University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Hit the Road for Notre Dame Series
11/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
| Minnesota at No. 18 Notre Dame | |||||||||||
| Game 1 | Friday, Nov. 6 | 6:35 p.m. | ||||||||||
| Game 2 | Saturday, Nov. 7 | 5:35 p.m. | ||||||||||
| Location | Compton Family Ice Arena | South Bend, Ind. | ||||||||||
| Television | Game 1: American Sports Network (TV Info) | ||||||||||
| Game 2: NBC Sports | |||||||||||
| Stream | Game 2: NBC Sports Live Extra | ||||||||||
| Radio | 1500 ESPN (Both Games) | ||||||||||
| Live Stats | | | ||||||||||
| Game Day Live | Game 1 | Game 2 | ||||||||||
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Notre Dame | Big Ten | ||||||||||
| Social Media | @GopherHockey | Facebook | Instagram | ||||||||||
Nov. 4, 2015
Gopher Hockey returns to action this weekend with a nonconference series at No. 18 Notre Dame. The series kicks off on Friday, Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. CT with the finale set for Saturday, Nov. 7 at 5:30 p.m. CT.
Schierhorn Stands Tall in Goal
Eric Scheirhorn's impressive weekend against Northeastern led to a sweep of the Huskies and the Big Ten First Star of the Week. The rookie made 23 saves in the series opener (4-0 Minnesota) for his first career win and shutout and then followed with 25 saves the next night (4-3 Minnesota). The freshman now ranks second among all Big Ten goaltenders with a 2.22 goals against average and a .924 save percentage.
Flurry of Firsts from the Offense
With a young team comes a lot of firsts and the Gophers definitely saw that in an eight-goal, two-game sweep of Northeastern. Friday's 4-0 win over the Huskies saw Tommy Novak, Tyler Sheehy, and Jack Glover all tally their first collegiate goals while Jack Sadek added an assist for his first collegiate point in his Gophers debut. Novak, Sheehy and Glover actually scored three goals on Minnesota's first four shots on goal in the game. Saturday's 4-3 win saw Nick Seeler tally an assist for the junior transfer's first point as a Gopher.
Notre Dame Storylines
The Maroon & Gold boast a 26-14-3 all-time record against Notre Dame including a 4-1-0 mark over the last three years. Coincidentally, the Gophers didn't even play the Irish in their last trip to South Bend with Minnesota defeating Minnesota Duluth and RPI to win the 2014 Ice Breaker Tournament at Compton Family Ice Arena. Gophers coach Don Lucia is a Notre Dame alum, having played defense for the Irish from 1977-81 with 30 points (seven goals, 23 assists) in 124 games. Lucia's youngest son, Mario, is a senior forward for the Irish while associate head coach Mike Guentzel's son, Ryan, played for Notre Dame from 2007-11.
Brodzinski Carries the Torch
Five games into the 2015-16 season and in one sense the Gophers look similar to last year's team as a junior defenseman leads the team in scoring. With five points (one goal, four assists), Michael Brodzinski not only leads Minnesota in scoring -- he is currently tied as the leading scorer among Big Ten defensemen (his 1.00 points per game stands alone among Big Ten defensemen). The junior defenseman tallied four points in the Northeastern sweep including a career-best three points (one goal, two assists) in the series finale to earn Big Ten Second Star of the Week honors. Two-time First Team All-American Mike Reilly led the Gophers in scoring last season with 42 points (six goals, 36 assists) -- the first Gophers defenseman to lead the team in scoring since Mike Crowley tallied 56 points in 1996-97.
Cammarata Against the Irish
Junior forward Taylor Cammarata is still looking for his first point of the season, but if his career against Notre Dame is any indication, he'll be poised to tally this weekend. In four career games against the Irish, Cammarata is Minnesota's active leading scorer against this weekend's opponent with eight points (one goal, seven assists). The junior has tallied at least two points in each of the last three games against Notre Dame (all Minnesota wins) including a career-best three assists in the last meeting. Cammarata has tallied three points in a game four times as a Gopher -- two of them coming against the Irish.
Fasching Finds the Net
Hudson Fasching currently leads the Gophers with three goals this season and he'll look to continue his scoring ways this weekend. The junior forward has tallied a point in each of his four career games against Notre Dame with five total points (three goals, two assists).
Four Championships -- A Program First
For the first time in Gopher Hockey history, the Maroon & Gold have earned four-straight regular-season conference titles after repeating as Big Ten champions last year. Minnesota's 6-2 win over Penn State in the regular-season finale clinched the championship for Minnesota with the title standing as the 16th regular-season conference crown in program history. Prior to the back-to-back Big Ten titles, Minnesota won two-straight MacNaughton Cups as WCHA regular-season champions in the team's final two years in the league (co-champions in 2012-13).
Pacing the Nation
Not only have the Gophers won four-straight conference titles, they've earned four-straight NCAA tournament berths over that span including two trips to the NCAA Frozen Four and added a Big Ten tournament title last year. Perhaps even more impressive is the overall record of the Maroon & Gold over that stretch. Over the last four years, Minnesota led the nation in total wins (105), winning percentage (.690) entering the 2015-16 season.
Our Home, Our Hockey
Now entering its 22nd season at Mariucci Arena, Minnesota has been incredibly successful on its home ice, boasting a 306-119-46 all-time record at the venue. The dominance has never been more apparent than the last four years with the Gophers leading the nation in home wins (63), home winning percentage (.801) and fewest home losses (13) entering the 2015-16 season. In Big Ten play, Minnesota holds a 17-1-2 (.875) all-time record on home ice. Four of Minnesota's first five games this season will be played at Mariucci Arena. (All statistics except for Mariucci Arena record include Minnesota's win at TCF Bank Stadium in 2013-14.).
Four to Lead in 2015-16
The Gophers will see a new crop of leaders in the locker room this season with junior forward Justin Kloos serving as team captain while redshirt junior forward Connor Reilly, junior forward Hudson Fasching, and junior defenseman Jake Bischoff will act as alternate captains for the Maroon & Gold. Kloos, who returns as Minnesota's active leading scorer, replaces two-year team captain Kyle Rau while the cadre of alternate captains take over for Ben Marshall and Seth Ambroz. This year's group of leaders mark the 161st-164th 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.
Fresh Faces on the Team
With six seniors graduating last season and three juniors signing professional contracts, a sizable rookie class will be joining the Gophers roster this year. Coach Lucia has added 10 incoming freshmen to bolster the roster (Jack Sadek, Curt Simonson, Brent Gates Jr., Brock Kautz, Tyler Sheehy, Ryan Norman, Tommy Novak, Jack Ramsey, Eric Schierhorn, Darian Romanko). Broken down by position, Minnesota adds two goalies, two defensemen and six forwards. Additionally, the Maroon & Gold have added junior forward Mike Szmatula to the roster following a transfer from Northeastern. (Szmatula will sit out the 2015-16 due to NCAA transfer rules.)
Lucia Makes Gophers History
Now in his 29th season as a Division I head coach and his 17th season at the University of Minnesota, Don Lucia is among the most successful coaches in college hockey history. Lucia led the Gophers to two NCAA titles and continues to produce elite-level teams and talent. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native is Minnesota's all-time winningest coach with 397 victories to his name after passing Doug Woog late last season. Lucia's 676-360-97 all-time record ranks ninth all-time among college hockey coaches and is third among active coaches (Jerry York, Red Berenson).
Gophers in the Draft
The University of Minnesota features 12 players whose rights have been drafted by NHL teams including four newcomers. Three freshmen were drafted in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft -- Brent Gates Jr. (Anaheim, third round, 80th overall), Tommy Novak (Nashville, third round, 85th overall), Jack Sadek (Minnesota, seventh round, 204th overall) -- while Jack Ramsey was selected in 2014 (Chicago, seventh round, 208th overall). The Minnesota Wild (Sadek, Nick Seeler) and the New York Islanders (Taylor Cammarata, Jake Bischoff) lead all NHL teams with two Gopher draftees each.
12 Gophers on NHL Rosters
Gopher Hockey has featured 12 NHL alums this season with Nick Bjugstad (Florida Panthers), Alex Goligoski (Dallas Stars), Erik Haula (Minnesota Wild), Erik Johnson (Colorado Avalanche), Phil Kessel (Pittsburgh Penguins), Nick Leddy (New York Islanders), Paul Martin (San Jose Sharks), Kyle Okposo (New York Islanders), Nate Schmidt (Washington Capitals), Jordan Schroeder (Minnesota Wild), Thomas Vanek (Minnesota Wild) and Blake Wheeler (Winnipeg Jets) making the cut. Additionally, Darby Hendrickson continues to serve as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Wild and Paul Holmgren is the president of the Philadelphia Flyers.
