On Saturday, Minnesota got their first WCHA sweep of the 2012-2013 season and for sophomore forward Kyle Rau it was another first: his first collegiate hat trick.
Rau scored three times in Saturday's 7-1 win over Alaska-Anchorage for the first Gopher hat trick since Nick Bjugstad scored three goals against St. Cloud State November 19, 2011. The sophomore had scored earlier in the game when tipping in a shot from Nate Schmidt and then on an unassisted play in the final minute of the second period.
Rau jumped into the play to steal the puck from Seawolves forward Matt Bailey. He then swiftly moved to his left, then around defenseman Blake Leask before sliding the puck through goalie Rob Gunderson's legs for his third and final goal. It was one of a few goals Saturday that found its way through the five hole.
"Nah, that was kind of the way it ended up," Rau said about the number of goals that slid between the Alaska-Anchorage goalie's legs. "Everyone was just good moving side-to-side and so the five hole opens up when that happens."
The video of his third goal, taken by C.J. Fogler (@cjzero) is above and is a beauty. In fact, the only thing disappointing about Rau's final goal was that the 9,607 fans at Mariucci Arena only threw a single hat.