'U' Hosts Michigan for B1G Quarterfinals

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Gopher Hockey program opens up the 2019 Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament this weekend with a best-of-three quarterfinal series against Michigan at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Minnesota enters the series as the three seed, taking on the six-seed Wolverines.

Against the Wolverines
The Maroon & Gold enter the weekend with a 141-128-16 all-time record against the Wolverines including an 86-51-10 mark on home ice. The Gophers reclaimed the Mariucci-Renfrew Trophy by winning the regular-season series against Michigan at 2-1-1 this year. Tyler Sheehy leads all active Gophers with 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in 17 games against the Wolverines followed by Tommy Novak and Rem Pitlick with 16 points each against this weekend's opponent. Mat Robson is 2-1-1 all-time against Michigan while Eric Schierhorn holds a 5-7-1 record against the Wolverines.

Gophers Streak into B1G Playoffs
Minnesota enters the weekend on a three-game winning streak and have now won five of its last six games (all six game against nationally ranked opponents). The Gophers closed out the regular season with a sweep over Arizona State last weekend at 3M Arena at Mariucci -- their third sweep of the season and first on home ice.

Slump Busters
Minnesota celebrated its nine-member senior class last Saturday as the team improved to 9-0-2 over the last 11 years on "Senior Night". The Maroon & Gold found timely goals to pick up the 5-2 win over the Sun Devils with notable goal droughts ending for Darian Romanko (30 games), Jack Ramsey (15 games) and Sampo Ranta (17 games).

Gates Named Big Ten Second Star of the Week
Senior captain Brent Gates Jr. tied for the Big Ten lead with four points (one goal, three assists) over the weekend and earned Big Ten Second Star of the Week as a result. Gates' 30 points and 17 assists this year are both single-season career highs while he needs one goal to match his career high from 2016-17.

The Pitlick Production
Junior forward Rem Pitlick ranks tied for fifth in the nation and tied for second in the Big Ten with 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists) this season. His 19 goals rank first in the conference and tied for sixth in the nation. Pitlick has points in 29 of 35 games this year while his 41 points, 19 goals and 22 assists are all single-season career highs. Pitlick's three shorthanded goals this year are tied for the national lead.

Sheehy Stays Hot for Minnesota
Senior captain Tyler Sheehy ranks tied for first in the nation with 23 power-play points this season while Sheehy is Minnesota's active-leading scorer with 146 career points (55 goals, 91 assists). The captain is tied with Trent Klatt for 32nd all-time at Minnesota in scoring with Steve McSwain up next at 147 points.

Hobey Baker Fan Voting
Rem Pitlick, Mat Robson and Tyler Sheehy will represent the Gophers on this year's Hobey Baker Award fan ballot with fan voting currently open for college hockey's top honor. Fans can vote online at HobeyBaker.com through Sunday, March 10. The Gophers have previously won four Hobey Baker Awards (Neal Broten, Robb Stauber, Brian Bonin and Jordan Leopold).

Gophers Honor 1979 Team with 3MAM Record
Saturday. Jan. 26, 2019 was a night to celebrate for two reasons including the 40th anniversary celebration of the University of Minnesota's 1979 national championship squad. With members of the team being honored throughout the game, the Gophers set a new 3M Arena at Mariucci attendance record at 10,686. The crowd topped a 14-year old facility record of 10,587 fans from another Border Battle matchup between Minnesota and Wisconsin on Nov. 6, 2004.

Schierhorn Nears School Record
Senior goaltender Eric Schierhorn (4-4-0) picked up his 12th career shutout earlier this season as the two-time Big Ten Goaltender of the Year claimed sole possession of third all-time at Minnesota (only Adam Wilcox and Kellen Briggs have more with 13 each). With a 59-45-4 career record, Schierhorn ranks sixth in school history in wins and fifth in saves at 2,718. Schierhorn has made 112 all-time appearances for the Maroon & Gold, fourth in program history behind only Adam Hauser (151), Kellen Briggs (132) and Adam Wilcox (115).

Minnesota Announces Captains for 2018-19
Four senior forwards will serve as leads for the University of Minnesota during the 2018-19 campaign with Tyler Sheehy and Brent Gates Jr. acting as captains for the Maroon & Gold while Jack Ramsey and Darian Romanko will act as assistant captains. Sheehy returns after serving as team captain as a junior last year while Gates, Ramsey and Romanko will wear letters for the first time as seniors. The four skaters continue a long tradition of Gopher Hockey captains dating back to the program's first season of play in 1921-22 when Chet Bros led the Maroon & Gold. Counting the new additions, 170 Gophers have worn a letter at the University of Minnesota in the program's 97-year history.

Gophers in the NHL Draft
Thirteen current Gophers have had their names called at the NHL Entry Draft including newcomers Robbie Stucker (2017, Columbus, Seventh Round, 210th), Sammy Walker (2017, Tampa Bay, Seventh Round, 200th), Blake McLaughlin (2018, Anaheim, Third Round, 79th) and Sampo Ranta (2018, Colorado, Third Round, 78th). Ranta and McLaughlin were selected with back-to-back picks in 2018 -- the sixth time in Gophers history that has happened. Ten NHL teams have prospects on the Gopher Hockey roster this year with Anaheim, Tampa Bay and Nashville each listing two draftees with Minnesota.

Mr. Hockey Goes to Minnesota
Incoming Gophers freshman Sammy Walker closed out his prep career by leading Edina High School to a third-place finish at the 2018 MSHSL Class AA State Tournament, earning all-tournament honors along with Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year accolades. Walker was also 34th recipient of the annual Mr. Hockey Award, given to the top senior high school boy's hockey player in the state of Minnesota. Of the 34 honorees in the award's history, 23 have gone on to play college hockey at the University of Minnesota.

Success in the Classroom
The spring semester started last month (Jan. 22) at Minnesota, but the fall semester was unforgettable as the Gophers recorded the highest semester GPA in program history at 3.41 and the highest cumulative GPA in program history at 3.22. As an athletic department, Minnesota followed suit with school records of 3.25 cumulative GPA and a 3.25 semester GPA.

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Players Mentioned

Brent Gates Jr.

Blake McLaughlin

Tommy Novak

Rem Pitlick

Jack Ramsey

Sampo Ranta

Mat Robson

Darian Romanko

Eric Schierhorn

Tyler Sheehy

Robbie Stucker

Sammy Walker