers men's hockey team might want to hire a witch doctor to exorcise the evil spirits lurking in the locker room, because there might very well be some voodoo messing with Minnesota. It started...

The Gophers men's hockey team should have known it was going to be a frustrating weekend when the misfortune started before the puck even dropped. During player introductions in a darkened National Hockey...

This weekend's series with St. Cloud State was indicative of the Gophers men's hockey team's problems all season. Good effort, no offense. Minnesota outshot the Huskies 87-to-52 and had five more power...

Fans of high-scoring hockey need not attend. One of the more defensive women's hockey teams in the country came in for a weekend series at Mariucci Arena, as No. 2 Gophers (25-2-2) hosted No. 6 Providence...

The recruiting practices of Gophers coach Doug Woog have been questioned ever since he took the helm of the men's hockey program during the 1985-86 season. Following legendary coach John Mariucci's lead,...

As the Gophers men's hockey team prepares to take on St. Cloud State in a home-and-home series, with the first game in St. Cloud tonight, it seems as if the Gophers have been fighting two opponents: the...

The Gophers men's hockey team has had excessive troubles on the blue line. The deterioration of senior Bill Kohn's play has been a primary factor. Kohn currently leads the team with 25 penalties and is...

The leaders on a hockey team -- or any team for that matter -- are usually the players who have been around the longest. In the case of the Gophers men's hockey team, seniors Wyatt Smith, Reggie Berg,...

The Gophers men's hockey team might have made a serious statement heading into the final leg of the play-off drive by beating Alaska-Anchorage on Sunday, after beating the Seawolves 5-1 on Saturday. But...

The Gophers men's hockey team is beginning to feel the heat of the playoff push. The team had an impromptu hour-and-a-half players-only meeting before practice on Thursday. When asked about what topics...

When the Gophers men's hockey team faces Alaska-Anchorage Saturday and Sunday at Mariucci Arena, they will also take on someone who is widely considered one of the toughest and hottest goaltenders in the...

It's been an issue that has dogged junior Dave Spehar since he decided to join the Gophers men's hockey team -- Why not Minnesota-Duluth? There has also been some controversy between the Duluth, Minn.,...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Following the Gophers men's hockey team's ugly 5-1 loss to No. 5 Colorado College on Friday, coach Doug Woog said he was confident that his team would turn it around and win...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The Gophers men's hockey team suffered one of its toughest setbacks of the year in a 3-1 loss to No. 5 Colorado College on Saturday. It wasn't that the Gophers were particularly...

With the Minnesota men's hockey team seemingly on an upswing, looking back on previous losses could have a negative impact. So the Gophers are trying at all costs to avoid talking about the humiliating...

It's been an interesting ride for both Minnesota-Duluth and Alaska-Anchorage as they head into this weekend's series at Anchorage. The Bulldogs have been a disappointment for most of the season. But if...

Seldom-used fourth-liner Matt Leimbek was honored Monday by the WCHA as its offensive player of the week. The freshman from Rochester, Minn., has not been a regular staple in the Gophers lineup, but will...

If the Gophers men's hockey team looked a little uncomfortable doing the stick salute at center ice after their sweep of Michigan Tech, forgive them. It's been awhile. Minnesota (9-13-6, 7-8-3 WCHA) celebrated...

Minnesota's Matt Leimbek has been wallowing in the muck of the practice squad for the majority of the year. After this weekend, expect to see him in the lineup every weekend. Leimbek was instrumental in...

Although the Gophers men's hockey team won't admit it, it must be nice to finally face a team that isn't in the top 10 in the country. But that doesn't mean this upcoming series against Michigan Tech will...

The underlying theme of this year's race for a WCHA home playoff series is parity. Only 16 points separate the second- and ninth-place teams in the conference, and 11 points is the difference between third...

Following No. 1 North Dakota's Saturday 6-5 victory over Minnesota, senior captain Wyatt Smith was found sitting on a bench in the hallway outside of the Gophers' locker room. But instead of sulking or...

The Gophers men's hockey team's winless streak has reached an all-time high -- or is that low? -- of 10 games, after No. 1 North Dakota's sweep of Minnesota, 5-4 and 6-5. But, surprisingly, the Gophers...

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- In hockey, the home ice advantage is something a team can rely on and feed off of during a close-knit contest. And this energy doesn't come from the familiarity of the ice surface...

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for the Gophers men's hockey team, it gets to travel to Grand Forks, N.D., to take on the No. 1 team in the country, fresh off a dominating sweep of...

It isn't exactly two major powerhouses going at it, but the emotion will be there. St. Cloud State (10-11-1, 6-10-0 WCHA) will travel to Duluth to take on last place Minnesota-Duluth (6-12-2, 3-11-2 WCHA)...

Throughout his one and a half years with the Gophers men's hockey team, Stuart Senden has been one of its most consistent performers. And for a Minnesota team that has wallowed in inconsistent efforts...

The Gophers men's hockey team came into its weekend series against Minnesota State believing a sweep could get the squad back in a winning frame of mind. After this series, Minnesota might be tired of...

Success on the power play has been streaky at best for the Gophers men's hockey team this season. That trend continued in the Gophers' pair of ties against Minnesota State. On Friday night, the man-advantage...

The Gophers men's hockey team's (7-11-4 overall, 5-6-3 in the WCHA) upcoming series with Minnesota State (9-9-2) won't count toward any particular standings or ratings. But for the emotional state of the...

The main event of the WCHA season will take place in the Colorado Springs World Arena when No. 1 North Dakota takes on No. 7 Colorado College. The rosters for this game read like a college hockey all-star...

DENVER -- The Gophers men's hockey team has been very vocal about raising the level of their game, and more specifically, their intensity and goal-scoring. Minnesota fans better hope there's a plan B. The...

COLORADO SPRINGS -- For most of the season, sophomore winger Stuart Senden wallows in obscurity. He's just another third- or fourth-liner, doing his best to give quality minutes to the team. But something...