Gophers’ NCAA tournament opener vs. UMass comes after a concerning 18-day layoff

By the time the puck drops for the Gophers at 7:32 p.m.

Thursday in their NCAA mens hockey Fargo Regional semifinal against Massachusetts, they will have gone 18 days between games.

Its not the way coach Bob Motzko would have drawn it up , but its the reality the Gophers face after their first-round ouster against Notre Dame in the Big Ten tournament.

From start of the year, weve had a great group, and theyve been getting after it, and theyve been motivated to push each other, Motzko said Monday.

Its all we could do is push each other in practice.

We did have an exhibition game down in Rochester [on March 15], and that had some benefit to it, but last week, we had to push, and it had to come internally.

Motzko is wary of a sluggish start by the second-seeded Gophers (25-10-4) against No.

3 seed UMass (20-13-5) given the long break, but he believes he has as team that can weather that storm.

We just cant shoot ourselves in the foot early in the game thats the big thing," Motzko said.

Well get traction as the game goes on.

The winner of the Gophers-Minutemen semifinal will face the winner of Thursdays 4 p.m.

semifinal between top-seeded Western Michigan and No.

4 seed Minnesota State Mankato in Saturdays regional final at Scheels Arena.

The Gophers still have all their primary goals in front of them a return to the Frozen Four and a national championship and believe they can achieve them.

Its been our goal since beginning of summer coming in, sophomore defenseman Sam Rinzel said of the NCAA title.

So, the whole group knows it, and the whole group has the same kind of plan.

We want to go achieve it.

The time off enabled the Gophers to heal bumps and bruises, but it wasnt long enough for senior center Aaron Huglen, who suffered a knee injury in the finale against Notre Dame and will miss the entire NCAA tournament .

Freshman forward August Falloon is out 2-3 weeks because of an undisclosed injury, Motzko said.

The biggest decision Motzko faces for the regional is his starter in goal.

Graduate transfer Liam Souliere started the final nine games of the regular season but gave up two uncharacteristic goals in a loss to Notre Dame in the playoff series opener.

Sophomore Nathan Airey started the last two games against the Fighting Irish, going 1-1.

When asked if hes settled on a starter in goal, Motzko succinctly said yes.

Would he share that information? No.

Thoughts on two coaches The Gophers announced the hiring of mens basketball coach Niko Medved, and Motzko quickly welcomed the graduate of Roseville High School and the University of Minnesota alumnus back to campus.

Gophers Gophers Colleges This is a sneaky great place to be, Motzko said.

...

This is a great sports town, and this is a great university." Medveds hiring came a day after North Dakota parted ways with hockey coach Brad Berry after 10 years that included one NCAA championship and five NCHC regular-season titles.

We have this hatred with North Dakota, Motzko said of the UND-Minnesota rivalry, but Brad Berry makes it hard because hes such a good guy.

...

He can walk out of there with his head held high.".

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