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Photo by: Bruce Kluckhohn
Offensive Outlook for Gophers in 2020-21
11/13/2020 9:01:00 AM | Men's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS – For much of the 2020 calendar year, Gopher men's hockey coach Bob Motzko has pointed out that his team was playing its best hockey at the end of a 2019-20 season that ended prematurely due to public health concerns.
Now as the Maroon & Gold prepare to open the 2020-21 campaign next week, last year's Big Ten Coach of the Year added another message – he thinks his team can be even better.
"We had a strong second half last year and we were knocking on the door," Motzko said. "We can't hide that we have a good hockey team returning, but we still have another big step to take though."
Minnesota, which enters the season as the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten Conference and finds itself ranked in both national polls, leads all NCAA programs in returning offense. The Maroon & Gold bring back 93.0 percent of its goal scoring (93 of 100) from last season and 87.2 percent of its points (232 of 266). Both statistics lead the nation heading into the 2020-21 season. Additionally, the U's 93 returning goals from a year ago are the most in the Big Ten and second most in the nation behind Bowling Green (96).
The Maroon & Gold also bring back the top six leading scorers from a year ago and nine of its 10 double-digit point producers from the 2019-20 season.
Team captain Sammy Walker leads that list as the top returner for the Gophers, having notched a career-high 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) as a sophomore last year while alternate captain Brannon McManus is back in the lineup as the school's active leading scorer with 62 career points (30 goals, 32 assists) – a career high 27 of them (nine goals, 18 assists) coming last year.
Meanwhile, Scott Reedy will look to follow up on a 2019-20 season that saw the forward lead Minnesota with 15 goals (more than doubling his career total) along with a career-high 23 points. Ben Meyers (10-16—26), Blake McLaughlin (8-16—24) and Sampo Ranta (12-8—20) round out Minnesota's top-six scorers from last year while Jackson LaCombe (3-10—13), Bryce Brodzinski (7-5—12) and Jonny Sorenson (6-5—11) join Meyers as freshmen who picked up double-digit numbers on offense last year.
With 256 days separating the final game of the 2019-20 season and the first game of the 2020-21 campaign, Motzko has had plenty of time to look at his team. And through certainly the longest…and more than likely the strangest…preseason training in college hockey history, he likes what he sees as Minnesota heads into its 100th season of play.
"We have a terrific group of guys, I love this group. That's what has made it easy for us…we have a special group."
Now as the Maroon & Gold prepare to open the 2020-21 campaign next week, last year's Big Ten Coach of the Year added another message – he thinks his team can be even better.
"We had a strong second half last year and we were knocking on the door," Motzko said. "We can't hide that we have a good hockey team returning, but we still have another big step to take though."
Minnesota, which enters the season as the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten Conference and finds itself ranked in both national polls, leads all NCAA programs in returning offense. The Maroon & Gold bring back 93.0 percent of its goal scoring (93 of 100) from last season and 87.2 percent of its points (232 of 266). Both statistics lead the nation heading into the 2020-21 season. Additionally, the U's 93 returning goals from a year ago are the most in the Big Ten and second most in the nation behind Bowling Green (96).
The Maroon & Gold also bring back the top six leading scorers from a year ago and nine of its 10 double-digit point producers from the 2019-20 season.
Team captain Sammy Walker leads that list as the top returner for the Gophers, having notched a career-high 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) as a sophomore last year while alternate captain Brannon McManus is back in the lineup as the school's active leading scorer with 62 career points (30 goals, 32 assists) – a career high 27 of them (nine goals, 18 assists) coming last year.
Meanwhile, Scott Reedy will look to follow up on a 2019-20 season that saw the forward lead Minnesota with 15 goals (more than doubling his career total) along with a career-high 23 points. Ben Meyers (10-16—26), Blake McLaughlin (8-16—24) and Sampo Ranta (12-8—20) round out Minnesota's top-six scorers from last year while Jackson LaCombe (3-10—13), Bryce Brodzinski (7-5—12) and Jonny Sorenson (6-5—11) join Meyers as freshmen who picked up double-digit numbers on offense last year.
With 256 days separating the final game of the 2019-20 season and the first game of the 2020-21 campaign, Motzko has had plenty of time to look at his team. And through certainly the longest…and more than likely the strangest…preseason training in college hockey history, he likes what he sees as Minnesota heads into its 100th season of play.
"We have a terrific group of guys, I love this group. That's what has made it easy for us…we have a special group."
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