Gophers, Canisius Battle in NCAA Regional Opener Thursday

MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota men's hockey team opens its "Skate for Six" as the top seed at the 2023 NCAA Fargo Regional Thursday at 8 p.m. against No. 4-seed Canisius. Watch the postseason game live from Scheels Arena on ESPN2 or listen on the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.

The Golden Gophers will be the first program in NCAA men's hockey history to play in 40 NCAA tournaments when they take the ice Thursday night. For more information on tickets, regional schedule, radio affiliates and tournament news, click HERE for the Gopher Hockey Postseason Central page.

BACK IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
The five-time national champion Gophers are back in the 16-team NCAA tournament for the third-straight season and record 40th time in program history. They own a 58-40 all-time record, and the 58 victories are the most of any college hockey team in tournament history. Under head coach Bob Motzko, Minnesota has a 3-2 record on the national stage and won at least one game in its two previous trips to the event, including a spot in the NCAA Frozen Four a year ago. The Gophers own the nation's best winning percentage versus other teams in the field, holding a 12-5 record (.706) against five of the 15 tournament teams during the 2022-23 season.

HOBEY BAKER FINALISTS FOR GOPHERS DUO
Minnesota's Logan Cooley and Matthew Knies were both named a 2023 Hobey Baker Memorial Award Top 10 Finalist. The Gophers are one of just three NCAA teams to have at least four Hobey Baker Memorial Award winners in program history as Jordan Leopold (2002), Brian Bonin (1996), Robb Stauber (1988) and Neal Broten (1981) all earned the prestigious honor. A 30-member selection committee and another round of fan balloting through the Hobey website from March 17-26, will determine this year's Hobey Baker winner. The Hobey Hat Trick (three finalists) will be announced March 30.

B1G POSTSEASON HONORS
Minnesota's dominance during the regular season and its sixth Big Ten Conference championship showed on postseason ballots as it earned three All-B1G First Team, three All-B1G Second Team and three All-B1G Freshman Team selections, along with three major awards. The six all-league honorees are the most-ever for the Gophers and just the second time in league history where a team landed six selections in a single season. Matthew Knies (Player of the Year), Brock Faber (Defensive Player of the Year) and Bob Motzko (Coach of the Year) earned major awards with Faber and Motzko going consecutive years for the same awards. Knies and Faber were joined by Logan Cooley on the All-B1G First Team, while Justen Close, Jackson LaCombe and Jimmy Snuggerud were selected to the All-B1G Second Team. Ryan Johnson was named to the honorable mention team and given the B1G Sportsmanship Award and Luke Mittelstadt, along with Cooley and Snuggerud, earned a spot on the All-B1G Freshman Team.

HISTORY WITH THE GOLDEN GRIFFINS
Minnesota has met Canisius only once in its 102 years of existence, picking up a 1-0 shutout on home ice back on Oct. 28, 2012. Kyle Rau scored the game's only goal 12 seconds into the action for the No. 2-ranked Gophers, while Adam Wilcox tallied the first of his 13 career shutouts, tied for the most of any goalie in program history.

GET TO KNOW CANISIUS
The Golden Griffins earned an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament by winning the Atlantic Hockey Association tournament championship Saturday during a shutout of Holy Cross. It's just the second trip to the postseason event in program history, and first in 10 seasons, for Canisius and it enters the national tournament having won nine of its last 12. Keaton Mastrodonato (36 points) and Ryan Miotto (34 points) pace the team offensively and have combined for 12 power-play goals and eight game winners, while goaltender Jacob Barczewski is eighth nationally behind a 0.925 save percentage in 31 starts with three shutouts, all of which have come in the last nine games. Compared to Minnesota, the Golden Griffins average almost double the amount of penalty minutes at 13 per game and totaled 534 minutes in the box this season.

CHASING A MILESTONE
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 52 and 49 points, respectively, tying for third and fifth in the NCAA. The duo is looking to become the first-ever set of rookies to reach the 50-point mark in program history as Cooley hit the milestone Mar. 11 against Michigan State. He is the first Gopher freshman with 50 points since Phil Kessel posted 51 in 2005-06 and Snuggerud is only one point away as his 49 points are ninth by a freshman all-time at Minnesota.

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 36 games played and sits seventh nationally totaling 21 goals. The B1G Player of the Year and Hobey Baker Award finalist, 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 four of his 41 total points (21 goals and 20 assists) in Maroon and Gold wins. He remains the NCAA leader with seven game-winning goals, getting the deciding tally in both games against Penn State during a late-season road sweep, and continues to average more than a point per game in his Gophers' career, totaling 74 points (36 goals, 38 assists) during 69 contests.

LACOMBE CLIMBS SCORING LIST
Senior Jackson LaCombe has put together the best offensive season of his four-year career totaling 32 points in 33 appearances along the blue line. The most impressive part of that number is that the Eden Prairie, Minn., native has a team-leading 18 points in 15 games against teams ranked inside the top 10. He has at least one point in 11 of those 15 outings, including a pair of three-point performances. With his helper versus Michigan Mar. 18, LaCombe passed former All-American Paul Martin (2000-03) for with his 78th career assist, while his 96 career points moved him to a tie for 16th with Bart Larson (1977-81) 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, but not one of the three finalists. He remains the B1G leader in goals against average (2.02), wins (23) and shutouts (6) and is second in save percentage (.927), all of which rank in the top six nationally. His nine career shutouts are tied for seventh in program history, and he's done so in just 51 career starts. The senior has been honored by the conference as a star of the week four times during the season and holds a 1.87 goals against average, .936 save percentage and an 11-4-1 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, owning a 2.04 GAA when facing a top-15 program.

SPEEDING FORWARD
The Gophers' third line has come on strong of late extending the team's scoring depth as Rhett Pitlick, Aaron Huglen and Connor Kurth have utilized their speed to make an impact down the stretch. Pitlick has a point in nine of his last 10 outings, including setting a new career high with a six-game point streak, for a career-best 22 points overall. The sophomore has two goals in that span, reaching a career-best 10 after a highlight-reel tally in the B1G championship game, and taken advantage of his playmaking abilities to create chances with eight assists. Meanwhile, Huglen is starting to capitalize by finding the back of the net with four goals and seven points in an 11-game stretch and Kurth has three points and a plus-10 rating during the same period.

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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Players Mentioned

Justen Close

Logan Cooley

Brock Faber

Aaron Huglen

Ryan Johnson

Matthew Knies

Connor Kurth

Jackson LaCombe

Luke Mittelstadt

Rhett Pitlick

Jimmy Snuggerud