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Photo by: Brace Hemmelgarn
Gophers Announce Captains for 100th Season
11/6/2020 9:01:00 AM | Men's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS – A day after announcing the first eight games of the 2020-21 Gopher Hockey schedule, Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko has announced the Maroon & Gold's leadership group for the 100th season of Pride on Ice with four players elected to serve as captains.
Junior forward Sammy Walker will return as Minnesota's captain for the second year in a row while senior forward Brannon McManus, senior goaltender Jack LaFontaine and sophomore forward Ben Meyers will serve as alternate captains for the first time in their careers. McManus, LaFontaine and Meyers are the 173rd, 174th and 175th Gophers to wear a letter in the program's 100-year history dating back to the school's first season of play in 1921-22 when Chet Bros led the Maroon & Gold as team captain.
"We feel really good about having these guys leading the room, and each of them should be proud to be voted as captains by their teammates and to join a group of some truly legendary players that have come through this program," Motzko said. "That being said, we might have four guys with letters on their chests, but we need 27 leaders this season. We know this year is going to be a little different in a lot of ways, so every guy in the locker room needs to be a leader on the ice and off it. If we do that, we have a chance to do some special things this year."
A native of Edina, Minn., Walker led Minnesota with 30 points in 37 games last year and notched career highs for points, goals (11) and assists (19). The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention merits and Minnesota's John Mariucci Most Valuable Player Award last year after being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, a Big Ten All-Freshman Team pick and Minnesota' Frank Pond Rookie of the Year Award winner in 2018-19. In 74 career games with the Gophers, the forward has 56 points (21 goals, 35 assists).
A native of Newport Beach, Calif., McManus returns to the Gophers lineup as the program's active-leading scorer with 62 points (30 goals, 32 assists) in 109 career games. The forward boasted his best statistical campaign as a junior last year with a career-high 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) while earning All-Big Ten Honorable Mention accolades.
A native of Mississauga, Ontario, LaFontaine enters his second year with the Maroon & Gold and will be just the eighth Gophers goalie to serve as a team captain in the program's 100-year history. As a junior in 2019-20, LaFontaine made 25 starts for Minnesota, posting a 9-9-6 record, a .919 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.55. The goaltender started the last nine games of the season last year for Minnesota and allowed two goals or less in each of his last five appearances. His .919 save percentage stands as the seventh-best single-season performance in program history.
A native of Delano, Minn., Meyers is coming off a decorated rookie campaign with the Gophers that saw the forward earn Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors (in addition to being a finalist for Big Ten Freshman of the Year) and Minnesota's Frank Pond Rookie of the Year Award. He also was named the University of Minnesota athletic department's Men's Rookie of the Year. Meyers skated in all 37 games as a freshman while leading all Minnesota newcomers with 26 points (10 goals, 26 assists).
Junior forward Sammy Walker will return as Minnesota's captain for the second year in a row while senior forward Brannon McManus, senior goaltender Jack LaFontaine and sophomore forward Ben Meyers will serve as alternate captains for the first time in their careers. McManus, LaFontaine and Meyers are the 173rd, 174th and 175th Gophers to wear a letter in the program's 100-year history dating back to the school's first season of play in 1921-22 when Chet Bros led the Maroon & Gold as team captain.
"We feel really good about having these guys leading the room, and each of them should be proud to be voted as captains by their teammates and to join a group of some truly legendary players that have come through this program," Motzko said. "That being said, we might have four guys with letters on their chests, but we need 27 leaders this season. We know this year is going to be a little different in a lot of ways, so every guy in the locker room needs to be a leader on the ice and off it. If we do that, we have a chance to do some special things this year."
A native of Edina, Minn., Walker led Minnesota with 30 points in 37 games last year and notched career highs for points, goals (11) and assists (19). The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention merits and Minnesota's John Mariucci Most Valuable Player Award last year after being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, a Big Ten All-Freshman Team pick and Minnesota' Frank Pond Rookie of the Year Award winner in 2018-19. In 74 career games with the Gophers, the forward has 56 points (21 goals, 35 assists).
A native of Newport Beach, Calif., McManus returns to the Gophers lineup as the program's active-leading scorer with 62 points (30 goals, 32 assists) in 109 career games. The forward boasted his best statistical campaign as a junior last year with a career-high 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) while earning All-Big Ten Honorable Mention accolades.
A native of Mississauga, Ontario, LaFontaine enters his second year with the Maroon & Gold and will be just the eighth Gophers goalie to serve as a team captain in the program's 100-year history. As a junior in 2019-20, LaFontaine made 25 starts for Minnesota, posting a 9-9-6 record, a .919 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.55. The goaltender started the last nine games of the season last year for Minnesota and allowed two goals or less in each of his last five appearances. His .919 save percentage stands as the seventh-best single-season performance in program history.
A native of Delano, Minn., Meyers is coming off a decorated rookie campaign with the Gophers that saw the forward earn Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors (in addition to being a finalist for Big Ten Freshman of the Year) and Minnesota's Frank Pond Rookie of the Year Award. He also was named the University of Minnesota athletic department's Men's Rookie of the Year. Meyers skated in all 37 games as a freshman while leading all Minnesota newcomers with 26 points (10 goals, 26 assists).
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