University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 11
8:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Michigan State
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Men's Hockey
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/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Eric Miller
Gophers Meet Spartans in B1G Semifinals Mar. 11
3/10/2023 11:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Postseason matchup live on BTN
MINNEAPOLIS - After earning a bye straight into the Big Ten Conference Tournament semifinals, the No. 1-ranked Minnesota men's hockey team finally takes the ice March 11 when it hosts No. 18/17 Michigan State at 8 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
It'll be the fifth meeting of the season between the Golden Gophers and Spartans and a spot in the B1G title game is on the line. Listen to the action with Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco on the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
Limited tickets remain for the tournament matchup inside 3M Arena at Mariucci and fans attending Saturday's game are encouraged to allow extra time for parking to ensure they are in their seats for puck drop. For more gameday information about the venue and parking, please click HERE.
FIRST BOX CHECKED
The Gophers secured the Big Ten Conference regular season championship outright before their mid-February series started at Penn State and closed out the title by winning their final four games. Minnesota claimed its second-straight and sixth overall B1G crown, while it is the 29th overall regular-season conference championship in program history. No other team has won multiple titles in the 10-year history of men's hockey in the Big Ten Conference and the Maroon and Gold also became the first team in league history to win the regular season crown by double digits, holding a 19-point advantage over second-place Michigan.
B1G AWARD FINALISTS
The Big Ten Conference announced the three finalists for its major postseason awards Wednesday with Maroon and Gold spread throughout the list. There is at least one Gopher in all five categories as Matthew Knies (Player of the Year), Brock Faber (Defensive Player of the Year), Justen Close (Goaltender of the Year), Logan Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud (Freshman of the Year) and Bob Motzko (Coach of the Year) all were named an award finalist. The full list of All-Big Ten selections and postseason award winners will be announced March 14.
AT THE B1G TOURNAMENT
The Gophers are seeking their third B1G Tournament title, having won the postseason event twice in the eight times it was previously presented and own an 11-8 overall record, including going 8-3 under head coach Bob Motzko. The last championship came in 2021 when the Maroon and Gold took down Michigan State, Michigan and Wisconsin as the No. 2 seed in the tournament played in South Bend, Ind., while it won its first in 2015. This year is the sixth time where Minnesota enters as the top seed and it holds a mark of 4-4 when playing as the No. 1 team, while it faces the Spartans for just the second time in the B1G Tournament.
HISTORY WITH THE SPARTANS
The Gophers improved their record to 133-50-16 in the all-time series against Michigan State by winning all four meetings during the season, in which the Spartans were ranked in the top 15. The Maroon and Gold have claimed 13-straight victories over MSU dating back to 2020, including a B1G quarterfinal matchup in the 2021 tournament. Logan Cooley paced Minnesota with 10 points in the four battles this year with three goals and seven assists, while the freshman had multi-point efforts in all four matchups and was a plus-12. Linemates Matthew Knies and Jimmy Snuggerud each scored four times versus MSU and Bryce Brodzinski added three goals this season as the Gophers outscored the Spartans by a 25-6 margin. Justen Close backstopped all four wins and held off the opposition with a 1.50 goals against average, .949 save percentage and two shutouts.
PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THE GOPHERS
Fans have come out to see the high-powered Gophers to the tune of a sellout in nine of 11 arenas played in across the country, including 17 of their last 22 games overall. Minnesota has had eight sellouts at 3M Arena at Mariucci this season and with an announced attendance of 20,755 for the series against the Wolverines Jan. 20-21, set a program record for the most fans in a weekend series in arena history. The Gophers have the second-highest home attendance of any college hockey team this year averaging 9,099 patrons per game. That number is a more than a 1,500-person increase from a season ago.
FEELING RIGHT AT HOME
Minnesota has excelled on home ice inside 3M Arena at Mariucci posting a 15-3 record with only one of the losses coming in regulation. The Maroon and Gold have outscored its opponents by a 79-37 margin and held the opposition to two or fewer goals 11 times, including four shutouts. Twenty different players have registered at least one point for the Gophers at home, while 11 have reached double-digit scoring, thanks in part to a power play that is converting 27 percent of their chances. Goaltender Justen Close has a 1.69 goals against average and a .933 save percentage in 17 home appearances.
TWO STARS IN THE FINALE
Behind a four-point game from Mike Koster and a shutout by Justen Close, the Minnesota duo earned B1G Second and Third Star of the Week honors, respectively, after a sweep of No. 8/7 Ohio State in the final week of the regular season. Playing in his 100th career game, Koster picked up his first weekly honor as a Gopher thanks to a night to remember Feb. 24. The junior accounted for a point on all four second-period tallies during a 4-0 win, scoring twice with two assists. Close backstopped the sweep allowing just two goals, both coming on an extended 5-on-3 power play and finished the series with a 1.00 goals against average and a brilliant .962 save percentage. His shutout Feb. 24 was his B1G-leading sixth of the year that moved him into a tie for second in single-season history.
FOCUSED FRESHMEN
First-round NHL draft picks in 2022, Logan Cooley (third overall) and Jimmy Snuggerud (23rd overall) continue to pace the team offensively during their freshmen campaigns totaling 48 and 47 points, respectively, tying for third and fourth in the NCAA. It's the first time since 2006-07 and only the second time since 2000 that multiple Minnesota first-year players have registered 40 or more points in a single season. Cooley has scored all 16 of his goals in Gophers' victories, while the Pittsburgh, Pa., native has recorded at least one point in 27 of 33 games played. He is currently riding a season-long, 11-game point streak, the longest active streak in the country, and became the only B1G player this season with a five-point performance when he had a goal and four assists in the second period at Penn State Feb. 17. Snuggerud has produced 16 multi-point efforts this year, including five times during a current eight-game point streak, and put his name on the scoresheet of 26 of his 34 collegiate games played. The product of Chaska, Minn., has 20 goals this season, tying for the second-most of any freshman in the country.
KNIES TO THE TOP
Sophomore Matthew Knies continues to score goals at an elite rate this season as he has hit the back of the net in 19 of 34 games played, and sits sixth nationally totaling 21 goals. He has recorded two multi-goal outings this year, coming against Michigan Jan. 20 and at Penn State Feb. 18, including the game winner in overtime of both outings. The Phoenix, Ariz., product has generated all but three of his 39 total points (21 goals and 18 assists) in Maroon and Gold wins. He extended his NCAA lead to seven game-winning goals, getting the winner in both games against the Nittany Lions, and continues to average more than a point per game in his Gophers' career, totaling 72 points (36 goals, 36 assists) during 67 contests.
LACOMBE CLIMBS SCORING LIST
Senior Jackson LaCombe has put together the best offensive season of his four-year career totaling 31 points in 32 appearances along the blue line. The most impressive part of that number is that the Eden Prairie, Minn., native has a team-leading 17 points in 14 games against teams ranked inside the top 10. He has at least one point in 10 of those 14 outings, including a pair of three-point performances. With his helper at PSU Saturday, LaCombe tied former All-American Paul Martin (2000-03) with 77 career assists, while his 95 career points moved him to a tie for 17th with Reed Larson (1973-77) on the all-time points by a defenseman list.
CLOSE EYE ON THE SENIOR
Minnesota's Justen Close was selected as one of nine semifinalists for the 2023 Mike Richter Award, given to the best goaltender in NCAA Division I men's hockey. He remains the B1G leader in goals against average (1.99), wins (22) and shutouts (6), all of which rank in the top five nationally. His nine career shutouts are tied for seventh in program history, and he's done so in just 49 career starts. The senior has been honored by the conference as a star of the week four times during the season and holds a 1.78 goals against average, .938 save percentage and a 10-3-1 record since the calendar switched to 2023. Even more impressive is what the Kindersley, Saskatchewan, native has been able to do against the best teams in the nation. Close owns a sub-two GAA (1.94) when facing a top-15 program and a 2.01 mark during battles against the top 10.
FIRST YEAR FACTOR
Minnesota's 10 skating freshmen have combined for 145 points on 52 goals and 93 assists, accounting for 38 percent of the team's offense. It's the first time since 2013-14 where the freshmen class has reached 100 total points and the third-most since 2000, just two points behind the 147 total from 2002-03. Jimmy Snuggerud and Logan Cooley have 20 and 16 goals, respectively, while Connor Kurth, Brody Lamb, John Mittelstadt, Luke Mittelstadt and Garrett Pinoniemi all have multiple goals. From the blue line, Luke Mittelstadt is the second-highest scoring freshman defenseman in the B1G this year, and 10th for league defensemen overall, totaling 17 points.
LOCALLY SOURCED
Holding the moniker of the State of Hockey, Minnesota is known for its strong history of players that start skating on local ice sheets and backyard ponds. That has fed a deep pipeline of talent to colleges around the country, most importantly to the University of Minnesota. The Gophers' roster features a collection of 26 student-athletes, 20 of which were born and raised within the state lines. Even more impressive is the fact that 16 of the Minnesotans on the team are from within 40 miles of campus.
WHEN YOU CALL MY NAME
Fourteen of Minnesota's 26 rostered players have heard their name called in the NHL Entry Draft, six of which are part of this year's freshmen class. The Gophers have had the most all-time draft selections (227) by any NCAA men's hockey program after adding four in July 2022. At least one Gopher has been drafted in 48 of the last 49 NHL Entry Drafts dating back to 1974, with 2001 being the only exception. Only Harvard has more draft picks (15) on its NCAA roster for the 2022-23 season.
It'll be the fifth meeting of the season between the Golden Gophers and Spartans and a spot in the B1G title game is on the line. Listen to the action with Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco on the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
Limited tickets remain for the tournament matchup inside 3M Arena at Mariucci and fans attending Saturday's game are encouraged to allow extra time for parking to ensure they are in their seats for puck drop. For more gameday information about the venue and parking, please click HERE.
FIRST BOX CHECKED
The Gophers secured the Big Ten Conference regular season championship outright before their mid-February series started at Penn State and closed out the title by winning their final four games. Minnesota claimed its second-straight and sixth overall B1G crown, while it is the 29th overall regular-season conference championship in program history. No other team has won multiple titles in the 10-year history of men's hockey in the Big Ten Conference and the Maroon and Gold also became the first team in league history to win the regular season crown by double digits, holding a 19-point advantage over second-place Michigan.
B1G AWARD FINALISTS
The Big Ten Conference announced the three finalists for its major postseason awards Wednesday with Maroon and Gold spread throughout the list. There is at least one Gopher in all five categories as Matthew Knies (Player of the Year), Brock Faber (Defensive Player of the Year), Justen Close (Goaltender of the Year), Logan Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud (Freshman of the Year) and Bob Motzko (Coach of the Year) all were named an award finalist. The full list of All-Big Ten selections and postseason award winners will be announced March 14.
AT THE B1G TOURNAMENT
The Gophers are seeking their third B1G Tournament title, having won the postseason event twice in the eight times it was previously presented and own an 11-8 overall record, including going 8-3 under head coach Bob Motzko. The last championship came in 2021 when the Maroon and Gold took down Michigan State, Michigan and Wisconsin as the No. 2 seed in the tournament played in South Bend, Ind., while it won its first in 2015. This year is the sixth time where Minnesota enters as the top seed and it holds a mark of 4-4 when playing as the No. 1 team, while it faces the Spartans for just the second time in the B1G Tournament.
HISTORY WITH THE SPARTANS
The Gophers improved their record to 133-50-16 in the all-time series against Michigan State by winning all four meetings during the season, in which the Spartans were ranked in the top 15. The Maroon and Gold have claimed 13-straight victories over MSU dating back to 2020, including a B1G quarterfinal matchup in the 2021 tournament. Logan Cooley paced Minnesota with 10 points in the four battles this year with three goals and seven assists, while the freshman had multi-point efforts in all four matchups and was a plus-12. Linemates Matthew Knies and Jimmy Snuggerud each scored four times versus MSU and Bryce Brodzinski added three goals this season as the Gophers outscored the Spartans by a 25-6 margin. Justen Close backstopped all four wins and held off the opposition with a 1.50 goals against average, .949 save percentage and two shutouts.
PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THE GOPHERS
Fans have come out to see the high-powered Gophers to the tune of a sellout in nine of 11 arenas played in across the country, including 17 of their last 22 games overall. Minnesota has had eight sellouts at 3M Arena at Mariucci this season and with an announced attendance of 20,755 for the series against the Wolverines Jan. 20-21, set a program record for the most fans in a weekend series in arena history. The Gophers have the second-highest home attendance of any college hockey team this year averaging 9,099 patrons per game. That number is a more than a 1,500-person increase from a season ago.
FEELING RIGHT AT HOME
Minnesota has excelled on home ice inside 3M Arena at Mariucci posting a 15-3 record with only one of the losses coming in regulation. The Maroon and Gold have outscored its opponents by a 79-37 margin and held the opposition to two or fewer goals 11 times, including four shutouts. Twenty different players have registered at least one point for the Gophers at home, while 11 have reached double-digit scoring, thanks in part to a power play that is converting 27 percent of their chances. Goaltender Justen Close has a 1.69 goals against average and a .933 save percentage in 17 home appearances.
TWO STARS IN THE FINALE
Behind a four-point game from Mike Koster and a shutout by Justen Close, the Minnesota duo earned B1G Second and Third Star of the Week honors, respectively, after a sweep of No. 8/7 Ohio State in the final week of the regular season. Playing in his 100th career game, Koster picked up his first weekly honor as a Gopher thanks to a night to remember Feb. 24. The junior accounted for a point on all four second-period tallies during a 4-0 win, scoring twice with two assists. Close backstopped the sweep allowing just two goals, both coming on an extended 5-on-3 power play and finished the series with a 1.00 goals against average and a brilliant .962 save percentage. His shutout Feb. 24 was his B1G-leading sixth of the year that moved him into a tie for second in single-season history.
FOCUSED FRESHMEN
First-round NHL draft picks in 2022, Logan Cooley (third overall) and Jimmy Snuggerud (23rd overall) continue to pace the team offensively during their freshmen campaigns totaling 48 and 47 points, respectively, tying for third and fourth in the NCAA. It's the first time since 2006-07 and only the second time since 2000 that multiple Minnesota first-year players have registered 40 or more points in a single season. Cooley has scored all 16 of his goals in Gophers' victories, while the Pittsburgh, Pa., native has recorded at least one point in 27 of 33 games played. He is currently riding a season-long, 11-game point streak, the longest active streak in the country, and became the only B1G player this season with a five-point performance when he had a goal and four assists in the second period at Penn State Feb. 17. Snuggerud has produced 16 multi-point efforts this year, including five times during a current eight-game point streak, and put his name on the scoresheet of 26 of his 34 collegiate games played. The product of Chaska, Minn., has 20 goals this season, tying for the second-most of any freshman in the country.
KNIES TO THE TOP
Sophomore Matthew Knies continues to score goals at an elite rate this season as he has hit the back of the net in 19 of 34 games played, and sits sixth nationally totaling 21 goals. He has recorded two multi-goal outings this year, coming against Michigan Jan. 20 and at Penn State Feb. 18, including the game winner in overtime of both outings. The Phoenix, Ariz., product has generated all but three of his 39 total points (21 goals and 18 assists) in Maroon and Gold wins. He extended his NCAA lead to seven game-winning goals, getting the winner in both games against the Nittany Lions, and continues to average more than a point per game in his Gophers' career, totaling 72 points (36 goals, 36 assists) during 67 contests.
LACOMBE CLIMBS SCORING LIST
Senior Jackson LaCombe has put together the best offensive season of his four-year career totaling 31 points in 32 appearances along the blue line. The most impressive part of that number is that the Eden Prairie, Minn., native has a team-leading 17 points in 14 games against teams ranked inside the top 10. He has at least one point in 10 of those 14 outings, including a pair of three-point performances. With his helper at PSU Saturday, LaCombe tied former All-American Paul Martin (2000-03) with 77 career assists, while his 95 career points moved him to a tie for 17th with Reed Larson (1973-77) on the all-time points by a defenseman list.
CLOSE EYE ON THE SENIOR
Minnesota's Justen Close was selected as one of nine semifinalists for the 2023 Mike Richter Award, given to the best goaltender in NCAA Division I men's hockey. He remains the B1G leader in goals against average (1.99), wins (22) and shutouts (6), all of which rank in the top five nationally. His nine career shutouts are tied for seventh in program history, and he's done so in just 49 career starts. The senior has been honored by the conference as a star of the week four times during the season and holds a 1.78 goals against average, .938 save percentage and a 10-3-1 record since the calendar switched to 2023. Even more impressive is what the Kindersley, Saskatchewan, native has been able to do against the best teams in the nation. Close owns a sub-two GAA (1.94) when facing a top-15 program and a 2.01 mark during battles against the top 10.
FIRST YEAR FACTOR
Minnesota's 10 skating freshmen have combined for 145 points on 52 goals and 93 assists, accounting for 38 percent of the team's offense. It's the first time since 2013-14 where the freshmen class has reached 100 total points and the third-most since 2000, just two points behind the 147 total from 2002-03. Jimmy Snuggerud and Logan Cooley have 20 and 16 goals, respectively, while Connor Kurth, Brody Lamb, John Mittelstadt, Luke Mittelstadt and Garrett Pinoniemi all have multiple goals. From the blue line, Luke Mittelstadt is the second-highest scoring freshman defenseman in the B1G this year, and 10th for league defensemen overall, totaling 17 points.
LOCALLY SOURCED
Holding the moniker of the State of Hockey, Minnesota is known for its strong history of players that start skating on local ice sheets and backyard ponds. That has fed a deep pipeline of talent to colleges around the country, most importantly to the University of Minnesota. The Gophers' roster features a collection of 26 student-athletes, 20 of which were born and raised within the state lines. Even more impressive is the fact that 16 of the Minnesotans on the team are from within 40 miles of campus.
WHEN YOU CALL MY NAME
Fourteen of Minnesota's 26 rostered players have heard their name called in the NHL Entry Draft, six of which are part of this year's freshmen class. The Gophers have had the most all-time draft selections (227) by any NCAA men's hockey program after adding four in July 2022. At least one Gopher has been drafted in 48 of the last 49 NHL Entry Drafts dating back to 1974, with 2001 being the only exception. Only Harvard has more draft picks (15) on its NCAA roster for the 2022-23 season.
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