| Jay Barriball; good article | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 10 2006, 06:13 PM (116 Views) | |
| Ryan | Oct 10 2006, 06:13 PM Post #1 |
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After a summer of waiting, Barriball makes strong debut By C.J. Spang for the first time in five seasons, the maroon and gold Easton hockey jersey with No. 26 stitched on the back won't be worn by the fifth pick in the NHL Draft. It won't be a guy like Thomas Vanek or Phil Kessel, both of whom made Minnesota fans slide toward the front of their seats and place their hands on the arm rests ready to leap forward in celebration because one flick of the wrist could change an entire game. Instead it will be Jay Barriball, the 5-foot, 9-inch, 156-pound freshman forward, who, despite his size, played more physically and with more hustle in one game than Vanek or Kessel did in their entire careers. The two relied on sheer talent in their combined three years as Gophers. And there's no question they are two of the most skilled players ever to don a Minnesota jersey, but that doesn't mean Barriball feels any extra pressure. "It's just a number," he said. "But, I don't know, it's kinda cool to be wearing the same number as those guys." While those guys certainly were catalysts for their teams, they weren't exactly complete players. Vanek hardly played defense, nor was he really expected to. The team knew it would play a man down on the defensive end with Vanek on the ice, but that was a fair trade-off considering his scoring ability. Kessel was similar to Vanek in that he didn't do a whole lot beyond scoring. He always shied away from contact and he was listed as 3 inches taller and 34 pounds heavier than Barriball. It's fitting really that Barriball, who was drafted by the San Jose Sharks 198 spots after Kessel in the 2006 NHL Draft, would replace Kessel and wear his number. Barriball wasn't slated to play for Minnesota until the 2007-2008 season, but, with Kessel's decision to turn pro, the Gophers were short a forward and Barriball was called in. "It was just a waiting game over the summer and (when) I found out I got to come here, it was just unbelievable," he said. "Then I found myself sitting in the locker room today saying, 'This is it, this is what I dreamed about my whole life.'" And on the night when Kessel was making his NHL debut in Boston, recording zero points on two shots and earning a plus/minus rating of minus-2 in 14 minutes of ice time, Barriball was chasing down loose pucks, pressuring the Maine skaters, drawing penalties, creating chances and scoring his first collegiate goal. Basically, he was everywhere. His goal came with 1:06 remaining in the first period, when Barriball put home a rebound on Mike Vanelli's shot from the blue line. Barriball had the puck come right to him and while falling down, managed to get the puck past a solid goaltender in Ben Bishop. "It was unbelievable," Barriball said of the goal. "I was really happy, but it would have been a lot nicer to get a win out of it." But Barriball's hard-nosed, impressive play didn't stop there. After a Maine save on a Mike Carman shot, Barriball skated over to the far boards and shoved the Black Bears' 6-foot, 7-inch, 221-pound defenseman Simon Danis-Pepin. Apparently, the size disadvantage didn't faze the youngster. "That's part of my game," Barriball said. "Just to hit guys and work hard. It gets me going and gets the other guys going too." And it definitely looked as though his play Friday inspired his teammates, as Minnesota dominated for a majority of the game after Barriball's goal. As for whether Barriball can continue scoring and put up Vanek and Kessel-like numbers this season, he had a lighthearted answer: "I hope so." - C.J. Spang welcomes comments at cspang@mndaily.com. http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2006/10/10/69317 |
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| Wild-Puck | Oct 10 2006, 09:55 PM Post #2 |
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Thanks for the read...I saw that earlier today. I thought he was one of the top players on the ice against Maine. I did not know much about him but I can see that he is one of those skaters that plays way above his size. |
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| Ryan | Oct 10 2006, 10:12 PM Post #3 |
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Sioux Falls is going to miss him this season. Him and Carman are going to be real good this year. |
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| Wild-Puck | Oct 10 2006, 10:18 PM Post #4 |
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Yeah Carmen really impressed me...he was making plays on nearly every shift against Maine. |
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| Ryan | Oct 11 2006, 05:02 AM Post #5 |
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Definitely an excellent addition by Lucia. Okposo will be a beast this year too. This freshman class is going to do good things, and I hope they can gel sooner rather than later
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| Ryan | Oct 16 2006, 05:13 PM Post #6 |
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another story... New No. 26 earning his keep, respect of fans After making the Gophers because Phil Kessel left, Jay Barriball is proving himself. Dean Spiros, Star Tribune The sight of No. 26 in a Gophers uniform this season was sure to bring back fond memories of Phil Kessel's magic with the puck. After three games, however, Gophers fans are finding it a little easier to move on. Jay Barriball, the new 26, scored two goals Saturday in the Gophers' 5-1 victory over Wayne State at Mariucci Arena, giving him a team-high four. Had Kessel returned for his sophomore season instead of going to the NHL, Barriball not only would not have had his number, he would not have been on the team. Because he is 5-9, 156 pounds, the consensus had been that Barriball could use a year in the USHL to mature physically. But Kessel left, and Barriball has stepped right in. "I don't think a lot of people expected it from him so soon," said freshman forward Kyle Okposo, who scored his first two goals of the season. "He looks like our best forward." Barriball, who played at Holy Angels last season, said it took him "a period or two" to adjust to the college game. He scored the Gophers' only goal vs. Maine in the season opener and added one Friday. "I just try to crash the net, and that's how I've gotten all my goals," he said. "I think those big defensemen lose me out there, and I can sneak in behind them." Until further notice, Barriball has earned a spot on right wing alongside Blake Wheeler and Ben Gordon on the Gophers' top scoring line. "Jay is going to quickly become a fan favorite for how hard he works," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "He's fearless. I think a few of our returning forwards can take a page out of his book." The Gophers had to work harder than the score indicates to finish the weekend sweep. After a scoreless first period, they scored five times in the second. Three of the goals came on the power play, in a span of two minutes and 16 seconds. Wayne State had cut the Gophers' lead to 2-1 with a power play goal at 10:18, and the Warriors were playing very aggressively. Too aggressively, it turned out, as three penalties in less than two minutes led to three Gophers goals. Okposo scored off a scramble in front before Barriball got his second of the night, while the Gophers held a two-man advantage. Okposo ended the blitz at 17:24, when he deflected a centering pass from Ryan Stoa past Warriors goaltender Brett Bothwell. The Gophers' power play struggled the first two games of the season, going 0-13. Lucia said he wasn't surprised, as little practice time had been devoted to it. "We worked on it a little [Saturday] morning," Okposo said. "And we talked about it in the pregame, so it was a focus for us." Sophomore goaltender Jeff Frazee passed his first test of the season, picking up a pair of victories at the end of senior Kellen Briggs' three-game suspension for a violation of unspecified team rules. "Jeff was in control," Lucia said. "This should allow him to go to Ohio State [next weekend] with confidence." Frazee is expected to start at least one of the games against the Buckeyes. "I thought I played the way I should play," he said. "Hopefully, that's how I will keep playing. I'm finding my rhythm after getting back into it after the summer." Dean Spiros • dspiros@startribune.com http://www.startribune.com/512/story/743537.html |
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| sftravis | Oct 17 2006, 04:38 PM Post #7 |
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God I wish he was still on the Stampede. |
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| Wild-Puck | Oct 18 2006, 06:33 AM Post #8 |
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Sorry, but we are happy to have him right here. |
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| Ryan | Oct 18 2006, 12:36 PM Post #9 |
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That makes two of us
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