Killing some time before they kick me out of the Mariucci Arena press box tonight, here are some random thoughts on this weekend from around the WCHA.

• Nick Bjugstad is good. Really good. And with his size and skillset, he’s virtually unstoppable. Paired with Kyle Rau, Minnesota has the best line in the WCHA right now, bar none. Yes, Connolly-Oleksuk-Brown is rock solid. But these two guys in Minneapolis can flat out play and they complement each other perfectly. I will have a feature story on Bjugstad on the website either Sunday or Monday.

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If there was any doubt about St. Cloud State’s goaltending situation before St. Cloud State’s 4-3 win over No. 1 Minnesota Friday night, there sure isn’t much anymore.

After an injury to SCSU’s Mike Lee last month — an injury which will likely cost the junior his season — the Huskies were forced to turn things over to Ryan Faragher, a freshman from Fort Frances, Ont. via the North American Hockey League.

And the freshman has responded.

“When Mike went down, we didn’t really know what was going to happen,” admitted junior forward David Eddy, who had three assists Friday. “But he’s stepped up huge. Bigger than we expected. He makes saves where you’re just like ‘Wow, how did he do that?’ He made a couple of those tonight.”

Faragher playing well has become somewhat redundant in the Granite City. It seems to be a topic that comes up for head coach Bob Motzko each week.

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It’s almost Thanksgiving and Minnesota State is ahead of North Dakota in the league standings… who-da thunk it?

Anyways, here are this week’s power rankings:

1 — Minnesota (Last week: 1)

The Gophers did their job last weekend, getting two points on the road at the Kohl Center. And because other teams in the top-5 struggled, Minnesota remains the top team in the nation — and deservedly so. They get tested with yet another rivalry series this weekend and a home-and-home with SCSU.

2 — Minnesota Duluth (Last week: 3)

The Bulldogs are 6-0-2 since getting swept by the Gophers to open the league schedule. Both losses to Minnesota were one goal losses where UMD posted 50 shots. This team is a lot better than most gave them credit for and will likely stick with the Gophers all season.

3 — Colorado College (Last week: 2)

The Tigers are holding in the top-3 by a thread after losing 2 of their last 3 games. Joe Howe has been destroyed in each of those two losses, living up to his reputation as a great goalie… most of the time. He has shown a tendency to get lit up every once in a while, and so far this season, it’s no different.

4 — Nebraska-Omaha (Last week: 4)

Last Friday, Bemidji State scored a late goal to gain a tie in its game with UNO, and it looked like the Beavers were going to haunt the Mavs yet again. So it had to be sweet for the Mavericks Saturday, winning 5-1 and getting their first win over Bemidji State since the two squads joined the league last season.

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For the first time all season, there has been a change at the top of my WCHA Power Rankings. Here they are for you to enjoy:

1 — Minnesota (Last week: 2)

All facets of the Gopher game are rolling right now. They head to Kohl Center this weekend with a chance to dagger a rival for the second weekend in a row.

2 — Colorado College (Last week: 1)

Every once in a while, Joe Howe plays a game where all you can do is scratch your head and wonder, “why?” His effort last Friday in a 7-5 loss to UNO was one of those games.

3 — Minnesota Duluth (Last week: 3)

The Bulldogs are finally looking like defending champs after taking three points from Denver at Magness Arena. That has a chance to be one of those series you look back at in March.

4 — Nebraska-Omaha (Last week: 5)

John Faulkner was bailed out by Dayne Belfour and the Maverick offense in the third period last Friday after he allowed four goals on just 16 shots in 40 minutes. That earned him a spot on the bench Saturday — something that happened just a handful of times last season.

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What a game tonight at Mariucci Arena.

First things first:

The Gophers sweep North Dakota for the first time since December of 2005. It was Don Lucia’s first home sweep of North Dakota as Gophers head coach and Minnesota’s first sweep of the Fighting Sioux at Mariucci since 1996-97.

The win puts the Gophers 10 points ahead of North Dakota in the WCHA standings — still a long ways from the finish line, that 10 points back of a quality team like Minnesota likely means the MacNaughton Cup will be somewhere other than Grand Forks, N.D. come early March.

UND has gained a reputation as a bit of a slow starter during the Dave Hakstol era — but not this slow. This is North Dakota’s worst start in WCHA play in almost four decades, when UND started 1-9 in 1974.

If there was any doubt heading into the weekend about how good Minnesota is, that doubt is now gone. Yeah, North Dakota is down right now. But the Gophers showed a grit and determination Saturday night they haven’t shown in years. Despite heavily outshooting the Sioux through two and a half periods and having been blanked on their previously powerful power play, Minnesota refused to quit — tying the score with a greasy goal by Nick Larson with 6:04 left before scoring another dirty one by Kyle Rau with under a minute left. (more…)

A bit of a different look at Friday’s rivalry game between Minnesota and North Dakota.

THE BOTTOM LINE

At the University of Minnesota’s media day Wednesday, Gopher captain Taylor Matson predicted a “bloodbath.”

And while the blood wasn’t necessarily flowing, the Gophers and North Dakota combined for 69 minutes in penalties Friday (29 penalties in all) in a 2-0 Minnesota victory at Mariucci Arena, with much of the action coming in a rough second period.

Seth Ambroz got the festivities started with a five minute major for contact to the head just 30 seconds into the middle frame, although he also checked UND captain Mario Lamoureaux from behind. Minnesota killed the five minute UND power play however, and according to numerous players and coaches after the game, that was the turning point.

Tied 0-0 at the time, the major penalty seemed to stir the emotions a bit, and at 11:47, feelings boiled over as a melee ensued, sending 3 players from each team to the box. North Dakota got the extra 2 minutes though, setting up a Gopher power play. Minnesota took advantage as Nick Bjugstad scored what amounted to the game winner with the extra attacker on.

The Gophers got a separation goal with 8 minutes and change remaining in regulation when Nick Larson’s pass sent Tom Serratore in on Aaron Dell for a breakaway. The sophomore buried his second goal of the season to make it 2-0.

For the night, Minnesota outshot North Dakota 32-24. It was a historic night for Gopher goalie Kent Patterson, as the senior secured his fifth shutout of the season — tying a school record set by Robb Stauber in 1987-88. Just nine games into the year, Patterson may have a couple chances to break that record this season.

Stauber, by the way, won the Hobey Baker Award that season.

AROUND THE LOCKER ROOM

On Patterson tying the shutout record

• “Our team has been doing a great job of letting me see pucks,” Patterson said. “I’m going to have to make a few big saves every once in a while, but guys are back checking through the middle and picking up guys so they aren’t getting those opportunities.”

• “I enjoy each and every day. When I do get a shutout, great, but you have to take the good with the bad.” Patterson said. “I just have to make sure I come to the rink everyday preparing for each game individually, and take my game day by day.”

• “He’s something special, he gives us a chance to win each and every night,” Matson said. “He does all the little things right and everything is going well for him right now.”

On getting the separation goal

• “That was great to see, especially off the face off,” Patterson said. “Tom works hard. He had a huge blocked shot at the beginning of the game. He deserved that goal, he worked his butt off.”

• “We’ve been doing a great job of scoring first this season, but that second goal was huge for us,” Matson said. “Especially off the face off, we’ve been stressing intensity off the face off this season, so it was big to get that goal from our fourth line.”

• “We didn’t have a lot of breakdowns, but that was one of them,” said UND head coach Dave Hakstol. “They took advantage of it.”

On the intensity and atmosphere

• “It was the type of game we expected. It was hard hitting, it was physical, it was blocked shots, it was goaltending. The game was settling in and you knew it was going to be a low scoring game,” said Gophers head coach Don Lucia. ”

• “These games are pretty special to us, there was a lot more hitting, a lot more intensity. The atmosphere was something special to be apart of here tonight,” Matson said.

On killing the UND 5×3 power play in the second period

• “I think the pivotal moment for us was that 5-on-3,” Lucia said. “It was a 0-0 game and we were able to get a little bit of momentum from our [penalty] kill.”

• “It was a huge momentum boost, especially when the crowd gets into it like that,” Patterson said. “It gets our bench going and gave our guys a momentum boost.”

IN OTHER ACTION FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE
Michigan Tech 1, Minnesota State 0
St. Cloud State 7, Wisconsin 2
Nebraska-Omaha 7, Colorado College 5
Denver 3, Minnesota Duluth 3 (OT)
Bemidji State 3, Lake Superior State 2 (OT)

With one month in the books, here is a look at my WCHA power rankings for the first weekend of November:

1 — Colorado College (Last week: 1)

An easy sweep at a helpless RPI squad keeps this team in front. The Tigers have yet to lose this season, although they have only played a league-low four games thus far.

2 — Minnesota (Last week: 3)

Yeah, UAA has slowed down a bit. But the Seawolves hadn’t been swept at home in almost two years, so last weekend’s double play in Alaska was actually pretty impressive.

3 — Minnesota Duluth (Last week: 4)

The Bulldogs have used a soft part of their schedule to get on a four-game unbeaten run. They’ll be tested in Denver this weekend though.

4 — Denver (Last week: 2)

After embarrassing Minnesota State two weeks ago, the Pioneers were embarrassed last Friday by Michigan Tech. Getting only one point in Houghton is a disappointment, no matter how improved they actually are.

5 — Nebraska-Omaha (Last week: 5)

The Mavericks can’t make a habit of falling behind 3-0 in games. They did twice at Wisconsin last weekend and were lucky to get two points out of the weekend.

6 — North Dakota (Last week: 6)

A ho-hum split against St. Cloud State is fine, but the Huskies were without perhaps their best player in Mike Lee. UND expects to win every game at The Ralph, so when they don’t, it’s a bad weekend.

7 — Wisconsin (Last week: 8 )

The Badgers should have taken four points from UNO at the Kohl Center last weekend. Allowing a team to come back from a three goal deficit on the road is inexcusable.

8 — St. Cloud State (Last week: 9)

With Lee on the shelf, perhaps for the rest of the season, Ryan Faragher needs to play like he did last weekend. If he does, the Huskies could be OK.

9 — Michigan Tech (Last week: 11)

It’s safe to say, winning in Houghton will be no easy task this season. The Huskies are undefeated at MacInnes this season and just dismantled Denver last weekend.

10 — Bemidji State (Last week: 7)

Tom Serratore said he may have found his team in Duluth last weekend, despite the fact the Beavers were swept by the Bulldogs. A road trip to Lake Superior State this weekend will not be an easy task, however.

11 — Alaska-Anchorage (Last week: 10)

The Seawolves are trending down after a solid start to the year. A week off could be just what UAA needs to try and get back on track next weekend at Minnesota Duluth.

12 — Minnesota State (Last week: 12)

The Mavericks should have about half their injured guys back and available for this weekend’s series in Houghton. But with how Tech is playing at home, two points for MSU would be quite the accomplishment.

• Be sure to check out my feature about Minnesota as they head into this weekend’s series with North Dakota. I will be at Mariucci Arena this weekend documenting the festivities.

Another week in the books and with October hockey in the books, here are three things I think about the WCHA this week.

• OK, so Michigan Tech wasn’t going to go undefeated in conference play. But just a week after being swept by Bemidji State, the Huskies put up a three-point weekend against conference favorite Denver. Don’t look now, but Tech is all alone in second place with the league’s worst team, Minnesota State, headed to Houghton this weekend. If the Huskies sweep the Mavericks this weekend, they’ll almost certainly avoid last place in the conference standings this season. If Tech is for real, it is this weekend’s series that will tell the story. One would expect a team to have no trouble getting hyped to play the Denvers of the world. But with a banged up, bad hockey team coming to their building, getting ready this weekend may prove a bit more difficult.

• As I said before the start of the season, way too many folks were overvaluing the goaltending in Anchorage. One of the darlings of the preseason media poll, several believed the Seawolves were ready to compete for a home ice spot after UAA upset the Gophers in the first round last year to advance to the Final Five. Fact is, UAA got a nice five game stretch from Chris Kamal at just the right time last season. Anchorage didn’t bring in any blue-chip freshmen, and other than that five game stretch, Kamal and Rob Gunderson have done zilch to prove themselves among the best in the league. They did lose their best offensive threat in Tommy Grant. And all of that led many to believe Anchorage actually improved during the offseason? I didn’t buy in, putting UAA 10th in my poll, and that may be a little high. The Seawolves have had trouble scoring so far in conference play, so unless Kamal is going channel his ‘inner-late-2010-11’ self, UAA will continue to struggle to get points in the conference. There’s simply too much uncertainty around this squad right now.

• Speaking of uncertainty, it was reported by Brad Schlossman over the weekend that Mike Lee has an injury — potentially a serious one — that could cost him the rest of this season. If that’s the case, St. Cloud State could be in free fall mode. Already shaky along the blueline, adding a major question mark in goal could be too much for SCSU to overcome this season. Lee has the ability to win games by himself when he’s right, and it remains to be seen whether the Huskies have another goalie that can do that. Ryan Faragher pitched a shut out Friday in Grand Forks and was solid this weekend in helping the Huskies get two points at Ralph Engelstad. But is a long term answer in goal for the Huskies? Behind Faragher, SCSU has former Hill-Murray standout Joe Phillippi and senior Nate Hardy. Neither have played a single minute of meaningful hockey past the NAHL level. Until two weeks ago, neither had Faragher. More should be known about Lee’s status as soon as this week, but reports from the Granite City don’t sound encouraging.

Five conference series and 11 of the 12 teams are in action this weekend around the league. Here are a look at my WCHA power rankings as we hurdle towards November:

1 — Colorado College (Last week: 1)

The Tigers got the week off last week and head out east for a nonconference series at RPI this weekend. Should be a great chance at a pair of wins.

2 — Denver (Last week: 3)

DU got off to a sluggish start Friday against Minnesota State, allowing the Mavericks to keep it a game until the very end. Saturday, they took advantage of a banged up MSU bunch and hung 10 goals en route to a relatively easy 4 points.

3 — Minnesota (Last week: 2)

Nobody in the league in scoring more than the Gophers, but the goaltending effort by Kent Patterson on Sunday was not good enough. It didn’t help that Minnesota was taking dumb penalties. Shore those things up and Minnesota can beat anyone in the country.

4 — Minnesota Duluth (Last week: 6)

The Bulldogs quietly went out east and took 3 points from Providence, a boost for UMD’s confidence more than anything. They’ll need at least that many this weekend against Bemidji in order to be considered a true contender.

5 — Nebraska-Omaha (Last week: 7)

Alex Hudson returns to the line-up and the Mavericks gain four points. I guess he was as big a loss as advertised.

6 — North Dakota (Last week: 4)

To say Aaron Dell and Brad Eidsness have not provided the type of goaltending they did last year would be like saying after A, B, and C comes D. With a young group, combined with some injuries and eligibility issues, North Dakota is limping through the first month of the season.

7 — Bemidji State (Last week: 9)

Yes, it was Michigan Tech. But the Beavers showed some killer instinct last weekend and the ability to put the puck in the net. That could come in handy this weekend in Duluth.

8 — Wisconsin (Last week: 10)

The Badgers rebound off being swept at Michigan Tech by sweeping North Dakota. Only in the WCHA, I tell you…

9 — St. Cloud State (Last week: 11)

After opening their home schedule with a win and a tie last weekend against UNH, the Huskies open their conference schedule back on the road at UND. They need to take advantage of a staggering North Dakota team, as these points could be crucial in March.

10 — Alaska-Anchorage (Last week: 5)

After a good start, the Seawolves hit the road for the first time last weekend and were promptly swept in Omaha. Back in Anchorage this weekend, their challenge gets even tougher as a red-hot Minnesota team comes to town.

11 — Michigan Tech (Last week: 8 )

After already equaling their win total from the year before, perhaps asking Tech to start the season with a three game conference winning streak was a bit too much. They’ll get a true test this weekend as the Pioneers come to Houghton.

12 — Minnesota State (Last week: 12)

Never has a week off been better timed. MSU was down eight players last Saturday because of injuries, and it showed as MSU was pounded 10-2 at Magness Arena. This weekend is all about getting healthy before jumping back into WCHA action next week. The Mavericks need points and will have a shot to get some at Tech in seven days.

THIS WEEKEND AROUND THE WCHA

Denver at Michigan Tech

The Huskies better get their goaltending taken care of or, like Minnesota State, Tech will get run out of the building. Beau Bennett dished out five assists in a game and a half before a game misconduct Saturday took him out of the goal scoring bonanza. With Drew Shore and Jason Zucker already in midseason form, adding a playmaker like Bennett to the mix is truly unfair.

Bemidji State at Minnesota Duluth

The Beavers have had their share of success against the Bulldogs over the years, including a Final Five quarterfinal match-up in St. Paul last season — a 3-2 BSU win, the final time UMD suffered a defeat en route to the national title. Nine goals last weekend against Michigan Tech could be a precursor to what they will need this weekend, as the ‘Dogs can still score, seemingly at will.

Nebraska-Omaha at Wisconsin

A pair of Jekyll and Hyde outfits do battle in Madison this weekend as the Mavericks (poor start, nice sweep last weekend) take on the Badgers (swept by Tech two weeks ago, sweep of North Dakota last weekend). Wisconsin must take advantage of shaky goaltending like they did last weekend, scoring 10 goals in two games despite putting only 41 shots on goal. John Faulkner has been a model of inconsistency so far, but kept the previously hot UAA virtually off the board all weekend (just two goals in two games).

St. Cloud State at North Dakota

The Fighting Sioux broke with history last season by starting the year red-hot — and pretty much carrying that momentum all the way to the Frozen Four. UND is back to its old tricks this season, but with questionable play in net combined with missed man games from Rocco Grimaldi, climbing out of this hole will be significantly harder than in years past. UND can’t win the MacNaughton Cup in October, but they’ll certainly able to lose it. SCSU is the only team without a conference game played, so any points this weekend will be points in hand on everyone else.

Minnesota at Alaska-Anchorage

It’s safe to say the Gophers offensive explosion is more a trend than a mirage. They even scored four in their first loss of the season Sunday against Vermont. As long as Minnesota learns from its mistakes in game two against the Catamounts, they’ll be fine. A sweep in Alaska would go a long ways towards silencing the critics. It would also exact a bit of revenge for UAA’s sweep of Minnesota at Mariucci Arena in the first round of the WCHA playoffs last season.

Colorado College at RPI

RPI is off to a 1-4-0 start, with that lone win coming at home to Minnesota State (a night after they were shut out by the Mavericks). If CC can jump ahead early, these games could get ugly.

As October draws to a close in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 11 of the 12 league teams have played at least one conference series (SCSU has played six games with none counting in the league standings). Already, there are some clear trends starting to take hold, and as the holiday season approaches, it will be interesting to see whether these trends become mirages.

Here are three things I think, in no particular order, about the WCHA right now:

• Welcome back Minnesota. When the Gophers were raising banners and winning trophies during the early part of Don Lucia’s tenure, Minnesota was a fun team to watch. Their power play was nearly unstoppable, they scored four or five goals it seemed like every night and they had a physical presence that could slow an opponent’s momentum.In recent years, Minnesota has struggled to score, struggled to defend and was seemingly pushed all over the ice by teams like North Dakota. Finally, it seems, the style that won Lucia and the Gophers a pair of national championships a decade ago is back. Led by sophomores Erik Haula and Nick Bjugstad and freshman Kyle Rau, the Gophers have scored 35 goals over their first six games (13 more than the second best team in the league, UMD) at almost a six goal per game clip. It’s power play is scoring over 36 percent of the time, tops in the league, and the roster boasts monsters up front in Bjugstad and Zach Budish (Both 6-4) and on the back end in Seth Helgeson and Mark Alt (both are also 6-4). In goal, Kent Patterson has played every minute, stopping over 92 percent of shots faced and allowing just over two goals per contest. Obviously, it’s early. But if October is any indication, the mighty Minnesota Golden Gophers could be very much back in the picture.

• You gotta feel bad for Minnesota State. Already down six players because of injuries over the course of the opening two weeks, the Mavericks lost two more players while getting hammered by Denver over the weekend. And these aren’t just third or fourth line players the Mavs are missing either. Michael Dorr, Chase Grant and Eriah Hayes are expected to be among the team leaders in points. Tyler Elbrecht is the team’s captain and emotional leader. Max Gaede has the potential to be an impact freshman this season. Combined with suspect goaltending in all but one game (the season opener, a 1-0 win over RPI), the Mavericks have just one win in six tries to open the season. A weekend off could not have come at a better time for MSU, as the Mavericks will look to get healthy this weekend before heading to Houghton the first weekend in November.

• Reports of Michigan Tech’s rise as well as Wisconsin’s and Nebraska-Omaha’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Just one weekend after sweeping the Badgers, the Huskies traveled to Bemidji and lost twice. I didn’t expect Tech to sweep the Beavers, but a point or two on the road would have gone a long ways towards showing folks that perhaps Mel Pearson is the savior he appeared to be after two weeks. The Badgers, meanwhile, lacking in offense and in upperclassmen, welcomed North Dakota to the Kohl Center and duplicated what Minnesota did to UMD last weekend — gain four points in the standings despite getting outshot both nights (including a 42-15 deficit Saturday). Home cooking did the red Mavericks well too, as UNO avenged a nonconference loss to Anchorage in the Brice Alaska Goal Rush two weeks ago by sweeping the Seawolves in a pair of games that counted in the standings. Matt White and Terry Broadhurst are doing an adequate job of filling Alex Hudson’s skates right now, but the faster Hudson can get back up to speed (he was back in the line up this weekend), the better of UNO will be.

Be sure to check back later this week for my weekly power rankings and a look at action this weekend in the WCHA.