Classic Zach Parise, "No Gophers"
s/t to Tedder11 for posting this one over on Siouxsports.com, yeah the one that used to play for the Fighting Sioux as well. Good to know that Zach is still not a fan of the Gophers after all of these years. Thank God Lou Nannie and Glen Sonmor weren’t able to get Zach to change his mind.
NJ.COM --- Asked about playing in the Xcel Energy Center, Parise said: "I love coming here and playing. Unfortunately we do it every other year. It's a great arena. Growing up around here I'd go and watch state tournaments. Everybody loves hockey. The fans are real knowledgeable about the game. When you can call this a home and come back and play it's a lot of fun."
He was asked by a local TV questioner if he had a favorite local hockey player, perhaps a University of Minnesota Gophers player? Not a good question for a University of North Dakota player.
"No Gophers. Come on," Parise said with a laugh. "I was always a big (Neal) Broten fan and (Mike) Modano fan. I was more watching the North Stars growing up than the Gophers. I kind of got more attached to that than college. But definitely no Gophers."
When asked about the Gophers being ranked No. 1, Parise said: "That's when I stopped paying attention. UND always has a strong second half. They always seem to heat up at the right time heading into the playoffs."
