Gophers Rekindle Rivalry with UND

MINNEAPOLIS -- One of college hockey's greatest rivalries returns this weekend as No. 11/12 Minnesota heads to No. 6/5 North Dakota. The nonconference series kicks off on Friday, Nov. 26 at 7:00 p.m. CT (TV: Midco/XFinity 999/Mediacom MC22; Stream: NCHC.tv; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM) with the weekend finale scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 27 at 6:00 p.m. CT (TV: Midco/XFinity 999/Mediacom MC22; Stream: NCHC.tv; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM).

VERY KNIES
Big Ten Second Star of the Week Matthew Knies tallied five points in the Penn State series and now leads Minnesota with 14 points this season while his seven goals are tied for the team lead and are also tied for most among NCAA freshmen. The forward has tallied a goal in three-straight games and four of the last five contests while he's also currently riding a five-game point streak with nine points (four goals, five assists) over that stretch. Knies factored into five of Minnesota's seven goals last weekend against the Nittany Lions.

AGAINST THE FIGHTING HAWKS
A series that began in 1930 will hit a significant milestone this weekend as Minnesota and North Dakota are set to play their 299th and 300th game against each other. The Maroon & Gold hold a 148-134-16 all-time record against the Fighting Hawks.

CRUIKSHANK RETURNS FOR MILESTONE MARKER
After missing the last six games with an injury, Grant Cruikshank is expected to return to the Gophers lineup this weekend and will likely skate in his 100th career game on Saturday. The forward, who scored in his last game, has three points (two goals, one assist) in eight games this year with Minnesota and has 48 career points (32 goals, 16 assists) in 98 NCAA games following three seasons at Colorado College.

WALKER WATCH
Minnesota's active leading scorer with 95 points (41goals, 54 assists) in 119 games, Sammy Walker needs five points to become the 85th member of the U's 100-Point Club (first since Rem Pitlick in 2018-19). Coming off a two-goal game, Minnesota is 4-0-0 when Walker has multiple goals and 21-3-1 when he has multiple points.

NHL UPDATE: REEDY MAKES NHL DEBUT
Scott Reedy made his NHL debut on Monday with the San Jose Sharks to become the 117th Gopher Hockey alum to skate in the NHL (a statistic that leads all college hockey programs). Minnesota has now boasted 22 alums in the NHL this season (already matching last year's season total) while Reedy is the second Gopher Hockey alum to make his NHL debut this season (Tommy Novak, Nashville) and the second member of last year's team to play in the NHL (Sampo Ranta, Colorado).

GOPHERS EXTEND MOTZKO THROUGH 2025-26
The University of Minnesota has agreed to a three-year contract extension with Gopher men's hockey head coach Bob Motzko that will keep Motzko with the Maroon & Gold through the 2025-26 season. A native of Austin, Minn., Motzko is in his fourth season with the Gophers and holds a 66-43-11 record since taking over the program in 2018. In 17 seasons as a Division I head coach, the 2020 Big Ten Coach of the Year and five-time conference coach of the year owns a 342-235-60 record.

PRESEASON BIG TEN PROSPECTUS
The Gophers landed on the top spot of the 2021-22 Big Ten Hockey Coaches' Poll earlier this season ahead of Michigan, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan State and Ohio State. In the eight-year history of the Big Ten Conference, the Gophers have claimed a league-high four regular-season conference championships as well as two Big Ten tournament titles including last year's thrilling playoff run by the Maroon & Gold. Minnesota also led the Big Ten with six individuals on the 2021-22 Preseason All-Big Ten Hockey Teams, headlined by four players earning First Team honors. The Gophers were represented in the preseason honor roll by Jackson LaCombe (First Team), Jack LaFontaine (First Team), Ben Meyers (First Team), Sammy Walker (First Team), Brock Faber (Second Team) and Ryan Johnson (Second Team). Mike Koster also earned honorable mention honors on behalf of the Maroon & Gold.

WEARING THE 'C'
The 101st season of Gopher Hockey will see three familiar faces and college hockey veterans leading the 'U' as Sammy Walker, Jack LaFontaine and Ben Meyers have been named team captains for the 2021-22 season. Walker will enter his senior season wearing a "C" for the third-straight season for the Maroon & Gold while LaFontaine and Meyers have been elevated to share the honors after serving as alternate captains during the 2020-21 campaign. With all three players returning to the Minnesota leadership group, Gopher Hockey has now featured 175 captains dating back to the school's first season of play in 1921-22 when Chet Bros led the Maroon & Gold as team captain.

JACK IS BACK
Mike Richter Award winner and Hobey Baker Award finalist Jack LaFontaine returns to the Gophers for his fifth season of college hockey in 2021-22. A First Team All-American and First Team All-Big Ten selection, LaFontaine was also named the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year. The Carolina Hurricane prospect set new school records and was among the NCAA leaders with a .934 save percentage and a 1.79 GAA while he led the nation with 22 wins. Off the ice, LaFontaine was named a recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor and was the only Division I men's hockey player to earn CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America honors.

IN THE NHL DRAFT
Fifteen of Minnesota's 26 players on the 2021-22 roster have been selected in the NHL Entry Draft including five newcomers -- Chaz Lucius (2021), Matthew Knies (2021), Tristan Broz (2021), Aaron Huglen (2019) and Rhett Pitlick (2019). Lucius is the 22nd Gopher Hockey prospect selected in the first round (18th overall by Winnipeg), joining 2019 first rounder Ryan Johnson on this year's roster for Minnesota. Meanwhile, Knies and Broz were selected with back-to-back picks in the second round this year.

GOPHER HOCKEY NOTES
Gopher Hockey alum Paul Holmgren will be enshrined into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021. Holmgren is the 18th U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame honoree with ties to Gopher men's hockey...Four Gophers (Brock Faber, Matthew Knies, Chaz Lucius, Tristan Broz) will look to represent the University of Minnesota and the United States at the IIHF World Junior Championships this year. Faber is a return invite to the team after helping the U.S. to a gold medal last year along with fellow Gopher defensemen Jackson LaCombe and Ryan Johnson.

LOOKING BACK AT LAST YEAR
The 100th season of Gopher Hockey certainly was a memorable one as Minnesota won an NCAA-best 24 games in 2020-21. The Gophers won three thrilling games to capture the Big Ten tournament title and returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017 before picking up the program's first NCAA tournament win since 2014 at the NCAA West Regional. Minnesota started the year on a 10-0-0 run for the first time since 1939-40 and earned nine sweeps in 13 series during the regular-season. Nationally ranked all season long, the Gophers kept themselves in the top-five of both national polls since the beginning of December including the team's first No. 1 ranking in both polls since Nov. 11, 2014. Along with LaFontaine's national awards, the Gophers boasted a trio of All-Americans in LaFontaine (First Team), Sampo Ranta (First Team) and Jackson LaCombe (Second Team).

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Players Mentioned

Tristan Broz

Grant Cruikshank

Brock Faber

Aaron Huglen

Ryan Johnson

Matthew Knies

Mike Koster

Jackson LaCombe

Jack LaFontaine

Chaz Lucius

Ben Meyers

Rhett Pitlick

Sampo Ranta

Scott Reedy

Sammy Walker