University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, January 15
3M Arena at Mariucci
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Notre Dame
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Photo by: Brad Rempel
Minnesota to Host Notre Dame This Weekend
1/14/2021 11:18:00 PM | Men's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS -- The top-ranked Gopher men's hockey program continues Big Ten play this weekend with a two-game series against Notre Dame at 3M Arena at Mariucci. The action starts on Friday, Jan. 15 at 7:00 p.m. CT with the series finale set for Saturday, Jan. 16 at 5:00 p.m. CT. Friday's game will air on FOX Sports North PLUS while Saturday airs on FOX Sports North. Both games will have streams available via FOX Sports Go and BTN+. Radio broadcasts will be available on 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM.
LOOKING TO START A NEW STREAK AND KEEP ONE GOING TOO
After starting the season out with 10-straight wins, Minnesota suffered its first loss of the season last Saturday to snap the program's 12-game winning streak dating back to last season. The 10-0-0 start was the program's best since the team went 18-0-0 over the course of the 1939-40 campaign. The Gophers bounced back after the loss last Saturday to pick up a Big Ten split in Madison and will now look to start a new winning streak this weekend against Notre Dame. Minnesota has won eight-straight games at 3M Arena at Mariucci dating back to last year's Big Ten quarterfinal series against Notre Dame.
AGAINST THE IRISH
Minnesota holds a 33-22-5 all-time record against Notre Dame in a series that began in 1925. Over the last two seasons, the two Big Ten rivals have played 12 times with 11 of those contests ending in either a tie, a one-goal deficit or an empty net goal. The opponents played each other seven times over the 2019-20 season with a 3-2-2 record while Minnesota rallied to win its best-of-three Big Ten quarterfinal series over Notre Dame at 3M Arena at Mariucci after the Irish ended the Maroon & Gold's 2018-19 campaign with an overtime win in the Big Ten semifinals. Sammy Walker leads all active Gophers with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 12 career games against Notre Dame while Brannon McManus (five goals, four assists) and Blake McLaughlin (four goals, five assists) have nine points each against the Irish.
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
With classes about to start up again at the University of Minnesota, the Gophers celebrated one of their best semesters in the (virtual) classroom during the fall. As a program, the Maroon & Gold set a new program record with a 3.35 cumulative grade point average as a team while men's hockey recorded a team term grade point average of 3.46 -- second in program history after last spring's 3.64. As a department, the University of Minnesota set a new school record with a 3.41 cumulative grade point average as the Gophers increased the statistic for the sixth-straight semester. Additionally, Cullen Munson, Mason Nevers, Sampo Ranta and Sam Rossini were named to the Dean's List for the fall semester.
THE FINNISH FINISHER
Sampo Ranta leads all Big Ten skaters with eight goals this season and is tied for third in the NCAA in the category. The junior, who has points in nine of Minnesota's 12 games this year, had his seven-game point streak (tied for his career long) snapped on Sunday. Ranta is the second Finnish player in Gophers history after currently Nashville Predators forward Erik Haula and just the fourth European player to letter at Minnesota in the program's 100-year history after Haula, Leon Bristedt and Thomas Vanek.
KOSTER SETS THE PACE
Newcomer Mike Koster leads all Big Ten freshmen defensemen with seven points (two goals, five assists) this season and ranks tied for second nationally among freshmen defensemen (one point off the national lead).
GOPHERS HELP U.S. NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM TO GOLD
Brock Faber, Ryan Johnson and Jackson LaCombe helped the U.S. National Junior Team earn a gold medal at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton on Tuesday night. USA Hockey has now earned 13 medals at the World Junior Championship while this year's performance stands as the fifth gold medal in U.S. history (2004, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2021). This year's Maroon & Gold trio join Jordan Schroeder (2010), Mike Reilly (2013) and Ryan Lindgren (2017) as University of Minnesota products to win gold at the event as players. Gopher Hockey, which tied for the most representatives of any NCAA program on this year's U.S. squad, has a proud history at the IIHF World Junior Championship with the University of Minnesota being represented at 42 of the 45 events dating back to the inaugural tournament in 1977.
BACK ON TOP
On Monday, the Gophers earned a No. 1 ranking in both the USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine 2020-21 Men's College Hockey poll for the fifth-straight week – the stretch marked Minnesota's first No. 1 ranking by either poll since Nov. 10, 2014. Minnesota enters 2021 as college hockey's top-ranked team after not receiving a single vote in either poll in the final poll of 2019 or the first poll of 2020.
CELEBRATING 100 SEASONS OF PRIDE ON ICE
The 2020-21 campaign marks the 100th season of play for the University of Minnesota, dating back to the 1921-22 season. Since that first season, the Gophers have hoisted five national championship trophies (1974, 1976, 1979, 2002, 2003), celebrated four Hobey Baker Award winners (Neal Broten in 1981, Robb Stauber in 1988, Brian Bonin in 1996, Jordan Leopold in 2002) and earned a total of 65 All-America honors. The Maroon & Gold have produced over a hundred NHL players with 11 alums having their names engraved on the Stanley Cup while other Pride on Ice products have been part of some of the most iconic international hockey events in history including U.S. Olympic gold medals in 1960 and 1980. Throughout the season, the University of Minnesota will honor the people, the moments and the memories that define "Pride on Ice".
GOPHERS ANNOUNCE CENTURY SEASON CAPTAINS
Junior Sammy Walker will return to the Gophers lineup as team captain in 2020-21 while senior Brannon McManus, senior Jack LaFontaine and sophomore Ben Meyers will serve as alternate captains for the Maroon & Gold. The three newcomers to the leadership group are the 173rd, 174th and 175th players in University of Minnesota history to wear letters, dating back to the first season of play in 1921-22 when Chet Bros led the Gophers.
MINNESOTA TABBED PRESEASON BIG TEN FAVORITES
The Gophers enter the season as the favorite to win the Big Ten this year ahead of Michigan in second, Notre Dame and Ohio State tied for third, Wisconsin in fifth, Michigan State in sixth and Penn State in seventh, as selected by conference coaches. Additionally, Sammy Walker was named Preseason All-Big Ten First Team while Brannon McManus and Jackson LaCombe were named Preseason All-Big Ten Second Team. Ben Meyers received honorable mention on the list.
BOB IS BACK AS BIG TEN COACH OF THE YEAR
Bob Motzko was named the 2020 Big Ten Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award (national coach of the year) in his second year leading the Gophers. The honor was Motzko's fifth career conference coaching honor after winning the accolade in the WCHA in 2006 and 2007 and in the NCHC in 2014 and 2018. While Motzko headlined Minnesota's postseason Big Ten honors, Ben Meyers, Jackson LaCombe and Jared Moe were all named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team (Meyers was a finalist for Big Ten Freshman of the Year).
GOPHER HOCKEY SEASON NOTES
Fourteen members of the 2020-21 Gopher Hockey squad have been drafted by NHL teams including 2019 first round pick Ryan Johnson (31st overall to Buffalo)..senior Jack LaFontaine posted a .919 save percentage for the Gophers last year in his first season with the Maroon & Gold -- the statistic ranks seventh all-time in program history...the University of Minnesota will host the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four at Xcel Energy Center -- marking the ninth time the school has hosted the event and the fourth time the event was hosted at Xcel Energy Center (a Minnesota team has won the national championship every time the venue has played host)...Todd Richards became the 11th Gopher Hockey alum to win the Stanley Cup after guiding the Tampa Bay Lightning to the 2020 title as an assistant coach...Gopher Hockey alum Dean Blais is among the inductees for the Class of 2020 to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame...the Big Ten Conference enters its eighth season sponsoring men's hockey in 2020-21 with Minnesota claiming more regular-season titles (four) than every other conference opponent combined (three). The Gophers won the first four league titles in Big Ten history as part of an NCAA record six-straight regular-season conference championships.
LOOKING TO START A NEW STREAK AND KEEP ONE GOING TOO
After starting the season out with 10-straight wins, Minnesota suffered its first loss of the season last Saturday to snap the program's 12-game winning streak dating back to last season. The 10-0-0 start was the program's best since the team went 18-0-0 over the course of the 1939-40 campaign. The Gophers bounced back after the loss last Saturday to pick up a Big Ten split in Madison and will now look to start a new winning streak this weekend against Notre Dame. Minnesota has won eight-straight games at 3M Arena at Mariucci dating back to last year's Big Ten quarterfinal series against Notre Dame.
AGAINST THE IRISH
Minnesota holds a 33-22-5 all-time record against Notre Dame in a series that began in 1925. Over the last two seasons, the two Big Ten rivals have played 12 times with 11 of those contests ending in either a tie, a one-goal deficit or an empty net goal. The opponents played each other seven times over the 2019-20 season with a 3-2-2 record while Minnesota rallied to win its best-of-three Big Ten quarterfinal series over Notre Dame at 3M Arena at Mariucci after the Irish ended the Maroon & Gold's 2018-19 campaign with an overtime win in the Big Ten semifinals. Sammy Walker leads all active Gophers with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 12 career games against Notre Dame while Brannon McManus (five goals, four assists) and Blake McLaughlin (four goals, five assists) have nine points each against the Irish.
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
With classes about to start up again at the University of Minnesota, the Gophers celebrated one of their best semesters in the (virtual) classroom during the fall. As a program, the Maroon & Gold set a new program record with a 3.35 cumulative grade point average as a team while men's hockey recorded a team term grade point average of 3.46 -- second in program history after last spring's 3.64. As a department, the University of Minnesota set a new school record with a 3.41 cumulative grade point average as the Gophers increased the statistic for the sixth-straight semester. Additionally, Cullen Munson, Mason Nevers, Sampo Ranta and Sam Rossini were named to the Dean's List for the fall semester.
THE FINNISH FINISHER
Sampo Ranta leads all Big Ten skaters with eight goals this season and is tied for third in the NCAA in the category. The junior, who has points in nine of Minnesota's 12 games this year, had his seven-game point streak (tied for his career long) snapped on Sunday. Ranta is the second Finnish player in Gophers history after currently Nashville Predators forward Erik Haula and just the fourth European player to letter at Minnesota in the program's 100-year history after Haula, Leon Bristedt and Thomas Vanek.
KOSTER SETS THE PACE
Newcomer Mike Koster leads all Big Ten freshmen defensemen with seven points (two goals, five assists) this season and ranks tied for second nationally among freshmen defensemen (one point off the national lead).
GOPHERS HELP U.S. NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM TO GOLD
Brock Faber, Ryan Johnson and Jackson LaCombe helped the U.S. National Junior Team earn a gold medal at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton on Tuesday night. USA Hockey has now earned 13 medals at the World Junior Championship while this year's performance stands as the fifth gold medal in U.S. history (2004, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2021). This year's Maroon & Gold trio join Jordan Schroeder (2010), Mike Reilly (2013) and Ryan Lindgren (2017) as University of Minnesota products to win gold at the event as players. Gopher Hockey, which tied for the most representatives of any NCAA program on this year's U.S. squad, has a proud history at the IIHF World Junior Championship with the University of Minnesota being represented at 42 of the 45 events dating back to the inaugural tournament in 1977.
BACK ON TOP
On Monday, the Gophers earned a No. 1 ranking in both the USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine 2020-21 Men's College Hockey poll for the fifth-straight week – the stretch marked Minnesota's first No. 1 ranking by either poll since Nov. 10, 2014. Minnesota enters 2021 as college hockey's top-ranked team after not receiving a single vote in either poll in the final poll of 2019 or the first poll of 2020.
CELEBRATING 100 SEASONS OF PRIDE ON ICE
The 2020-21 campaign marks the 100th season of play for the University of Minnesota, dating back to the 1921-22 season. Since that first season, the Gophers have hoisted five national championship trophies (1974, 1976, 1979, 2002, 2003), celebrated four Hobey Baker Award winners (Neal Broten in 1981, Robb Stauber in 1988, Brian Bonin in 1996, Jordan Leopold in 2002) and earned a total of 65 All-America honors. The Maroon & Gold have produced over a hundred NHL players with 11 alums having their names engraved on the Stanley Cup while other Pride on Ice products have been part of some of the most iconic international hockey events in history including U.S. Olympic gold medals in 1960 and 1980. Throughout the season, the University of Minnesota will honor the people, the moments and the memories that define "Pride on Ice".
GOPHERS ANNOUNCE CENTURY SEASON CAPTAINS
Junior Sammy Walker will return to the Gophers lineup as team captain in 2020-21 while senior Brannon McManus, senior Jack LaFontaine and sophomore Ben Meyers will serve as alternate captains for the Maroon & Gold. The three newcomers to the leadership group are the 173rd, 174th and 175th players in University of Minnesota history to wear letters, dating back to the first season of play in 1921-22 when Chet Bros led the Gophers.
MINNESOTA TABBED PRESEASON BIG TEN FAVORITES
The Gophers enter the season as the favorite to win the Big Ten this year ahead of Michigan in second, Notre Dame and Ohio State tied for third, Wisconsin in fifth, Michigan State in sixth and Penn State in seventh, as selected by conference coaches. Additionally, Sammy Walker was named Preseason All-Big Ten First Team while Brannon McManus and Jackson LaCombe were named Preseason All-Big Ten Second Team. Ben Meyers received honorable mention on the list.
BOB IS BACK AS BIG TEN COACH OF THE YEAR
Bob Motzko was named the 2020 Big Ten Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award (national coach of the year) in his second year leading the Gophers. The honor was Motzko's fifth career conference coaching honor after winning the accolade in the WCHA in 2006 and 2007 and in the NCHC in 2014 and 2018. While Motzko headlined Minnesota's postseason Big Ten honors, Ben Meyers, Jackson LaCombe and Jared Moe were all named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team (Meyers was a finalist for Big Ten Freshman of the Year).
GOPHER HOCKEY SEASON NOTES
Fourteen members of the 2020-21 Gopher Hockey squad have been drafted by NHL teams including 2019 first round pick Ryan Johnson (31st overall to Buffalo)..senior Jack LaFontaine posted a .919 save percentage for the Gophers last year in his first season with the Maroon & Gold -- the statistic ranks seventh all-time in program history...the University of Minnesota will host the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four at Xcel Energy Center -- marking the ninth time the school has hosted the event and the fourth time the event was hosted at Xcel Energy Center (a Minnesota team has won the national championship every time the venue has played host)...Todd Richards became the 11th Gopher Hockey alum to win the Stanley Cup after guiding the Tampa Bay Lightning to the 2020 title as an assistant coach...Gopher Hockey alum Dean Blais is among the inductees for the Class of 2020 to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame...the Big Ten Conference enters its eighth season sponsoring men's hockey in 2020-21 with Minnesota claiming more regular-season titles (four) than every other conference opponent combined (three). The Gophers won the first four league titles in Big Ten history as part of an NCAA record six-straight regular-season conference championships.
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