Minnesota has a reputation for being “nice”, so nice its to the point where the state is lampooned for being almost overly polite and patient. It is often portrayed as though any person in the state would just sit back and smile and say “may we please have another” if you were fire an insult in our direction. For people outside the state; especially those living on the east and west coasts its as though they think we’re almost unaware we’re being insulted and so aloof that we just smile and take it because we don’t know any better. Case in point, a New York Times article wrote an article series where they provided a signature Thanksgiving side dish for all 50 states. For Minnesota they said Grape Salad was our signature, and the news went viral immediately. I think collectively around the state people who heard of the article were like “WTF, Grape Salad? We’ve never had Grape Salad at Thanksgiving!” and they took to their computers, phones to let the New York Times know of their displeasure for this inaccurate portrayal of Minnesota cuisine. With the culinary gloves dropped, the New York Times immediately switched dishes; swapping out the ludicrous Grape Salad for Wild Rice casserole. There was a collective sigh of relief all across the state as our respectability was restored, you can read about that here.
Supposedly ‘nice’ Minnesota fans are equally pick and hold high standards for hockey. We know and love the game and you can’t perform poorly and not hear about in the form of boo’s or even collective grumbling. That was true on Wednesday night as the team sluggishly went through the motions against the Los Angeles Kings. There were a few players working hard; mostly the younger players but the veterans looked lethargic and indifferent and it showed as the Kings jumped out to a 4-0 lead which turned into an embarrassing and rare loss at home. The Wild now go on the road the day after Thanksgiving for a game at an arena they’ve traditionally struggled at. Hopefully the Wild channel their inner offended Minnesota and show some fire and pride against the Stars. Will they exhibit this sense of pride or will they look sleepy and lethargic after Turkey Day?
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild roster was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Thomas Vanek, Jason Zucker, Jason Pominville, Zach Parise, Mikael Granlund, Erik Haula, Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Carter, Stu Bickel, Kyle Brodziak, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella, Jared Spurgeon, Nate Prosser and Mathew Dumba. Niklas Backstrom backed up Darcy Kuemper. Keith Ballard and Justin Fontaine were the scratches.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Marco Scandella, 2nd Star Thomas Vanek, 3rd Star Tyler Seguin
~ Attendance was 18,532 at American Airlines Arena.
Iowa Wild Report:
Recent Score: Iowa 1, Rockford 6
The game started out with lots of shots as John Curry found himself busy right from the drop of the puck. He stopped all 17 shots he faced in a first period that was dominated by the Ice Hogs. The play was both fast paced and physical as both clubs were taking the body with great frequency. The physical intensity made tempers flare and the game had number of fights. However if it wasn’t the fisticuffs where the Ice Hogs were causing havoc as Rockford started to find the back of the net as Teuvo Teravainen and Dennis Rasmussen gave them a 2-0 lead going into the 3rd. Curt Gogol didn’t hesitate to try to inspire his team by dropping the gloves or protect his teammates but he’d earn a 3rd man in infraction on top of multiple game misconducts ending with 45 minutes in penalties all by himself. Curtis Gabriel also took his turn dropping the glove against Rockford’s Cody Bass. Yet the fights only served to shorten the Wild’s bench and this led to defensive breakdowns as former Hermantown star Drew LeBlanc, Ville Pokka tallied twice and Peter Regin scored to turn the game into a solid. One tiny silver lining as Christian Folin would score his first goal as a professional in the 3rd in what was a painful 6-1 rout. Curry had 43 saves in the losing effort.
Wild Prospect Report:
C – Adam Gilmour (Boston College, H-East) ~ The lanky center chipped in a goal as his Boston College Eagles were blitzed 6-2 at home by Minnesota. Gilmour is 3rd on the team in scoring with 2 goals, 10 points, 10 PIM’s and is a +5 in 13 games this season.
RW – Alex Tuch (Boston College, H-East) ~ The big power forward had one of Boston College’s 2 goals in their 6-2 loss to the Golden Gophers. Tuch leads in the Eagles in scoring with 5 goals, 10 points and 6 PIM’s with a +2 in 13 games.
RW – Chase Lang (Calgary, WHL) ~ There is defensive hockey and then there is a free-wheeling barn burner which is what happened Friday night in Calgary as the Hitmen outlasted Kootenay 6-4. The Nainamo, Britisth Columbia-native netted 2 goals in the victory and finished the game with a +3 rating. Lang has 11 goals, 20 points, 23 PIM’s and is a +6 in 22 games this season.
C – Pavel Jenys (Sudbury, OHL) ~ The Czech-scoring machine continues to be a bright spot in what has been a long and painful season thus far for the Sudbury Wolves after he chipped in with an assist in their 5-3 loss to Guelph on Friday night. Jenys has 5 goals, 18 points, 22 PIM’s and is a -10 in 24 games this season.
D – Dylan Labbe (Shawinigan, QMJHL) ~ The intense two-way defenseman continues to be a leader for the Cataractes as he provided 3 assists in Shawinigan’s 7-4 win over Baie-Comeau on Friday. Labbe has 4 goals, 15 points, 15 PIM’s and is a +6 in 24 games this season.
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