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Pro Update: Bjugstad Notches First NHL Goal (Video)

By Brian Deutsch on April 29, 2013 11:14 AM | No TrackBacks
Former Gopher Nick Bjugstad tallied his first NHL goal on Saturday as the Florida Panthers topped the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 in Florida's season finale. 


"That was pretty exciting for me," Bjugstad told the Associated Press. "I didn't really expect it. It's tough in the NHL getting shots, so I just put it on net, and it went in." 

Noteworthy:

-Paul Martin had two assists for the Penguins in an 8-3 Pittsburgh win over Carolina on Saturday including James Neal's eventual game winner. Martin, who played in his first game in nearly a month (injury), earned his 200th career assist in the win as Pittsburgh finished the regular season with the Eastern Conference's best record. 

-Phil Kessel netted Toronto's only goal in a 4-1 loss to Montreal on Saturday -- Kessel's power-play goal was his 20th of the year and put the Maple Leafs up 1-0 early in the contest. 


-Both Stu Bickel (N.Y. Rangers) and Aaron Ness (N.Y. Islanders) have been recalled by their NHL teams ahead of the playoffs. 

Gophers in the Playoffs

With the regular season ending this weekend, nine former Gophers will be heading to the playoffs this year with their respective NHL franchises. Here's the breakdown: 

Eastern Conference
Pittsburgh (Paul Martin) vs. N. Y. Islanders (Ness, Kyle Okposo)
Montreal vs. Ottawa (Jim O'Brien)
Boston vs. Toronto (Phil Kessel)
Washington vs. N.Y. Rangers (Bickel) 

Western Conference
Chicago (Nick Leddy) vs. Minnesota
Vancouver (Keith Ballard) vs. San Jose
St. Louis (Jordan Leopold) vs. Los Angeles 




Vanek to Skate for Austria at 2013 IIHF World Championships

By Brian Deutsch on April 27, 2013 2:38 PM | No TrackBacks
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Today, the Buffalo Sabres tweeted that former Gopher Thomas Vanek will skate for Austria at the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships next month in Europe. The tournament, which runs May 3-19 in Helsinski, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden, now features three former Gophers as Nick Bjugstad and Erik Johnson will skate for the U.S. Men's National Team. 

While the Sabres had a disappointing end to the 2012-13 campaign, Vanek thrived as the team's leader in points (41) and goals (20, 10th in the NHL this season) in the 38-game season. The forward also finished tied for first on the team in assists with 21. 


Johnson Joins Bjugstad on U.S. National Team Roster

By Brian Deutsch on April 26, 2013 6:11 PM | No TrackBacks

USA Hockey has added former Gophers defenseman and current member of the Colorado Avalanche Erik Johnson to the 2013 U.S. Men's National Team roster on Friday evening. 

One of three additions on the day, Johnson joins the original roster of 15 that includes former Gophers forward (and current Florida Panthers center) Nick Bjugstad. The U.S. Men's National Team will compete at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Men's World Championship May 3-19 in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden. NBC Sports Network will air all Team USA games at the tournament with a full broadcast schedule coming out next week. 

Johnson has played for six U.S. National Teams, highlighted by the 2010 U.S. Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Team. He helped Team USA to a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C. He played on the U.S. Men's National Team at the 2007 IIHF Men's World Championship. Johnson skated in the 2006 and 2007 IIHF World Junior Championships, collecting a bronze medal in 2007. He helped Team USA win back-to-back gold medals at the 2005 and 2006 IIHF Men's Under-18 World Championships.

The fifth-year NHL veteran was selected first overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. In 328 career games, Johnson has tallied 131 points (27 goals, 104 assists). 


Pro Update: Kessel Stays Hot, AHL Playoffs Start Tonight

By Brian Deutsch on April 26, 2013 10:00 AM | No TrackBacks

The NHL regular season continues to wind down with only one game remaining for the majority of teams.

Former Gopher Phil Kessel continued his offensive tear for the playoff-bound Maple Leafs on Thursday in Toronto's 4-0 win over Nick Bjugstad and the Florida Panthers. Kessel netted  a pair of second period goals in the win to bring his season total to 19 (his 51 points rank sixth in the NHL this season with one regular-season game remaining).

Kessel has eight points in his last four games as the Leafs finish up the regular season on Saturday at home against Montreal. 


 Wheeler and the Jets Finish 20112-13 Campaign 

Blake Wheeler and the Winnipeg Jets' chances of making the playoffs were dashed even before the team's 4-2 loss to Montreal on Thursday night as both Ottawa and the New York Rangers locked up the Eastern Conference's final playoff slots with overtime wins.

The only team in the NHL to have concluded its shortened 48-game schedule so far, the Jets went 6-1-1 to finish the season and finished ninth in the East.

Wheeler gave Winnipeg a 2-1 lead in the second period with his 19th goal of the season to finish the season with 41 total points (Wheeler currently ranks 14th in NHL goals this season and 25th in points).


Noteworthy

-Alex Goligoski and the Dallas Stars were eliminated from playoff contention with last night's 3-1 loss to Columbus (coupled with Detroit's 5-2 win over Nashville). Goligoski finished the year with 27 points (three goals, 24 assists). 

-Reminder that the American Hockey League Calder Cup playoffs kick off tonight. Here's the league's link to Playoff Central.

USA Hockey Pegs Bjugstad for National Team Roster

By Brian Deutsch on April 25, 2013 1:41 PM | No TrackBacks
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USA Hockey announced the first 15 players of the 2013 U.S Men's National Team on Thursday including former Gophers forward and current center for the Florida Panthers Nick Bjugstad. 

The U.S. National Team will compete at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Men's World Championship May 3-19 in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden. NBC Sports Network will air all Team USA games at the tournament with a full broadcast schedule coming out next week. 

Florida's first-round pick (19th overall) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Bjugstad signed with the Panthers following the 2012-13 college season and has played in nine professional contests with the NHL organization. 

No Gopher tallied more goals over the last three seasons than Bjugstad with 54 while the junior tallied 98 total points in 109 career games. In Bjugstad's final two seasons with the program, the Gophers earned two-straight MacNaughton cups as Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) regular-season champions and two NCAA tournament berths including the team's run to the Frozen Four in 2011-12.

After a 20-point freshman campaign in 2010-11, Bjugstad skated to his best season with the Gophers in 2011-12, earning Second Team All-America and All-WCHA First Team honors. The Blaine, Minn., native posted a career-high 42 points, 25 goals and 17 assists as a sophomore while the Gophers captured the team's first MacNaughton Cup since 2006-07 and returned to the NCAA Frozen Four for the 20th time in program history and the first time since 2005. 

Bjugstad returned to the Gophers as a junior in 2012-13 and served as an alternate captain for the squad while also earning All-WCHA Third Team accolades. The junior led Minnesota and finished tied for eighth in the nation with 21 goals and recorded 36 points in his final season with the Maroon and Gold. Eleven of his goals came on the power play - ranking Bjugstad third in the nation - while Minnesota was the nation's best team on the advantage this season. The Gophers, who added a second-straight MacNaughton Cup in 2012-13, also led the nation in scoring offense during Bjugstad's final two seasons with the program.   

Bjugstad has previous experience with USA Hockey, skating with the U.S. National Junior Team in 2011-12. 

Pro Update: Taffe Tallies 500th AHL Point, Gophers Net First Pro Goals

By Brian Deutsch on April 22, 2013 10:14 AM | No TrackBacks
Former Gophers forward Jeff Taffe notched his 500th AHL point over the weekend in a 4-2 Hershey Bears' loss to Binghamton on Saturday. The Second Team AHL All-Star finished second in the league's regular-season scoring race with 71 points (18 goals, 53 assists) in 73 games as Hershey clinched the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot with a 4-2 win over Manchester on Sunday. 

The Bears, who also feature former Gophers Nate Schmidt, Ryan Potulny, Ryan Stoa and Mike Carman on their roster, open the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs against one-seed Providence on Friday in a best-of-five series. 

Also in the AHL

In addition to Hershey, Minnesota will have alumni in the following Calder Cup quarterfinals this season: 

Eastern two-seed Springfield (Jake Hansen) vs. seven-seed Manchester 
Western one-seed Texas vs. eight-seed Milwaukee (Zach Budish)
Western three-seed Grand Rapids vs. six-seed Houston (Erik Haula) 

Two former Gophers also tallied their first professional goals over the weekend as Budish tallied in the Admirals' 3-0 win over Peoria on Sunday and Mark Alt scored for the Adirondack Phantoms in the team's home finale on Saturday. 

Goligoski Picks Up Two Points 

Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski scored his third goal of the season and added an assist as Dallas fell to Los Angeles 4-3 in overtime. 

Pro Update: Kessel Shines in 500th NHL Game

By Brian Deutsch on April 19, 2013 11:39 AM | No TrackBacks
Former Gopher Phil Kessel skated in his 500th NHL game on Thursday and tallied three assists in Toronto's 5-3 loss to Kyle Okposo and the New York Islanders. 



Kessel has 46 points (16 goals, 30 assists) this season including eight points (four goals, four assists) in the last five games. The forward has 373 career points (181 goals, 192 assists). 

On the other side of the ice, Okposo added an assist on the Islanders' insurance goal midway through the third. 


Kessel wasn't the only former Gopher to tally a three-point game last night -- Blake Wheeler tallied a goal and two assists in Winnipeg's 4-3 win over Carolina. 

Wheeler opened the night with an assist on Paul Postma's power-play goal to give the Jets a 1-0 lead with this perfectly threaded pass. 


The game's No. 1 Star added his 91st career goal and his 17th of the season early in the third to make it 3-1 although Carolina would force overtime with a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation. 



Wheeler would set up Dustin Byfuglien's overtime winner to end the night with three points and 10 points in the last five games. 

Pro Update: Vanek's Two Points Pave Way for Shootout Win

By Brian Deutsch on April 18, 2013 11:23 AM | No TrackBacks
Former Gopher Thomas Vanek and the Buffalo Sabres were involved in an emotional game last night against the Boston Bruins with the contest marking the first organized sporting event in Boston since Monday's explosions at the Boston Marathon. 

And as John Vogl of the Buffalo News writes:

"The first sporting event in Boston since two explosions devastated Marathon Monday did exactly what it was supposed to do Wednesday. It created an enjoyable diversion for a grieving city that is eager to return to normalcy."

Buffalo rallied from one-goal deficits twice on Wednesday before scoring the game winner in a 3-2 shootout win. Vanek factored into both regulation goals for the Sabres with impressive plays, scoring a power-play goal late in the first to make it 1-1 and then assisting on Cody Hodgson's game-tying, power-play goal with 27 seconds left in the third period. The former Gopher now leads Buffalo in goals (17), assists (19) and points (36) 

Here's a look at Vanek's power-play goal from last night. 


And his primary assist on the late, game-tying goal to force overtime: 

Pro Update: Check Out Wheeler's Big Night

By Brian Deutsch on April 17, 2013 3:23 PM | No TrackBacks
Former Gophers forward Blake Wheeler factored into all three of Winnipeg's goals in regulation last night in a 4-3 shootout win over Tampa Bay. Wheeler pocketed a pair of assists in the win and scored his 90th career goal in the second period with this slick score. 


Noteworthy:

-Phil Kessel's next game will be the former Gopher's 500th NHL contest. In 499 career games, Kessel has 181-189--370. 

Video: 2012-13 Gopher Hockey Highlights

By Brian Deutsch on April 17, 2013 11:40 AM | No TrackBacks
Here are the very best of the best! Don't miss some of the top plays and highlights from the 2012-13 Gopher hockey season. From incredible individual performances to big wins over No. 1 Boston College and No. 2/3 Notre Dame, it's all available right here on Gophersports.com. 

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