Border Battle on Deck

MINNEAPOLIS -- The top-ranked Gopher men's hockey program returns to Big Ten play this weekend with its first taste of the Border Battle, traveling to Madison for a two-game series with Wisconsin. The action starts on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 4:00 p.m. CT with the series finale set for Sunday, Jan. 10 at 4:00 p.m. CT. FOX Sports North and FOX Sports Wisconsin will broadcast both games with streams available via FOX Sports Go and BTN+. Radio broadcasts will be available on 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM.

AGAINST THE BADGERS
The Gophers are 173-96-23 all-time against the Badgers in a series that dates back to 1922. Minnesota is 9-2-1 in its last 12 games in Madison while the Maroon & Gold have won seven of the last eight contests and are unbeaten in eight of the last nine games (7-1-1). The Badgers are hosting home games at LaBahn Arena during the 2020-21 season. Four of Bryce Brodzinski's seven goals as a freshman came against Wisconsin while senior Brannon McManus leads all active Gophers with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 12 career games against the Badgers.

RANTA EARNS B1G SECOND STAR HONORS
After leading the Gophers to their fifth-straight sweep to open the season, Sampo Ranta was named the Big Ten Second Star of the Week. Ranta led all Big Ten skaters and tied for the NCAA lead with three goals over the last week. The forward notched his second career two-goal game on Sunday as the Gophers opened their nonconference series with a 4-1 win and added his third goal of the series in Monday's 6-4 sweep-sealing victory. Through 10 games this season, Ranta has 10 points (seven goals, three assists) along with an active six-game point streak.

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 Toronto 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.

SERIES NOTES
Minnesota has started the season 10-0-0 for the first time since the 1939-40 campaign and have actually won 12-straight games dating back to the end of last season...six goals in Monday's finale with Arizona State stand as the Gophers' highest offensive output of the season...Jonny Sorenson enters the series after scoring in back-to-back games for the first time in his career...Mike Koster, who has points in three-straight games and notched his first career multi-point game on Monday, is tied for second among Big Ten defensemen in scoring with six points (two goals, four assists)...Jared Moe earned the win on Monday in his first start of the season while also adding his first career assist...24 Gopher Hockey alums started NHL training camps this week.

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 fourth-straight week – 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.

LAFF-ING ALL THE WAY
Jack LaFontaine (9-0-0) leads the nation in save percentage (.965), goals against average (1.00) and wins (nine) among goalies with more than one start. The Carolina Hurricanes prospect, who has also earned his first two career shutouts this season, has won 11-straight games for Minnesota dating back to last season and has allowed two goals or fewer in each of his last 14 starts. An alternate captain for the Gophers, the senior was named the national goaltender of the month by the HCA in November and will be a candidate for the honor again in December.

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)...the Anaheim Ducks lead all NHL teams with three prospects on the Maroon & Gold roster...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. A Second Team All-American and team captain in 1988-89, Richards now serves as an assistant coach with the Nashville Predators...Gopher Hockey alum Dean Blais is among the inductees for the Class of 2020 to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame...Gopher Hockey roster breakdown by home state/country: Minnesota (19), California (2), Canada (2), Michigan (1), Wisconsin (1), Finland (1), Arizona (1)...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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Players Mentioned

Bryce Brodzinski

Brock Faber

Ryan Johnson

Mike Koster

Jackson LaCombe

Jack LaFontaine

Ryan Lindgren

Brannon McManus

Ben Meyers

Jared Moe

Sampo Ranta

Jonny Sorenson

Sammy Walker