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In need of home wins for home-ice

Should Jay Barriball, who is day-to-day with a lower body injury, be unable to return for this weekend’s series against Denver, Minnesota will be left with a gaping hole to fill on offense.
In need of home wins for home-ice
Image by Daily File Photo

Jay Barriball reached 150 career games and 125 career points a weekend ago against Minnesota-Duluth. But a lower body injury knocked him from SaturdayâÄôs game, and as of Wednesday afternoon it was unclear whether he will take the ice for number 151 this weekend or next.

The Gophers (11-11-4 overall, 8-9-3 WCHA) are eighth in the conference and host No. 4 Denver on Friday and Saturday. Sitting one point outside of home-ice advantage, whether MinnesotaâÄôs senior captain is healthy enough to return to the lineup against the first-place Pioneers (17-6-5, 13-4-3) may impact where the Gophers are playing come March 11 in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

âÄúWeâÄôd love to come home and give our crowd a show,âÄù junior goaltender Kent Patterson said.

This even though Minnesota is 6-7-3 at home this season and 5-4-1 on the road.

âÄúItâÄôs tough when youâÄôre not winning games at home, and I really donâÄôt know the exact reason for it âÄî itâÄôs kind of baffling,âÄù Barriball, who is day-to-day, said, adding, âÄúEven though we havenâÄôt played well at home, we love playing here in front of our fans.âÄù

If Minnesota is to make a late charge up the conference standings, it will have to keep pace with Alaska-Anchorage and Colorado College; both teams have 20 WCHA points to the GophersâÄô 19, although the Seawolves have played an extra series. The Tigers play at home against 6-12-4 Minnesota State this weekend, while Alaska-Anchorage travels to No. 5 North Dakota.

Minnesota, with Denver and No. 7 Wisconsin looming, will have to earn its points against two of the NCAAâÄôs hottest teams. The Pioneers have dominated the Gophers of late, having won the last five meetings between the teams by a combined score of 18-2. MinnesotaâÄôs last win in the series was back on Nov. 21, 2008, not exactly a good sign for a team that could use not only wins, but a sweep.

Regardless of opponent, though, the Gophers have struggled to earn sweeps, particularly at home. Their most recent four-point weekend, one of only two this season, came in mid-November at Michigan Tech.

And the Pioneers donâÄôt get swept in the WCHA. ItâÄôs not surprising that Denver sits atop the conference, considering it has at least one win in every series this season. This is largely thanks to freshman forward Jason Zucker, who shares the conference points lead with Minnesota-DuluthâÄôs Jack Connolly at 26 in 20 WCHA games. HeâÄôs alone at the top with 17 goals in league games.

âÄúYou look at his goal-scoring; itâÄôs five-on-five,âÄù head coach Don Lucia said, âÄúwhich makes him even more impressive.âÄù

No doubt junior goaltender Patterson will keep a close eye on Zucker, after being burned for five goals Saturday by UMDâÄôs Mike Connolly (no relation to Jack). Zucker has 107 shots on net already this season, which should keep Patterson, who boasts a .926 save percentage in conference games, plenty busy.

The Gophers will need to occupy DenverâÄôs potential goalie-by-committee as well. Freshman Sam Brittain has started for most of the season, but chances are Adam Murray will see net time against Minnesota. The GophersâÄô fitful offense, which has scored four, two, zero, five, one and three goals, respectively, in its last six games, will need to establish some consistency if it is to make a late-season run.

âÄúReal good teams find a way to win,âÄù Barriball said. âÄúWe havenâÄôt been able to do that in some of the games weâÄôve had a chance to sweep an opponent. We havenâÄôt been able to close those games out and get those sweeps and those big points, and thatâÄôs kind of why weâÄôre sitting where we are.âÄù

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