'U' Travels to Ohio State for B1G Matchup Dec. 8-9

MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 10/9 Minnesota men's hockey team hits the road for its final series of the 2023 calendar year when it faces the Buckeyes of Ohio State Dec. 8-9 live from Value City Arena.

Both games will be televised on the Big Ten Network and streaming on the Fox Sports app starting Friday night at 5:30 p.m. (CT) and finishing Saturday night at 7 p.m. (CT). Fans can also listen to the action on the Gopher Radio Network 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE EXTRA MAN
Special teams were pivotal in Minnesota's season-opening sweep of the Tommies as it converted 50 percent of their power-play chances (3-of-6). The Gophers were then held scoreless across their next 15 opportunities with a man advantage, spanning six games until Aaron Huglen broke the streak with a tally at Minnesota Duluth (Nov. 4). That kick-started an improving trend where the team has a goal on the man advantage in seven of its last nine games, including four straight. Minnesota has converted 9-of-28 chances (32.1 percent), the second-highest percentage of any team in the nation during that stretch, as it raised the overall power-play success rate to 25.5 percent, which ranks 10th in the nation. Bryce Brodzinski has four of those nine goals and is tied with Jaxon Nelson and Jimmy Snuggerud, leading all active Gophers with 11 career power-play goals.

PITLICK SEEING DOUBLE STARS
For the second time in a five-week stretch, Rhett Pitlick was chosen as the Big Ten Conference Second Star of the Week (Dec. 5 and Nov. 7). The junior posted five points during a split at No. 18 Penn State, contributing to five of the team's seven total goals. He tallied two goals and three assists, posting multi-point efforts in both games, including a career-best three points in the victory Friday. Pitlick followed that effort by registering the first shorthanded goal of his career Saturday, and the Gophers' only shorthanded goal this season. The Plymouth, Minn., native now has 12 points during a career-long, six-game point streak and has at least one goal in each of those six games. His goal streak is the longest active streak in the NCAA, and he is the only player in the nation this year to score a goal in six-straight games against a ranked opponent. He also has seven multi-point performances over his last 10 outings, while his nine total assists are tied for the team lead.

SAME SCRIPT FOR BRODZINSKI
Bryce Brodzinski is playing some of the best hockey of his career and thanks to a five-point weekend against Michigan State, was named the B1G First Star of the Week (Nov. 28). The fifth-year senior matched his career high with four points versus the Spartans (Nov. 26), recording his second multi-goal performance this season and ninth of his career. The Blaine, Minn., product is following a similar script to a season ago when he registered 16 points from Oct. 28 to Dec. 10, whereas in 2023-24 he has 16 points in a span that's a week shorter. The team's leading scorer increased his point total to 18 behind goals in both outings at Penn State last weekend, including his 100th career point Friday (Dec. 1). That extended his goal-scoring streak to a career-long four games, which is the second longest active streak in the NCAA and only trails his teammate, Pitlick, while he also matched his career best of a six-game point streak.

CLOSE STAYING BUSY
Behind a brilliant weekend between the pipes for Minnesota, goaltender Justen Close was named the B1G First Star of the Week (Oct. 24). The graduate student made 25 saves in a road win at No. 5 North Dakota for his second-straight shutout before his streak was snapped at 153:58 in the second period Oct. 21. He turned away 57-of-59 shots faced against the Fighting Hawks for a 1.01 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage. The Kindersley, Saskatchewan, native sits two shutouts shy of the program record of 13 held by Kellen Briggs and Adam Wilcox. Close has come up clutch for Minnesota over the last eight outings by making at least 37 saves in five of those games, including a career-high 41 saves in an overtime win against Michigan State Nov. 26. His 266 saves since Nov. 10 is the second-most of any goaltender in the NCAA as he's averaging 33.3 saves per game in that four-week span.

SAM THE SETUP MAN
Freshman Sam Rinzel continues to help drive Minnesota's offense early in his career and is tied for the team lead in assists with nine, while he became the Gophers' first defenseman to reach double-digit points this season after scoring his first collegiate goal at Penn State (Dec. 1). His point total includes three multi-assist performances, coming against St. Thomas on opening night (Oct. 13), at Minnesota Duluth (Nov. 4), and a home overtime win over Michigan State (Nov. 26) where he setup the game winner. The Chanhassen, Minn., native is fifth in the national rankings in terms of assists by a freshman defenseman and tied for 14th in the NCAA for total assists by a rookie.

CONSISTENTLY NELSON
Jaxon Nelson has been a consistent producer for the Gophers this season and has a point in 12 of 16 games played. Going back to the postseason a year ago, he has a point in 17 of 22 outings, including a stretch of nine-consecutive games. He set a career high by tallying three assists in his first multi-point effort this season, 10th of his career, in the series finale against Michigan State (Nov. 26). The Magnolia, Minn., product has also won 53 percent of faceoffs taken and his 181 wins on the draw are ranked 11th nationally after he won 20-of-28 (71 percent) in a win over the Spartans (Nov. 26).

KEEPING UP WITH KURTH
Connor Kurth averaged a point per game during the month of November with eight points in eight outings, including multi-assist performances at Michigan (Nov. 10) and against Notre Dame (Nov. 18). The sophomore scored a goal in consecutive games versus Michigan State, the second time during his career with goals in back-to-back games and first since Oct. 2-7, 2022. Kurth stretched his career-long point streak to four games and made it three-straight games with a goal after scoring at Penn State (Dec. 1). The Lindstrom, Minn., product is just one point shy of his freshman total of 11 as he joined the group of Gophers in double-digit scoring with 10.

HISTORY WITH THE BUCKEYES
Minnesota has the highest winning percentage against Ohio State compared to any other Big Ten Conference opponent, holding a 41-10-5 record (.777) in the all-time series that dates to 1968, including a 14-3-3 record under the guidance of Head Coach Bob Motzko. The Gophers have won 12 of the previous 14 meetings overall and own a mark of 14-6-2 in games at Columbus, Ohio, after a series split to open league play a season ago.

INSIDE LOOK AT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes enter their final conference series of the calendar year in seventh place in the league standings after being swept on the road at Wisconsin last weekend. All five of OSU's wins this season have come in non-conference action, including a home sweep of Princeton in late November, as it holds a 5-0-2 record against teams not in the B1G. The Scarlet and Gray are at the bottom of the league in scoring offense (2.33 goals per game) and scoring defense (3.47 goals per game). Stephen Halliday paces three players in double-digit scoring as the sophomore has 12 points, while Scooter Brickey has a team-best five goals. Goaltender Logan Terness, a transfer from UConn, has started every game for OSU and has a goals-against average of 3.11 to go with a .900 save percentage.

DON THE STARS AND STRIPES
Earlier this week, USA Hockey announced its preliminary roster for the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship with four Gophers selected to the squad: Ryan Chesley, Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel, and Jimmy Snuggerud. The event will take place Dec. 26, 2023-Jan. 5, 2024, in Gothenburg, Sweden. Minnesota has been represented by at least one player at the tournament in 45 of the 48 years it has been played.

SHOWCASING THE STATE OF HOCKEY
With five of the six members of the Gophers freshman class hailing from the State of Hockey as well as graduate transfer Nick Michel, the 2023-24 roster now features nearly 90 percent homegrown talent. Of the 26 players on the team, 23 grew up and played youth hockey inside the state lines, including all 22 skaters. Even more impressive is the fact that 17 of the Minnesotans on the team are from within 40 miles of campus. In total, 233 student-athletes on NCAA rosters are from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, nearly 100 more than any other state in the country.

GOPHER PIPELINE TO THE NHL
After seeing 33 players take part in National Hockey League training camps, 21 former Golden Gophers men's hockey players earned an opening-night roster spot for the 2023-24 season, while Ryan Johnson, Vinni Lettieri, and Sammy Walker have been early-season call ups. Minnesota had an NCAA-best 26 former skaters in the NHL last season, increasing the all-time number of Gophers in the NHL to an NCAA-best 123 before Logan Cooley and Johnson made their debuts as No. 124 and 125, respectively. This year the Maroon and Gold has begun the campaign as one of two NCAA programs with 20 or more players with a lineup spot in the NHL.

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Players Mentioned

Bryce Brodzinski

Ryan Chesley

Justen Close

Logan Cooley

Aaron Huglen

Ryan Johnson

Connor Kurth

Nick Michel

Oliver Moore

Jaxon Nelson

Rhett Pitlick

Sam Rinzel

Jimmy Snuggerud