Follow Gopher Hockey:

Follow @GoldenGopherHky

	Former Gopher Kyle Okposo has two goals and one assist in seven IIHF World Championship games.

The 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship has reached the win-or-go-home stage. The quarterfinals are tomorrow and former Gophers Alex Goligoski and Kyle Okposo and Team USA will face defending champion Finland in Helsinki.

The Americans finished round-robin play with a 4-2-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record, which put them in second place in their group. One of their four wins was a 5-0 triumph against Finland (5-0-0-2) on May, 13.

Goligoski, who had one assist against Finland, has five points in seven tournament games. He has one goal and four assists and is +6 (tied for second best on the team) during the annual tournament. He also has taken only one minor penalty.

Okposo has two goals and one assist in seven games and has not taken any penalties for Team USA.

Two other former Gophers competed in the championship, but their teams have been eliminated from play. Evan Kaufmann skated in seven games for Germany (2-0-0-5) and had one assist, while Matt DeMarchi totaled two goals and 14 penalty minutes in seven games for Italy (0-1-0-6). DeMarchi scored two of Italy's six goals in the tournament. 

Complete IIHF World Championship information.

The last time Lindsay Whalen had played a game in the Sports Pavilion, she was a sophomore wearing a Golden Gophers jersey. It was 2002. Pluto was still a planet, the Oklahoma City Thunder was still the Seattle Supersonics, and no one yet owned an iPhone.

The Gopher women moved to Williams Arena in 2002. Whalen returned to the Sports Pavilion yesterday afternoon for an exhibition game between her Minnesota Lynx and the Chicago Sky. In the decade between her Pavilion appearances, Whalen has made a Final Four run, been traded from the Connecticut Sun to her hometown team, and won a WNBA Championship.

She had actually played an exhibition game in Williams Arena as a member of the Sun, but this was her first time back in the Pavilion, and her first time playing at the University of Minnesota as a member of the Lynx.

Although the game was in the Pavilion, the Lynx used the basketball locker room in Williams Arena. The hallway walls outside the locker room--as well walls and trophy cases within the locker room itself--bear images of Whalen and the rest of the Gophers' 2004 Final Four team. Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said that Whalen took some ribbing from teammates for this.

It was all in good fun. Reeve also said that her team wanted to perform well for Whalen at her former home arena. The team delivered. The crowd of 4,102 saw the Lynx take a 40-25 lead into halftime and win by a final score of 82-61.

Whalen played 22 of 40 minutes. She scored nine points, distributed eight assists, and added five rebounds. A few of her scoring highlights included a crossover and step-back jumper, and an and-one layup to open the second half.

She also displayed her usual hustle and toughness, flying out of bounds and through some seats. But Reeve was not worried about the possibility of injury.

"Whay is a hockey player playing basketball," she said. "She takes all kinds of hits. It doesn't ever worry me. Occasionally she gets up a little slower, but I know she's going to get up."

Whalen is one of the big reasons the Lynx won the 2011 WNBA title. Virtually the entire roster from last season remains intact in 2012. The team has a shot to become the first back-to-back league champions since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002. The Lynx will open their regular season on Sunday against the Phoenix Mercury.

For a final preseason tune-up on the road to a repeat, it's hard to imagine a better place for Whalen than the court that helped to launch her into the national spotlight. Ten years after her last college game in the Pavilion, and eight years after her Gopher finale, she still holds a special place Minnesota basketball fans' hearts.

Did you enjoy following the Gophers during the 2011-12 season? Want to relive some of your favorite memories from the journey to the NCAA Championship? Check out the 2011-12 highlight video!

We'd like to give a special thank you to Eric Bakke, the women's hockey director of operations, for putting together this video. Thanks, Bakke!

The 2012-13 season will be Minnesota's 14th time as a participant in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, but most of those games have been against just a couple different opponents. The Golden Gophers have faced Virginia four times, and this fall's matchup in Tallahassee will be their fourth Challenge duel against Florida State. Minnesota will look to snap its five-game road losing streak in the Challenge. Coincidentally, the Gophers' one road win in the Challenge came at Florida State.

With the announcement of the 2012 matchups today, GopherSports.com took a look back at the Gophers' Big Ten/ACC Challenge history against the Seminoles.

November 30, 2000
Minnesota 76, Florida State 71

	Bauer hit a key three-pointer late in the 2000 game.

In the second year of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the Gophers took to the road. Coming off a loss to Georgetown in the Hawaii Pacific Thanksgiving Classic championship, they had extra motivation to win this game. The Gophers came out firing early, shooting 51.9 percent in the first half. Minnesota led, 35-33, at half time. The hot shooting continued after the break--the Gophers hit six of seven three-pointers in the second half.

The game stayed close the whole way. The Gophers trailed by five with six minutes to go. They took a 63-62 lead on a Terrence Simmons three with under four to go. After the Seminoles tied it up again, Michael Bauer hit a three to reclaim the lead for good. Simmons led the Gophers with 19 points. The victory gave Minnesota a 2-0 record in the Challenge, and helped the Big Ten win.

November 30, 2004
Florida State 70, Minnesota 69
The Gophers led for more than 36 minutes after Vincent Grier (who led the Gophers with 23 points) hit a three for the team's first points. But Florida State cut into the lead and then ended the game on a 21-6 run. The visiting Seminoles led by four with 14 seconds to go, and then Aaron Robinson hit a three for the Gophers with six seconds left. After a missed Seminole free throw, the Gophers had one last desperation shot, but it did not fall.

November 27, 2007
Florida State 75, Minnesota 61
The visiting Gophers took a 22-18 lead in the first half before Florida State began to take control with a 12-2 run. The loss was the first of Tubby Smith's tenure at Minnesota. The Gopher freshman class provided some bright spots, with Blake Hoffarber scoring a team-high 12 points off the bench and Al Nolen making his first career start.

Follow Gopher Hockey:

Follow @GoldenGopherHky

	Todd Richards had 158 points as a Gopher in 167 games.

The Columbus Dispatch reported this morning that former Gopher standout Todd Richards will be named the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The club has since confirmed the hiring and will hold a press conference at 12 p.m. CT. Fans can watch the press conference here.

Richards has been on the Columbus staff for one year. He started last season as an assistant coach, but was then named interim head coach with 41 games remaining in the regular season.

According to the Dispatch, under Richards the Blue Jackets went 18-21-2, which included an 11-8-0 record after March 1 and wins in five of their last six games. Columbus was also 14-0 with Richards behind the bench when they had the lead after 40 minutes.

Richards played in 167 games for the Gophers from 1985-89 and served as captain during his senior season. He ranks first in Minnesota history for career points (158) and assists (128) by a defenseman. Among all Gopher players he is tied for 23rd in points (with Reggie Berg) and tied for fifth in assists (with John Pohl). His 30 career goals place him tied for eighth among Gopher blueliners (with Bill Baker). Richards' 43 helpers during his sophomore also rank third all-time in single-season assists for a Minnesota defenseman.

This will be the second NHL head coaching stint for Richards, as he previously led the Minnesota Wild from 2009-11. He compiled a 77-71-16 record as the bench boss for the Wild. Richards also served as an assistant coach for San Jose during the 2008-09 season. He was also the head coach of the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton franchise from 2006-08 and was an assistant with the Milwaukee Admirals from 2002-06.

Minnesota baseball players are picking up publicity throughout hometown papers recently. The La Crosse, Wis., connection of Drew Ghelfi, Bobby Juan, Austin Lubinsky, as well as assistant head coach Rob Fornasiere were featured in the La Crosse Tribune this past weekend.

Kurt Schlangen chatted with his hometown paper, Albany Enterprise, talking Gopher baseball since playing with Albany back in 2008 (Subscription access is required to read the full article).

Gopher signed recruits continue to get in the news as they compete for their high school teams. Earlier this year, Connor Schaefbauer was named the South Dakota's AA Basketball Player of the Year as well as well as a first-team All-State selection.He was recently featured in an extensive interview through his hometown paper of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader as he is in his final season with O'Gorman.

Alec Crawford was recently named the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week on April 26th. So far this season, Crawford is 8-1 with a 2.49 ERA in 65 innings pitched. Allowing just 18 earned runs, he has scattered 52 hits so far this season.

Burnsville's Dan Motl was recently named a finalist for the Lions Male Amateur Athlete of the Year, which is determined by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Motl, along with Burnsville teammate Matt Stemper, and Gopher recruits Dalton Sawyer and Troy Traxler were named to Minnesota Baseball Hub's Players to Watch coming into the season.

Follow Gopher Hockey:

Follow @GoldenGopherHky

	Jake Hansen had seven points (5g-2a) in six playoff games for the Gophers.

Jake Hansen has had a busy couple of weeks. First, he helped lead Minnesota back to the Frozen Four and then he signed a professional contract and played in the final two games of the Springfield Falcons' season. After that he was back on campus and back in class to finish up his senior year and prepare for graduation later this month. We caught up with Hansen to talk about this year and his hectic schedule.

GopherSports: Jake how would you describe your senior season?

Jake Hansen: This being my senior year, there was a lot of pressure to get back into the NCAA tournament. As soon as we lost last year we went to work. That was definitely the hardest we have worked in the summer. That is tough to do with (strength coach) Dal Dietz too, but he definitely made it tougher. It was a good season. Guys were in the best shape of their lives and we had a good team bond.

We were able to start off really hot. Obviously, you have some ups and downs during the season and we hit that streak around Christmas where we were not playing good hockey. During the middle of the season we were a .500 team, but we were able to finish the year strong.

To win the MacNaughton Cup was truly unbelievable. Then we had a tough loss to North Dakota in the Final Five where we blew a 3-0 lead, but we were able to come back the next week and beat a great team in Boston University and then we got a little bit of revenge on North Dakota and made it to the Frozen Four.

Obviously, our No. 1 goal was to win a national championship, but it is still a year to be proud of. To get to the Frozen Four is a great accomplishment and something we can look back on and be happy about. We did not win the championship, but it was still one heck of a year.

GS: You talked about pressure to get back into the NCAA tournament, but you guys did that and even more by advancing to the Frozen Four. Was there any sense of relief in doing that?

JH: There was a lot of pressure because our class took a lot of heat. The first three years a lot of guys did not play much. We had 12 or 13 guys here my freshman year and then it got down to seven after guys left early or they wanted an opportunity somewhere else. We took a lot of heat and there was a lot of pressure on us, but we ended up with a great group of seniors. There was pressure of us, but we just went to work every day and we tried to be good leaders. We just told the team over and over again that the feeling of not making it to the tournament is just brutal. Once our season started going and I realized how good we were, I had all the confidence in the world that we were going to make it to the tournament.

GS: You had a strong year individually as well, which seemed to be a little bit of a carryover from the second half of your junior season.

JH: I was happy with my year. I hit some streaks where the scoring was not there and struggled at times to get some goals, but was able to turn it on during the second half of the year and get some goals. The whole ordeal last year where Zach Budish got injured is something you never hope for, you never wish for, but I was able to get more ice time and play more because of that. This year, the chemistry between Erik Haula, Sam Warning and me was huge. I think we played our best hockey at the end of the year. Haula was on fire and Warning was playing well and had his confidence going. Our line was really clicking. For me, being on the penalty kill, the second line and the first power-play unit, getting that kind of ice time you are eventually going to produce. It also builds confidence in your own game.

GS: You also elevated your play at the end of the year, as you had five goals and two assists in six playoff games.

JH: Everyone talks about how you can do whatever you want during the season, but the biggest part of the year is the playoffs. That was something that I really wanted to do, was to play really well in the playoffs and help the team out as much as possible. I played really well toward the end of the year because our line was playing really well. I don't know if I was more determined in the playoffs, but I wanted us to get as far as we could in the tournament.

GS: Then after the Frozen Four, you signed your first professional contract. That had to be a nice feeling.  

JH: Our team really was close this year. It was truly a family and we would do anything for each other. Then we lost to Boston College and you are heartbroken and that definitely killed us. But then in the next few days to be able to sign a contract was...well it was almost tough to handle because we had just lost and you still have that bitter taste in your mouth and wish you could play that game again. But to be able to sign a contract and go to play for Springfield was rewarding.  Obviously, we wanted to win it all but to be able to go from the Frozen Four to signing a professional contract, you cannot ask for much better of a year than that.

GS: You played the final two games of the season with Springfield. What did you learn from those games?

JH: It was just crazy. I signed the contract on Wednesday and then Wednesday night I am flying out at 7 p.m. I got in at midnight and got to the rink the next day. There were two days left in the season and they were on the playoff bubble. I was really nervous because you do not want to step on anybody's toes. There are a lot of veterans on the team and you do not want to be that kid who comes in and irritates anyone. But they were a great group of guys and made me feel welcome. I was really nervous that first practice, but once I got in the game I felt comfortable out there and had my legs. I felt confident and felt I played well both games. We got two wins and that was something that was a great experience for me.

GS: You also picked up your first point as a professional, which was an assist. What can you tell us about that?

	Hansen played in two games for the Springfield Falcons and recorded one assist after Minnesota's season ended.

JH: We were forechecking like crazy. The puck came out to Boone Jenner and he hit me and then I ended up sliding one through and he put it top shelf. It was a nice way to finish the two games there, with an assist and we were +2 that night. That was huge for me to know I can play at that level.

GS: You came back to campus after playing those two games and were back in class the next week. That had to be a little weird, right?   

JH: It was weird because I went there Wednesday and played two games and was back home on Sunday night. It was weird being away from the guys for four days or whatever it was and they were all texting me. I enjoyed the experience in Springfield, but coming back and doing homework and being back in class on Tuesday was pretty weird. In Springfield, you are there to play hockey. You wake up, get some breakfast and then go to practice. Your main focus is hockey, so to come back after that and be in class again was a little weird.

GS: You will graduate this month, so it has been a pretty wild couple of weeks for you.

JH: Playing here four years and being able to get my degree is something my parents and I have always wanted. My dad has said that he cannot believe it is happening, but it is going to be amazing. If hockey does not work out, it is great to know that I will have my degree to fall back on.

GS: What are the plans for this summer?

JH: I am going to be training hard with Cal Dietz this summer. He will write a program for me and I will be in the weight room Monday through Friday. I plan on working out every day and skating every day, but I will make sure to get in a lot of golf as well. 

After 41 years, 766 games (including 585 wins) and countless memories, Gopher Baseball said one final goodbye to historic Siebert Field Tuesday, May 1. Siebert Field's "Final Pitch" was a resounding success, with a capacity crowd of nearly 1,500 spectators braving potential thunderstorms to bid farewell to one of college baseball's true historic landmarks.

With the Final Pitch at Siebert Field, the Gophers were in the news last week in a few locations. Holding previews in the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press and Minnesota Daily, the Gophers were also covered on the day of the event. With a live shot from WCCO to a MinnPost writeup on the field's history, the Gopher facility (please excuse the mispronunciation) made it on the Diamond Report through the Big Ten Network. Here's links to some of the action we found throughout the week:

The Final Pitch at Siebert Field

Game Highlights (5/1/12)

Diamond Report (5/6/12)

WCCO (5/1/12)

KSTP (5/1/12)

Postgame Star Tribune (5/2/12)

Postgame Pioneer Press (5/2/12)

Minnesota Daily (5/2/12)

Gophersports.com Photo Gallery (5/1/12)

PRE-GAME COVERAGE

The University of Minnesota softball team has had Game Two of their doubleheader against Purdue delayed until 6 p.m. tonight, due to thunderstorms in the area.

The Golden Gophers took Game One of the series 5-3 before the storm clouds entered Minneapolis, Minn. Back-to-back home runs by senior Dannie Skrove and freshman Erika Smyth in the fourht inning propelled the Maroon and Gold past the Boilermakers. Sophomore pitcher Sara Moulton shutdown the potent Purdue offense by striking out eight batter (six of which came in the first three innings) and allowed the same number of hits.

Stay up-to-date on all the information regarding today's rain delay and Gopher softball by visiting GopherSports.com, Facebook and Twitter (@GopherSoftball).