Big Ten Title Game Set for Saturday

MINNEAPOLIS -- Two of the hottest teams in college hockey will collide with a championship on the line as the Big Ten tournament title game comes to 3M Arena at Mariucci for the first time this weekend. No. 2/3 Minnesota hosts No. 4 Michigan on Saturday, March 19 at 7:00 p.m. CT (TV: Big Ten Network; Stream: FOX Sports App; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM). Limited tickets remain and are now on sale at GopherSports.com.

BELIEVE IN BEN: MEYERS NAMED FINALIST FOR HOBEY BAKER AWARD
U.S. Olympian. Big Ten Player of the Year. Hobey Baker Award Finalist. Gophers captain Ben Meyers has been named one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey. Meyers is the 17th Gopher Hockey player to be named a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award while Minnesota players have combined for a total of 22 Hobey Baker Award finalist bids. Four Gophers eventually earned the college hockey's top honor – Neal Broten was the inaugural recipient in 1981, Robb Stauber was the first goalie to win it in 1988, Brian Bonin followed in 1996 while Jordan Leopold was the first player to win the Hobey Baker Award and lead his team to a national championship in 2002. A 30-member selection committee and an additional round of fan balloting at HobeyBakerAward.com (March 17-27) will determine this year's Hobey Baker Award winner. The Hobey Hat Trick (three finalists) will be announced on Thursday, March 31, 2022 and the Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced on Friday, April 8, 2022.

B1G HONORS COME MINNESOTA'S WAY
The 2021-22 Big Ten regular-season champions were well represented among the conference end-of-year awards this week with the Gophers winning three of the league's five honors. Big Ten Player of the Year Ben Meyers and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Brock Faber represented Minnesota as First Team All-Big Ten selections while Bob Motzko has now earned his second Big Ten Coach of the Year honor in four seasons at Minnesota. Additionally, Matthew Knies and Jackson LaCombe were named Second Team All-Big Ten with Knies also earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Justen Close, Blake McLaughlin and Sammy Walker each received All-Big Ten Honorable Mention accolades. Meyers is the third Gopher to be named Big Ten Player of the Year (Adam Wilcox in 2013-14, Tyler Sheehy in 2016-17), Faber is the third Gopher to earn the defensive accolade (Mike Reilly in 2013-14 and 2014-15, Jake Bischoff in 2016-17) and Motzko (2019-20, 2021-22) joins Don Lucia (2013-14) as Minnesota Big Ten Coach of the Year honorees in the Big Ten era.

GOPHERS IN THE BIG TEN PLAYOFFS
The Gophers are making their fourth appearance in the Big Ten title game and will take on Michigan for the conference playoff crown for the third time (Minnesota bested the Wolverines at Joe Louis Arena in 2015 while Michigan got revenge in 2016 at Xcel Energy Center). Last season saw the Gophers capture their second Big Ten tournament title (2015, tied for most in league history with Notre Dame) by winning three thrilling games at Compton Family Ice Arena. Minnesota defeated Michigan State 2-1 in overtime in the quarterfinals, bested Michigan 3-2 in overtime in the semifinals and then outgunned top-seeded Wisconsin 6-4 in the championship. The Gophers, who have played all six conference teams in Big Ten tournament play, are 11-7 (.611) in conference playoff action after last weekend's semifinal win over Penn State while Bob Motzko's .800 winning percentage (8-2) in the Big Ten playoffs stands as the best mark of any coach in league history.

BACK ON TOP IN THE BIG TEN
Minnesota ended the regular season on an eight-game winning streak to capture the program's fifth Big Ten regular-season crown in the league's nine-year history (and 28th overall regular-season conference championship in Minnesota's 101-year history). The Maroon & Gold won the first four Big Ten titles as part of an NCAA-record six-straight conference championships. The Gophers were 23-11-0 overall in the regular season and 18-6-0-1-2-0 in Big Ten play after being correctly picked to finish first in the conference in the preseason Big Ten coaches poll.

AGAINST THE WOLVERINES
In a series that began in 1923, Minnesota is 150-132-18 against Michigan after the two Big Ten programs split both regular-season series this year. The Gophers are 4-1 against the Wolverines in the Big Ten tournament while the Maroon & Gold hold a 13-2-0 mark against Michigan when both teams are ranked in the top 10 nationally since the 2000-01 season (13-1-0 in last 14 meetings).

WALKER NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST
Senior captain Sammy Walker is one of 10 finalists for this year's Senior CLASS Award, the winner of which will be announced during the 2022 NCAA Men's Frozen Four in April. To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior or graduate student and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character, and competition. Walker is Minnesota's active-leading career scorer and the first three-time captain in the program's 101-year history.

CLOSING TIME
Justen Close continues to be one of college hockey's best stories this season as the junior took over starting duties in January and has since gone 12-3-0. The goaltender ranks fifth nationally in goals against average (1.74, first in the Big Ten) and fourth nationally in save percentage (.933). Close secured his first two career shutouts in the final series of the regular-season against Wisconsin -- becoming the first Gophers goalie to blank the Badgers in back-to-back games since George Clausen did so on Feb. 9-10, 1934.

PITLICK NAMED NATIONAL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
The Gophers closed out a perfect 8-0-0 month of February with Rhett Pitlick being named the National Rookie of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners Association. Pitlick tallied 10 points (five goals, five assists) last month while February saw the Montreal Canadiens prospect score his first five collegiate goals along with 10 of his 17 points in his first campaign with the Maroon & Gold.

CENTURY CLUB GOPHERS
Blake McLaughlin became the 86th member of Gopher Hockey's 100-Point Club last month and currently has 103 points (37 goals, 66 assists) while his linemate and classmate Sammy Walker hit the milestone earlier this season and now has 112 points (48 goals, 64 assists). The duo, who teamed up for the game winner in the third period of Minnesota's Big Ten semifinal win over Penn State, are the first Gophers to notch 100 career points since First Team All-American Rem Pitlick in 2018-19.

GOPHER HOCKEY AT THE OLYMPICS
Three current Gophers -- Ben Meyers, Matthew Knies and Brock Faber -- and Minnesota alum Aaron Ness wrapped up the Olympics last month while competing with the U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team. Meanwhile, strength & conditioning coach Cal Dietz served in the same role with silver medal-winning U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team. Gopher Hockey has been represented at each of the last 21 Winter Olympics since 1936 with the Maroon & Gold helping USA Hockey to eight medals including gold in 1960 and 1980. Ness served as an alternate captain for the U.S. while Meyers finished second on the U.S. squad with four points (two goals, two assists).

MOTZKO MILESTONES
The 2021-22 season has seen Bob Motzko set a pair of milestones as the Minnesota head coach won his 350th career game on Friday, Feb. 4 (358-240-60) before adding his 75th win with the Gophers on Saturday, Feb. 5 (82-48-11). The six-time conference coach of the year, who agreed to a three-year extension that will keep him with Minnesota through the 2025-26 season, is in his fourth season with the Maroon & Gold and 17th season as a Division I head coach. Motzko has been named a finalist for Big Ten Coach of the Year in each of his four seasons at Minnesota and won the honor in 2020 and 2022. Motzko's 24 wins this season are tied for the most in his tenure with the Gophers (2020-21).

NHL UPDATE: GOPHERS PACE COLLEGE HOCKEY
Minnesota leads all NCAA programs with 118 all-time NHL alums including 24 already this season (also the most in college hockey). Tommy Novak, Scott Reedy and Jack LaFontaine have all made their NHL debuts in 2021-22 while Sampo Ranta debuted during last year's Stanley Cup playoffs (Ranta, Reedy and LaFontaine were all on the Gophers roster last year).

WEARING THE 'C'
The 101st season of Gopher Hockey will see two familiar faces and college hockey veterans leading the 'U' as Sammy Walker 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 Meyers was elevated to share the honor after serving as alternate captains during the 2020-21 campaign. With all both 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.

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Players Mentioned

Justen Close

Brock Faber

Matthew Knies

Jackson LaCombe

Jack LaFontaine

Blake McLaughlin

Ben Meyers

Rhett Pitlick

Sampo Ranta

Scott Reedy

Sammy Walker