Brett Larson went home to Duluth and found out how far Minnesota has to go

Brett Larson took the Minnesota job in March, and this weekend his schedule sent him home to Duluth. The barn was sold out. The result was a reality check: Minnesota is 0-3-1, and the Gophers have not held a lead for a single second this season.

That's not a crisis yet. Four games is a small sample. But the shot chart from the weekend says this is a rebuild, not a slump.

The weekend at Amsoil

Friday was ugly. No. 9 Minnesota Duluth won 7-1 in front of 7,052. UMD scored three power-play goals in about three minutes during a Minnesota major, and Ty Hanson scored two of them.

Freshman goalie Carl Axelsson stopped 24 of 25. It was UMD's first seven-goal night against the Gophers since the 1998-99 season.

Saturday was better, and it had a name in it. Captain Brodie Ziemer scored twice in the second period to erase a 2-0 hole, the second on the power play. That goal ended UMD's run of 21 straight penalty kills to open the year.

Senior goalie Luca Di Pasquo made 34 saves, seven in overtime. The game finished 2-2, and Minnesota won the shootout. LJ Mooney is now three for three in his career there.

Larson didn't dress it up. After Friday, he said, "I just didn't like our compete level." After Saturday: "This team played a lot better tonight and is starting to show what they can do."

The Ferda number

Minnesota was outshot 74-43 over the two nights, by our count from the box scores. UMD won 77 faceoffs to Minnesota's 49. Minnesota came into the weekend No. 20 in the USCHO poll, the last team in. That's a ranked team getting out-possessed by 31 shots.

Rivalry file

This series means more to Larson than to most. He's a Duluth native who played at UMD from 1991 to 1995 and won two national titles there as Scott Sandelin's assistant. Now he's on the other bench, trying to rebuild the program Bob Motzko left behind. Sandelin got the better of him this time.

Kessler's call

The schedule doesn't get softer. No. 4 North Dakota comes to Minneapolis on Thursday and Friday. Minnesota's best player is Ziemer, a junior who scored 23 goals last season and just found his touch. Its best skill is the shootout, which won't save it in the standings.

My call: Minnesota takes at least one point from North Dakota, because Di Pasquo just showed he can steal a night. But the Gophers fall out of the top 20 when the new poll lands. A win would fix that. Holding a lead for a period would be a good start.