No. 1 Gophers Host No. 14/15 Notre Dame

Nov. 5, 2014

The top-ranked Gopher Hockey program continues the 2014-15 campaign this weekend with a nonconference, Friday-Sunday series against No. 14/15 Notre Dame at Mariucci Arena. Friday's opener is set for 7:03 p.m. CT (Big Ten Network, BTN2Go.com, 1500 ESPN) while Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 4:03 p.m. (ESPNU, WatchESPN, 1500 ESPN).

Kloos Lights the Lamp

Sophomore forward Justin Kloos tallied his first career hat trick in last Saturday's 4-3 overtime win against St. Cloud State and was named the Big Ten Second Star of the Week for his performance against the Huskies. Kloos, who led Minnesota with 16 goals last year as a freshman (first Gopher freshman to lead the team in goals since Jay Barriball with 20 in 2006-07), scored twice in the second period before ending the game with his fifth goal of the year 1:19 into overtime. Kloos is tied for the Big Ten goal scoring lead this year and ranks tied for seventh nationally.

	The Gophers previewed this weekend's series vs. Notre Dame

Ambroz Nears Milestone

With an assist last weekend against St. Cloud State, senior forward Seth Ambroz now needs just one point to reach his 50th career point as a Gopher. The alternate captain has 29 goals and 20 assists in 126 career games while Ambroz has one goal and one assist this season through six games.

Coaching Connection

Minnesota head coach Don Lucia will faceoff once again with his alma mater this weekend when the Fighting Irish come to Mariucci. Lucia graduated from Notre Dame in 1981 and holds a 7-3-0 all-time record against his college team including a 4-2-0 mark as head coach of the Gophers. Additionally, Lucia's son,â€ˆMario is a junior forward with the Irish this year and ranks fifth in the NCAA in points with five and second in the nation in goals with eighth.

Mariucci Magic

Minnesota now holds the longest active home unbeaten streak in the nation at 15 games dating back to Nov. 24, 2014 (2-6 loss to Minnesota Duluth). Included in the 15-game unbeaten streak is Minnesota's 1-0 victory over Ohio State in the 2014 Hockey City Classic at TCF Bank Stadium, which was officially scored as a home game.

There's No Place Like Home

The 2014-15 season marked the 21st campaign in which the Gophers have called Mariucci Arena home. Since opening Mariucci Arena, Minnesota is 293-113-45 on home ice. Since the start of the 2011-12 season, the Gophers are 51-10-6 on home ice including a 15-1-3 (.853) mark last year and a 3-0-0 mark this season.

Seniors to Lead in 2014-15

All-American Kyle Rau will lead the Gophers as team captain in 2014-15, making the senior the first player at the University of Minnesota to serve as captain for two-straight seasons since Grant Potulny in 2002-03 and 2003-04. Seniors Seth Ambroz and Ben Marshall will serve as alternate captains -- the 159th and 160th players to serve as either captain or alternate captain for the Gophers in a tradition that dates back to the program's first year of play in 1921-22 when Chet Bros led the Maroon & Gold.

Iron Man in Net

Over his two-plus seasons with the Gophers, Adam Wilcox has arguably put up two of the top seasons in net in program history. The South St. Paul, Minn., native set a new school GAA record of 1.88 in 2012-13 as a freshman, earning All-WCHA Third Team honors. Last year was even better for the netminder. Wilcox set a new school save percentage record of .932 and earned Second Team All-America accolades as well as being named Big Ten Player & Goaltender of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten. He also was named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award -- Minnesota's first finalist since Ryan Potulny in 2006.

Up Next - Minnesota Duluth

The Gophers continue the nonconference schedule next weekend with a home-and-home series against Minnesota Duluth. The Maroon & Gold open the series at Mariucci Arena on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. (FSN+, BTN2Go.com, 1500 ESPN) and close out the in-state battle at Duluth on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. (FSN+, 1500 ESPN).

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Players Mentioned

Seth Ambroz

Justin Kloos

Ben Marshall

Kyle Rau

Adam Wilcox

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University of Minnesota Athletics