University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head to Columbus for B1G Series
2/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
| Gopher Hockey: Minnesota at Ohio State | |||||||||||
| Location | Value City Arena | Columbus, Ohio | ||||||||||
| Game 28 | Friday, Feb. 12, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Puck Drop | 5:31 p.m. CT | ||||||||||
| Television | Big Ten Network | ||||||||||
| Stream | BTN2Go | ||||||||||
| Radio | 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network | ||||||||||
| Game Links | Gopher Hockey Live | | ||||||||||
| Game 29 | Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Puck Drop | 6:05 p.m. CT | ||||||||||
| Stream | BTN PLUS | ||||||||||
| Radio | 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network | ||||||||||
| Game Links | Gopher Hockey Live | | ||||||||||
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Ohio State | Big Ten | ||||||||||
| Social Media | @GopherHockey | Facebook | Instagram | ||||||||||
The Gopher Hockey program returns to Big Ten competition this weekend with a two-game series at Ohio State. Columbus' Value City Arena hosts the two-game series, which kicks off on Friday, Feb. 12 at 5:30 p.m. CT (TV: Big Ten Network; Stream: BTN2Go; Radio: 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network) while the finale is set for Saturday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. (Stream: BTN PLUS; Radio: 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network).
Against Ohio State
The Maroon & Gold enter this weekend's Big Ten series with a 21-3-1 all-time record against Ohio State and a 4-1-1 mark on the road against the Buckeyes. The Gophers swept Ohio State at Mariucci Arena earlier this season behind a pair of overtime victories. Taylor Cammarata is Minnesota's active-leading scorer against the Buckeyes with 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 12 games while Justin Kloos has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 12 games after tallying four points (one goal, three assists) in the last meeting with the Buckeyes.
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 52 regular-season Big Ten games, Minnesota is 35-11-6-0 while the Maroon & Gold hold an impressive 22-2-2-0 record in conference games on home ice.
Shorthanded Success
Minnesota's six 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 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).
Captain Kloos Stays Hot
Junior forward Justin Kloos extended his career-best scoring streak to nine games over the weekend and now has multi-point performances in seven of the last nine games and six of the last seven. Kloos has goals in eight of the last nine games (the team captain started the streak with a career-best seven-goal goal scoring streak). Kloos has 19 points since starting the streak on Jan. 5 (only Michigan's Tyler Motte has more points in the nation during that time).
Schierhorn Stands Tall
Eric Schierhorn has started all 27 games of his freshman season and has a 14-13-0 record. The rookie has made 30 or more saves in nine of his 27 starts this season.
Reilly's Record Comes to an End
Redshirt junior forward Connor Reilly may have seen his career-best seven-game point streak come to an end last Saturday, but he certainly has a lot to show for it. Reilly tallied an assist in Friday's win over Penn State to set a new career high with 17 points this season (five goals, 12 assists).
Success in the Circle
Minnesota leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the NCAA this season in faceoff winning percentage at .564 (866 wins, 670 losses) -- only Union (.572, 1,022 wins, 764 losses) ranks higher. The Gophers have dominated faceoffs in the last three games, winning 43-of-58 against Minnesota State, 45-of-67 in the Penn State opener and 39-of-59 in the finale with the Nittany Lions. Vinni Lettieri remains the Big Ten's leading man on the draw at .614 percent (208 wins, 131 losses) while the junior ranks seventh in the nation on the draw.
How You Start is How You Finish
Minnesota is now 11-2-0 when scoring first this season as opposed to 3-11-0 when opponents score first.
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).
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.).
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 Sign Five in Early Period
The newest crop of Golden Gophers signed their National Letters of Intent earlier this year with five Minnesota natives looking to join the ranks of the Maroon & Gold in the coming years. Defensemen Ryan Lindgren (Minneapolis, Minn.), Sam Rossini (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and Ryan Zuhlsdof (Edina, Minn.) as well as forwards Rem Pitlick (Plymouth, Minn.) and Garrett Wait (Edina, Minn.) all inked National Letters of Intent with Minnesota.
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.
16 Gophers on NHL Rosters
Gopher Hockey has featured 16 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), Aaron Ness (Washington Capitals), Jim O'Brien (New Jersey Devils), Kyle Okposo (New York Islanders), Mike Reilly (Minnesota), Nate Schmidt (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.
