Gophers Set for Showdown with Michigan

Gopher Hockey: No. 20 Minnesota vs. No. 6 Michigan
Location	Mariucci Arena \| Minneapolis, Minn.
Game 30	Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016
Puck Drop	7:33 p.m. CT
Television	Big Ten Network
Stream	BTN2Go
Radio	1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network
Game Links	Gopher Hockey Live \|
Game 31	Friday, Feb. 26, 2016
Puck Drop	8:03 p.m. CT
Television	Big Ten Network
Stream	BTN2Go
Radio	1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network
Game Links	Gopher Hockey Live \|
Game Notes	Minnesota \| Michigan \| Big Ten
Promotions	Click Here for Weekend Schedule
Social Media	@GopherHockey \| Facebook \| Instagram

MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) -- The No. 20 Gopher Hockey program returns to action this weekend with a two-game Big Ten series against No. 6 Michigan at Mariucci Arena. The conference's top-two programs meet in a Thursday-Friday series with the action starting on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7:33 p.m. CTâ€ˆand wrapping up on Friday, Feb. 26 at 8:03 p.m. CT. Both games will be televised on the Big Ten Network (stream on BTN2Go) with radio broadcasts on 1500 ESPN and the Gopher Radio Network.

Against Michigan
Minnesota enters this week's series with a 135-121-14 all-time record against Michigan including an 82-47-10 mark on home ice. The two teams split a pair of games in Ann Arbor earlier this season with the Gophers' 3-2 win on Dec. 12 serving as the Wolverines' last regulation loss. Hudson Fasching is Minnesota's active leading scorer against the Wolverines with 11 pointsâ€ˆ(five goals, six assists) in 11 career games.

Captain Kloos Stays Hot
Junior forward Justin Kloos extended his career-best scoring streak to 11 games with four points (two goals, two assists) in the Ohio State series including the Friday overtime winner and now has multi-point performances in eight of the last 11 games and seven of the last nine. Kloos has goals in nine of the last 11 games (the team captain started the streak with a career-best seven-goal goal scoring streak). Kloos' 24 points since starting the streak on Jan. 5 lead the nation. The junior has now notched a career-high 33 points this season for the Gophers and stands at 97 career pointsâ€ˆ(43 goals, 54 assists).

Gophers Break Out
Nine Gophers have already set new career highs for points this season, highlighted by Justin Kloos and Hudson Fasching (both lead Minnesota with 33 points in 29 games this year). Leon Bristedt, Vinni Lettieri, Connor Reilly, Michael Brodzinski, Jake Bischoff, Steve Johnson and Jack Glover also have career highs for points this year.

Big Ten Bullet Points
Now in its third year as members of the Big Ten Conference, the Gophers return as two-time defending Big Ten regular-season champions as well as the defending Big Ten tournament champions. In 54 regular-season Big Ten games, Minnesota is 37-11-6-0 while the Maroon & Gold hold an impressive 22-2-2-0 record in conference games on home ice.

Our Home, Our Hockey
Now in its 22nd season at Mariucci Arena, Minnesota has been incredibly successful on its home ice, boasting a 312-124-46 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 22-2-2 all-time record on home ice. (All statistics except for Mariucci Arena record include Minnesota's win at TCF Bank Stadium in 2013-14.).

Shorthanded Success
Minnesota's seven shorthanded goals this season are the most by the program since the Gophers combined for seven shorthanded tallies during the 2011-12 season. Junior captain Justin Kloos has four shorthanded goals on the year, ranking first in the Big Ten and tied for second nationally. Kloos' four shorthanded strikes are the most by a Gopher since Nate Condon had four (also in 2011-12) while the Minnesota single-season record stands at five (Peter Hankinson in 1989-90, Steve Griffith in 1982-83).

Bischoff's Breakout Season
Junior defenseman Jake Bischoff has already set new career highs with 14 points, five goals and nine assists this season while four of the New York Islanders prospect's goals have come on the power play (Bischoff leads the team in power-play goals this season).

Success in the Circle
Minnesota leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the NCAA this season in faceoff winning percentage at .558 (921 wins, 729 losses) -- only Union (.575, 1,161 wins, 859 losses) ranks higher. Vinni Lettieri remains the Big Ten's leading man on the draw at .609 percent (221 wins, 142 losses) while the junior ranks seventh in the nation on the draw. Leon Bristedt, meanwhile, actually ranks second in the nation on the draw at .672 (39 wins, 19 losses).

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).

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.

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.

17 Gophers on NHL Rosters
Gopher Hockey has featured 17 NHL alums this season with Nick Bjugstad (Florida Panthers), Alex Goligoski (Dallas Stars), Erik Haulaâ€ˆ(Minnesota Wild), Erik Johnson (Colorado Avalanche), Phil Kessel (Pittsburgh Penguins), Nick Leddy (New York Islanders), Paul Martin (San Jose Sharks), Aaron Ness (Washington Capitals), Jim O'Brien (New Jersey Devils), Kyle Okposo (New York Islanders), Kyle Rau (Florida Panthers), Mike Reilly (Minnesota), Nate Schmidtâ€ˆ(Washington Capitals), Jordan Schroeder (Minnesota Wild), Brady Skjei (New York Rangers), 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.

Gopher to Honor 1976 National Title Team
The University of Minnesota will honor the 40th anniversary of its 1976 national championship on Friday as members of the 1975-76 team attend the series finale as honored guests. The team will be recognized during the game and will also sign autographs on the concourse prior to puck drop. The Maroon & Gold went 28-14-2 and clinched the Broadmoor Trophy as WCHA playoff champions behind an incredible 7-6 triple overtime win over Michigan State (two-game, total goal series). Goaltender Jeff Tscherne set a school record with 72 saves in that game - a record that still stands at the University of Minnesota. From there, the Maroon & Gold advanced to the NCAA finals and the national championship game for the third-straight year, rallying from a two-goal deficit to beat Michigan Tech in the season finale by a 6-4 margin as Minnesota won its second national title in three years and the second of five in school history. Tom Vannelli, who led the Gophers with 69 points (26 goals, 43 assists) on the season, was named the NCAA Championship Most Valuable Performer after factoring into five of Minnesota's six goals in the national championship game. Nine members of the 1975-76 Gopher Hockey program would later go on to play professionally in the National Hockey League while Steve Janaszak, Bill Baker and Phil Verchota, along with legendary coach Herb Brooks, would help Team USA to a gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Seth Ambroz

Jake Bischoff

Leon Bristedt

Michael Brodzinski

Taylor Cammarata

Nate Condon

Hudson Fasching

Brent Gates Jr.

Jack Glover

Steve Johnson

Justin Kloos

Vinni Lettieri

Ben Marshall

Tommy Novak

Jack Ramsey

Kyle Rau

Connor Reilly

Mike Reilly

Jack Sadek

Nick Seeler

Brady Skjei

Upcoming Events

University of Minnesota Athletics