St. Paul, Minn. – “Sweet and Sauer.”
That was the chant of several Avalanche players following Thursday’s 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. It was in honor of defenseman Kurt Sauer, the Minnesota native who has spent most of the season in the press box as a healthy scratch.
Through it all, Sauer maintained a professional attitude. When a season-ending injury to Ossi Vaananen struck last week, Sauer was called to duty. He has responded well, and Thursday he got an assist on one of the Avs’ two goals.
His combination of a pass and shot was deflected in by Avalanche rookie Brad Richardson in the second period. Sauer played 17 minutes, 32 seconds and was a plus-1.
“There was a lot of character for us tonight. (David Aebischer) came up big, the penalty-killing came up big,” Sauer said. “It was a good game; we need to win these one-goal games.”
Most of Sauer’s season had been sour, not sweet. But he never quit on his ability.
“When you get that chance, you’ve got to make the most of it,” Sauer said. “You keep working, you keep hoping for a chance. With this team, we’ve got a bunch of guys who make it easy on you when you’re in that position.”
Footnotes
Injured Avalanche center Pierre Turgeon (strained shoulder) skated Thursday morning but did not play. He is doubtful to play tonight. … Avs rookie Marek Svatos entered Thursday without a goal in four straight games. His longest drought of the season is nine games. … Scouts from Nashville and Boston were at the game. … Avs veteran Bob Boughner missed the game because of a slightly sprained wrist. He is day-to-day. … The Wild was credited with just two hits by the official statistics keepers. The Avs were credited with nine. Both teams had more than that.
