The Gophers Future Is Not In Good Hands
The timing of this news could not be any worse:
Minnesota goaltender Kellen Briggs is out indefinitely with an unspecified hand injury, the school said today.
Briggs, a sophomore, has started 30 games this season, posting a 19-10-0 record with a 2.46 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. Briggs is 26-11-0 in his last 37 starts, dating to last season. In the WCHA, he is ranked fifth in GAA and save percentage, and sixth in winning percentage (.655).
Senior netminder Justin Johnson is expected to start for the 12th-ranked Golden Gophers (20-12-1, 13-10-1 WCHA) this weekend in the home-and-home series against St. Cloud State. Freshman Brent Solei will likely serve as Johnson's backup.
Briggs had a great first half of the season, and, even though he (and the team) have struggled of late, strong play from him between the pipes was considered essential if the Gophers had any hopes of a postseason run. With the end of their regular season this weekend, the WCHA playoffs on March 12th-14th, and the WCHA Final Five the following weekend, hearing that your starting goalie is out "indefinitely" is not real encouraging for the Gopher faithful.
No comments:
Post a Comment