Dec 5, 2007 3:17 pm US/Central
Former WCHA Coaches To Square Off In Bubble Hockey
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) ―
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Woog, who coached the Golden Gophers from 1985-99, and Blais, who led the Fighting Sioux from 1995-04, will play a game of bubble hockey at center ice of Ralph Engelstad Arena.
AP
Doug Woog and Dean Blais coached against one another in one of college hockey's best rivalries for five years.
On Friday night, the former Minnesota and North Dakota coaches will square off again, though in a little different format.
Woog, who coached the Golden Gophers from 1985-99, and Blais, who led the Fighting Sioux from 1995-04, will play a game of bubble hockey at center ice of Ralph Engelstad Arena. It's a prelude to this weekend's Minnesota-UND series.
Bubble hockey is a table game that is similar to foosball. The Woog-Blais matchup will be displayed on the video board above center ice and Sioux play-by-play announcer Tim Hennessy will call the game.
"I haven't been practicing, but I'm not sure I need to," joked Woog, who does color commentary for Gopher hockey games on Fox Sports Net. "I think I'll go on the offensive. I'll be aggressive. There won't be any neutral zone traps."
Blais, who is coach and general manager of the United States Hockey League franchise being developed in Fargo, said he is not worried.
"I don't know what we're playing to, but I know I'll get there before Woog," he said.
Woog said he has never played bubble hockey. Blais said he hasn't played since he was a child. He said he has his weekend plans all laid out.
"I'll probably come up there on Friday, have dinner with the team and then get ready to stomp Woog," he said.
Blais won two national championships with UND and later served as director of player development for the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets.
Woog earned NCAA tournament berths in his first 12 seasons as coach and led the Gophers to six Frozen Fours.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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