Inside College Hockey | INCH Measures Up Barry Tallackson

March 30, 2005
NCAA Frozen Four
INCH Measures Up Minnesota's Barry Tallackson

By Jess Myers

At six-foot-four, 211 pounds, Minnesota's Barry Tallackson is a big target. That goes for opponents as well as Gopher fans, who've made the senior wing the object of their derision numerous times during his four-year career.

Despite scoring 91 points in 155 career games, Tallackson hasn't been the offensive dynamo many expected him to be when he arrived in Dinkytown in the fall of 2001. But like Patrick Roy, the Gophers' assistant captain can block out criticism by putting his two national championship rings in his ears.

Thanks to his overtime goal against Cornell in the West Regional final, Tallackson and fellow seniors Jake Fleming, Justin Johnson, Garrett Smaagaard and Judd Stevens have a chance to join Michigan's Carl Isaacson, Alex MacClellan and John Matchefts as the only players to win three Frozen Four titles. Inside College Hockey caught up with Tallackson to get his thoughts on a variety of subjects.

Senior wing Barry Tallackson has scored 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in 27 career postseason games with Minnesota.

Inside College Hockey: What’s it like not only facing North Dakota for the fourth time this season, but facing them with the stakes higher than ever?

Barry Tallackson: This game is going to be pretty big, but we’ve been facing them all year and we know what they’re about. The game plan is going to be the same. We’ll have a good week of practice and watch some video. We know their goalie is pretty hot right now, but that’s nothing new for us. We’ve been facing a lot of hot goalies lately.

INCH: The last four goalies your team faced are Curtis McElhinney, Jordan Parise, Jimmy Howard and David McKee. Now you get Parise again. Facing an All-America candidate in every game must be getting old.

BT: It kind of gets a little annoying, but goaltenders win championships. We just have to keep peppering them with shots.

INCH: You’re one of the veterans on a team filled with young talent. How much of an adjustment has it been to take on the leadership role?

BT: Toward the beginning of the year you’re trying to be the role guy and trying to set examples, but lately our team has been as one. Everyone knows their roles, and the underclassmen know how to win games. After last weekend, pretty much everyone knows what it takes.

INCH: You look at teammates like Ryan Potulny and Alex Goligoski who came in here with really high expectations placed upon them. Can you relate to the pressure they’re under?

BT: Definitely. Every single player is going to have their critics. If I tell them one thing it’s to keep their heads on straight. I’ve endured a lot of criticism in my career, but you need to block it out and play the game you’re capable of [playing].

INCH Measures Up:
Frozen Four Edition

Colorado College: Scott Polaski
Denver: Matt Carle
North Dakota: Drew Stafford

INCH: Red Line Report ranked you as the top freshman in the country when you came to Minnesota. Did that place unnecessary pressure on you?

BT: It kind of put me on a pedestal, and everyone had really high expectations for me. I had high expectations for myself too, but if you don’t meet the expectations others have for you, they look at you as a failure. I don’t believe I am. I just keep my head up and keep trying to improve.

INCH: With two NCAA titles under your belt and a shot at a third one, have you met your own expectations?

BT: I definitely wanted to have more points throughout my career. But my main goal has been team success. I’ve been a part of two national championships and three teams that have gone to the Frozen Four, and we missed it by one game last year. I really have no regrets.

INCH: You list Detroit Lakes, Minn., as your hometown, but you played high school at St. Paul Johnson, played for the U.S. Under-18 Team in Ann Arbor, graduated from high school in Ann Arbor, and now you’ve spent four years in the Twin Cities. What do you consider home?

BT: Detroit Lakes is really where I’m from. I lived there from the time I was five until my freshman year of high school.

INCH: Detroit Lakes is in that part of northwestern Minnesota that’s right on the border between Gopher country and Sioux country. Were you tempted to play for North Dakota at any point?

BT: Not really. I was born and raised to follow the Gophers, but my grandparents live in North Dakota and were always giving me a little pressure to go there. I had Minnesota in my heart.

INCH: Will your grandparents still cheer for you against the Sioux?

BT: Definitely they will. They’ve converted to Gopher fans now.

INCH: Was Tyler Hirsch’s situation a distraction for the other players during the Final Five, and how have you dealt with it?

BT: Everyone has been dealing with it pretty well. When someone gets hurt or someone on the team goes down, we’re always going to support them. No matter what happens, we’re all one family here.

INCH: You got to play a Frozen Four in your backyard in St. Paul and you got to play one in Buffalo. How do you think Columbus will compare to the first two?

BT: It should be right up there. Every year the Frozen Four is pretty exciting, and to be a part of it again is going to be really exciting, especially for our young guys. Since we have a lot of freshmen, it will be good for them to get a feel for what the Frozen Four is all about. St. Paul was a different story because it was like our hometown and our home crowd – that was unbelievable. But every year the Frozen Four is exciting.

INCH: Does it make it more or less exciting when all four teams are from the WCHA and anyone you face will be someone you’re familiar with?

BT: I think that makes it more exciting. The people that are true fans will be all riled up. We’ve faced all of these teams, so there’s nothing new to us. Everyone is comfortable with each other, and there’s no curveballs being thrown. It’ll be pretty unique.

INCH: Playing a team like North Dakota, with their size on defense, does it give you more responsibility as one of the bigger Gophers?

BT: Sort of. I like to get out there and set an example for the team by getting a big hit. If (Kris) Chucko and (Danny) Irmen and those guys can get in there and bang the bodies a little bit, it’s better for us. Last weekend we played against those big monsters Cornell has, and we’ll be facing a big D corps in North Dakota, so we’ll have to play physical.

INCH: You and Zach Parise are both high draft picks by New Jersey. Do you think Zach will call and ask you to take it easy on his brother?

BT: (Laughs) I don’t know. I played with Zach over in the World Juniors a couple of years ago, and I know him. I don’t know if we’re going to be with the Devils anytime soon because of the NHL lockout, but hopefully someday.

INCH: Do you and Jordan (Parise) know each other?

BT: Not personally. To me, he’s just another goalie.