| Michael Sonday. 25th February, 2008 - 6:52 pm
 RealGM was on hand this past weekend at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for one of collegiate hockey’s oldest rivalries "The Border Battle" between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. With both teams jockeying for playoff position, there was more at stake than bragging rights between these long time rivals.
The Gophers and Badgers have played an astounding 243 games against each other dating back to January 15, 1922. The Gophers joined the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) during the leagues' inaugural season in 1951. The WCHA is one of six major conferences in collegiate hockey. In the fall of 1969, nearly two decades after the WCHA was established, the Wisconsin Badgers entered the league, joining their neighbors to the west in the most prominent conference in the nation.
The Badgers and Gophers renewed their vows of the rivalry earlier this season at the Kohl Center in Madison with Wisconsin taking the series earning three points, thanks to a 3-1 win on Friday January 23rd and managed to steal one point in the standings with a late goal to force a 2-2 tie on January 24.
"When we were out at the Kohl Center they gave it to us pretty good the first night, but we came out and played well the next night," Gophers' goalie Alex Kangas said about the two teams previous encounter.
The Gophers entered this weekend’s two game series in ninth place in the WCHA but just seven points separate them from the fourth seeded Badgers. With just three weeks remaining on the schedule, the four points on the line were crucial for both teams.
"Wisconsin is a big rivalry, and we all know it," Kangas told RealGM. "All of theses final games are huge for us; the rivalry adds a little more to that."
The Badgers came out of the gates flat during Friday night’s series opener allowing the Gophers a 1-0 first period lead. The Gophers added two more goals and had a 3-0 lead at the midway point of the second period. The Gophers played with a sense of urgency the rest of the way and held off two comeback attempts from the Badgers to win 4-2 in front of an overflow crowd of 10,118 at Mariucci Arena.
"Coach (Don Lucia) put up an article about the (Minnesota) Wild that said, ‘Gritty not Pretty’, we could not sit there and try to tic-tac-toe the puck all the time. We have to have two or three guys crash the net for our goals; that’s what worked for us tonight," Gophers' forward Mike Carman said.
"They were the more desperate team. We did not get a good start," Wisconsin Coach Mike Eaves stated after the game. "We did not show up 'till the third period."
The Badgers and Gophers both played physical, but at times things seemed to be getting out of hand during game one of the series. After almost every whistle there was a great deal of extracurricular activities which the refs were forced to break up.
"You come into a hostile environment, and you expect to be hated," Wisconsin forward Blake Geoffrion said about playing the Gophers at Mariucci Arena.
On Saturday, the Gophers used their momentum from Friday night’s victory and once again struck first on a goal from Patrick White, a 2007 first round pick of the Vancouver Canucks.
The Badgers answered at 15:52 of the first period when Wisconsin forward fired an innocent looking shot that hit the glove of Gopher Goalie Alex Kangas and fluttered into the net.
The seesaw battle continued throughout the game with the Gophers scoring the go ahead goal three more times only to be answered by the Badgers each time. Patrick Johnson scored the equalizer for the Badgers with just 5:02 remaining in the game. The Gophers almost let the game slip away from them when Blake Wheeler, a 2005 first round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes, was called for hooking, giving the Badgers a power play with 1:41 left on the clock. The Gophers successfully killed off the penalty and held on for a tie to conclude the weekend’s "Border Battle".
"This time of year it’s about getting points, and that’s a good point. That is a point that can make a difference down the road," Coach Mike Eaves said after his Badgers came from behind four times in the game to salvage a point out of the contest and the weekend.
Side notes from the weekend:
- Minnesota leads the all-time series 149-79-17.
- Canuck fans should be excited by the play of Patrick White this weekend. The speedy center looked confident as he played his best hockey of the season. White scored two goals on five shots and was a plus 3 this weekend.
- "I can’t let him whack my goalie so I let him know he can not do that," Blake Wheeler told RealGM after Friday’s game about putting a crushing hit on future Coyote teammate Kyle Turris.
- There were five NHL first round draft picks who played in the weekend series. Minnesota Gophers: Blake Wheeler (2004, 5th overall to Phoenix), David Fischer (2006, 20th overall to Montreal), and Patrick White (2007, 25th overall to Vancouver). Wisconsin Badgers: Ryan McDonagh (2007, 12th overall to Montreal) and Kyle Turris (2007, 3rd overall to Phoenix).
- Over 1.6 million fans attended WCHA hockey games last season as the league continues to gain popularity.
- The WCHA has accounted for 36 NCAA National Championships and have had almost 700 players drafted into the NHL. |
