Robbie Stucker commits to Minnesota

Defenseman Robbie Stucker verbally committed Christmas Day to Minnesota.

Proud and excited to announce my commitment to further my education and hockey career at The University of Minnesota! @GopherHockey #SKI-U-MAH〽️

— Robbie Stucker (@Rob_Stucks3) December 25, 2017

Stucker, a native of St. Paul and 1998 birth year, previously was committed to Colorado College.

The 19 year-old currently plays for the USHL Chicago Steel (whose associate coach Ben Gordon previously was Minnesota's Director of Operations), where he has 3 goals and 12 points in 21 games. That total is tied with several players, including new Minnesota freshman Clayton Phillips, for the seventh-most points by a USHL defenseman. Prior to this season, Stucker played high school hockey at St. Thomas Academy.

With Phillips coming in this semester and Nate Knoepke departing for the USHL to get more playing time, the Gophers had an opening for 2018-19 with no defensive commits. Stucker, a right-handed shot listed at 6'3", 185 lbs, fills that role.

Stucker is a 2017 Columbus Blue Jackets 7th round pick. For more on his recent development, Alison Lukan interviewed Stucker earlier this month for The Athletic.

Recent Gopher men's hockey verbal commitments:
-Jared Moe - New Prague
-Joe Miller - Minneapolis
-Noah Tussey - Stillwater
-Nick Williams - Edina
-Rhett Pitlick - Chaska
-Jake Braccini - Buffalo
-Chaz and Cruz Lucius

Sarah Potomak among final Canada Olympic cuts

Minnesota junior forward Sarah Potomak was one of Hockey Canada's final three cuts Friday for the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Having just turned 20, Potomak, who redshirted this season in order to centralize for Olympic preperations with 27 other players in Calgary, was the youngest remaining player. Along with Potomak, defenders Micah Zandee-Hart and Halli Krzyzaniak were not on the 23 woman roster named Friday (December 22, 2017).

Erin Ambrose and Sarah's younger sister Amy, who signed a letter of intent to play with the Gophers, were cut last month.

"Obviously it sucks," Sarah told me earlier this month when Team Canada was in St. Paul about seeing her sister cut. "It's obviously not fun for anyone to get cut, but it's part of the process. We just have to move forward as a team."

Clayton Phillips added to Minnesota roster; Luke Notermann cleared

After freshman defenseman Nate Knoepke went to the USHL earlier today, Minnesota brings in its top defensive recruit a semester early from the USHL.

Clayton Phillips, an Edina native who plays for Muskegon, will enroll for the second semester and be eligible to play in Minnesota's next series against Army. He will wear number 6, which was last worn by Ryan Collins.

The 93rd overall selection in the 2017 NHL Draft by Pittsburgh (whose scout for the area at the time is now Gopher assistant Scott Bell) previously signed a Letter of Intent last month. Despite being drafted, Phillips was one of the youngest players eligible to be drafted and needed to accelerate to graduate high school.

Nate Knoepke departs Minnesota for Sioux City (USHL)

Minnesota freshman defenseman Nate Knoepke has left the Gopher program to play for the USHL Sioux City Musketeers.

Knoepke, who appeared in 2 games for Minnesota during the first half of the season, is expected to join the Musketeers after the holiday break, per team release. No team held the 18 year-old's rights as he was not selected by any team in May's Phase 2 Draft.

Seen as Minnesota's highest-profile freshman defenseman for the 2017-18 season, Knoepke had been unable to crack the Gopher lineup his first semester. The team has utilized 7 defensemen at times this season, but it has been fellow freshman Sam Rossini who has gotten more opportunities.

Finally eligible, Mat Robson is ready for his shot in the Gophers net (The Athletic)

For practical purposes, Minnesota’s second half of the regular season begins when the team returns from a two-week break for finals and the holidays. Technically, as Gopher sophomore goaltender Mat Robson certainly knows, it started with last weekend's road series against then-No. 15 Ohio State.

Ineligible for the season’s first half, the true halfway point marks a new beginning. Excited and in good spirits, there’s one thing Robson wants now after finally earning his college hockey eligibility back.

“Just play,” he told The Athletic prior to the Ohio State series. “I just want to play and play well and give our team a chance to win every night, whenever I’m looked upon to do my part and to be a good teammate as well. We definitely want to get to St. Paul at the end of the year (for the Frozen Four).”

Being able to play does not guarantee playing time, however. Head coach Don Lucia acknowledges as much with Robson’s addition. Junior Eric Schierhorn is in his third year as Minnesota’s starting goaltender. This season he has a career-high .912 save percentage.

Click here to read the rest!

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 13 (with Eric Vegoe)

On episode 13 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, the first half of the season comes to a close.

Eric Vegoe of The Athletic and Gopher Puck Live joins Nate, Drew and producer Tom Schreier to put the finishing touches on a 1-5 Gophers stretch after Minnesota was swept by Ohio State. Much of the weekend, from the road woes to the power play to Mat Robson's Gopher debut Saturday, gets discussed. They also look back on Minnesota's first half, the offensive struggles down the stretch, where the Gophers sit nationally, Big Ten players who have stood out and hand out several awards to Minnesota players. You'll have to tune in to find out who won the vaunted "Casey Mittelstadt Award for Best Freshman Not Named Casey Mittelstadt."

Plus: We take a quick tour of St. Paul and tips for the renaissance hockey fan to close out the show.

Those who would watch a Jack Ramsey "Man vs. Wild" style show can directly download here.


As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes. While you're at it, please leave a review and give us five stars. It helps out the podcast.

Plugs and stuff

-Eric is a co-host on the Gopher Puck Live podcast with Hammy and Jupiter that is recorded live during the season every Wednesday night at 9 pm CT. He writes for the site as well as The Athletic. His most recent feature is on Rem Pitlick's "inch-by-inch" journey to being the team's most consistent player. You can follow him on Twitter @evegoe.

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey and football for the Minnesota Daily. His tip was following Sean McIndoe's work @downgoesbrown.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page. His tip was reading Steve Rushin's "Sting-Ray Afternoons" memoir.

Gopher commits Blake McLaughlin and Clayton Phillips playing in World Junior A Challenge

This week a pair of Gopher commits will be getting international experience in the World Junior A Challenge in Truro, Nova Scotia.

Forward Blake McLaughlin and defenseman Clayton Phillips represent the United States in the six team tournament. Host Canada has two teams along with one team from the US, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Russia.

All 22 players on the American squad play in the USHL.

Game Story: Minnesota ends first half by blowing out UMD (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- After failing to hold onto a two-goal third-period lead Friday, Minnesota wanted to be more mentally tough Saturday to close out the first half at Ridder Arena.

Mission accomplished, as the Gophers blew out Minnesota-Duluth 5-0 on Saturday.

“It definitely pissed us off a little bit. We wanted to come out with energy and finish 2017 with a win,” said freshman Taylor Wente. “We definitely wanted to win this game a lot.”

Minnesota scored five times in the first 40 minutes and closed out the game with redshirt senior goaltender Sidney Peters rebounding from Friday, stopping all 18 shots faced for her second shutout of the year.

“I thought (Peters) was solid, she was very square to the puck, making the saves she’s supposed to make,” Minnesota head coach Brad Frost said.

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Gopher blow 3-1 lead, settle for tie (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- There are ties where a team feels good about themselves.

Then there are ties where the team treats it closer to a loss.

Minnesota, as a team, can be put in the latter category Friday night.

“Tonight we don’t feel real good about that tie being up two goals twice in the third. You have to find a way to win that hockey game and we didn’t,” said Gophers head coach Brad Frost as audible cheers from Minnesota-Duluth players could be heard down the hall.

Leading 3-1 with a little more than eight minutes remaining in regulation, Minnesota (14-5-2, 9-4-2-0 WCHA) was unable to hold on to the lead at Ridder Arena. The team gave up goals to Bulldogs forwards Ashton Bell and Katerina Mrazova, who finished with two Friday, as part of a five-goal third period to finish tied, 3-3.

UMD won the shootout 2-1 in five rounds to take home the extra WCHA conference point.

Click here to read the rest!

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 12 (with Chris Peters of ESPN)

On episode 12 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast we discuss the World Juniors with our first ever repeat guest.

Chris Peters, now at ESPN, comes back on the show to help Nate, Drew and producer Tom Schreier break down the United States' 2018 preliminary World Juniors roster. He highlights the two Gophers on the squad, competition battles to follow, goaltenders, players to keep an eye on, what the US needs to do to repeat and his take on the US-Canada game. Plus: Chris breaks some United States of Hockey news.

Afterwards, Nate and Drew preview the Ohio State series.

Those wanting to skip the line at Raising Cane's can directly download here.


As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes. While you're at it, please leave a review and give us five stars. It helps out the podcast.

Plugs and stuff

-Chris Peters works for ESPN. Much of his work appears on ESPN Insider (subscription required) although you can find him daily on the main ESPN site. Did I mention ESPN? He'll be covering the World Juniors live in Buffalo and is a must-follow for the December 26-January 5 tournament on Twitter @chrismpeters.

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey and football for the Minnesota Daily. This week he wrote a feature on Tyler Nanne returning to Ohio State, a school he attended while not playing due to a heart condition.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 11

On That Gopher Hockey Puckcast episode 11, we get through all our subjects like a perfectly timed hip check.

In the first of TWO episodes this week, Drew, Nate and producer Tom Schreier have to decide who would be the captain, skilled player and goon among the group. They then discuss fighting in junior hockey and give their picks for a way too early 2018 Frozen Four.

Minnesota's series split with Wisconsin gets touched upon as well as Mike Szmatula's 100th career point. The Gophers' win Friday and loss Saturday bring up several topics such as, "what to make of an offense that is putting up the shots but not the goals," "is Minnesota's defense a bright spot," "can you get numb to Casey Mittelstadt highlight-reel assists" and much more.

Plus: Young Drew says something that makes Nate feel really old.

Those modern day goons can directly download here.



As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes. While you're at it, please leave a review and give us five stars. It helps out the podcast.

Plugs and stuff

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey and football for the Minnesota Daily.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page. Here's the USA-Canada Olympic feature for The Athletic he discusses in the episode.

-Brad Schlossman's article on how there's little separation in college hockey this season.

-The aforementioned Tyler Nanne's hip check:

#Gophers Tyler Nanne has been dropping hip checks this season, bonus points for an open ice on. pic.twitter.com/3r9jdO6rjx

— Eric Vegoe (@evegoe) December 3, 2017

Casey Mittelstadt and Ryan Lindgren named to US 2018 WJC Preliminary roster

Minnesota freshman forward Casey Mittelstadt and sophomore defenseman Ryan Lindgren are among the 28 players named Monday (December 5, 2017) to the United States' 2018 World Juniors preliminary roster.

Featuring the best players in the world under 20, the 2018 World Juniors take place December 26, 2017-January 5th, 2018 in Buffalo, New York.

Game Story: Jack Berry stops 40 shots, Gopher comeback attempt (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- One shot got saved.

Then another.

Then a third.

Minnesota’s final minute comeback came up a goal short. Making the start in place of Kyle Hayton, Jack Berry made a career-high 40 saves on Saturday. Berry stopped all 20 shots he faced in the third period to seal a 3-2 Wisconsin win and get the Badgers (10-7-2, 4-3-1-0 Big Ten) a series split.

“Last year (Berry) was a very confident, relaxed goaltender. Tonight even when things got crazy in front of the net, that’s his demeanor. He stepped up for us,” Wisconsin head coach Tony Granato said about Berry. “You can’t ask any more out of a goalie that’s only played four games.”

Berry’s three biggest saves came late — when they were needed most.

Having already having stopped a Jack Ramsey penalty shot in the first period, the sophomore goaltender shut down a Gopher power play and an extra attacker on the ice scenario during the final three minutes. Minnesota had multiple opportunities to tie the game earlier in the period before the final flurry.

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Bemidji State snaps Minnesota's 9 game winning streak (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Having played the Gophers close three times this season in a losing effort, Bemidji State was not denied in the fourth and final attempt Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena.

A night after defeating the Beavers in the final minute of overtime, Minnesota could not find the energy to push past and get a sweep in the two-game series. Jacqueline Kaasa and Emily Bergland scored third period goals 46 seconds apart to put the visiting Beavers ahead 4-2 for a series split

The loss snapped Minnesota’s nine game winning streak.

“I was really proud of our group after suffering a really, really tough loss last night. To come back tonight, I’m really proud of them,” said Bemidji State head coach Jim Scanlan.

Kaasa finished with two goals and an assist, including the game-winner 5:16 into the third period. Her first was matched 23 seconds later in the first period by Alex Woken, whose effort led to Minnesota fans throwing stuffed animals over the boards during the team’s annual Teddy Bear Toss.

Click here to read the rest!

Pregame Blog: Minnesota-Wisconsin Saturday Line Combinations, TV, Radio & More

#14 Wisconsin (9-7-2, 3-3-1-0 Big Ten) at #7 Minnesota (10-6-1, 4-4-1-1 Big Ten)

Date: Saturday December 2nd
Time: 7:00 pm CT
Location: 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, MN
TV: Fox Sports North PLUS
Radio: 1130 KTLK AM in Twin Cities
Stream: BTN2Go/Fox Sports Go/TSN Go
Nate is covering for tonight: Everyone

Last night's game recap: Gopher pair hit milestones in win over Wisconsin


In the midst of a nine-game pointless streak, Scott Reedy was telling himself to stick to the basics. It paid off Friday night. The freshman forward broke through with three points, including his third goal of the season.

"I got to play my game. As long as I'm getting chances, I know points will come," he said.

Radio: WCCO Sports Friday with Steve Thomson (December 1, 2017)

Steve Thomson of WCCO had me on the radio last night following Minnesota's 5-4 win over Wisconsin.

We discussed: Minnesota's performance, Wisconsin turning things around, what the Gophers need to work on, where they sit in the Big Ten, how the Big Ten looks this season and if there's an eighth team who makes sense to join the league, among others.

You can listen below.

Direct: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/audio/steve-thomson-and-eric-nelson/12-01-17-10-pm-sports-friday/#.WiMMs9XMDBY.blogger

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/steve-thomson-and-eric-nelson/id403228796?mt=2

My segment begins a little after the 26 minute mark of the 10 pm hour on Friday December 1st.

Game Story: Gopher Pair Hit Milestones in Win Over Badgers (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Against a rival, every point helps.

Whether it’s the first career point, 100th or anything in between, Minnesota had enough to take the opening game Friday.

The Gophers used a four-goal second to erase a 2-1 deficit against Wisconsin in a 5-4 win. Minnesota held on late, killing a third-period penalty in the final five minutes of regulation. The visiting Badgers threatened again by having an extra attacker over the final two minutes with goaltender Jack Berry pulled, but were unable to find the tying goal.

Five different players scored for the Gophers (10-6-1, 4-4-1-1 Big Ten) to snap a two-game losing streak.

“We have tremendous scoring depth on our team. To have five different scorers is definitely a good sign. I think everyone was rolling, said Scott Reedy after a three-point (1G-2A) night. “We need to keep that going.”

A pair of Gopher players had their share of milestones Friday night. Redshirt senior Mike Szmatula reached 100 points in his college career on a first period goal. 68 came while he was Northeastern while the next 32 are with the Gophers.

Sophomore Joey Marooney, playing for the first time since Oct. 20 against North Dakota, assisted on Tyler Sheehy’s second goal for his first career point.

Click here to read the rest!

Pregame Blog: Minnesota-Wisconsin Friday Line Combinations, TV, Radio & More

#14 Wisconsin (9-6-2, 3-2-1-0 Big Ten) at #7 Minnesota (9-6-1, 3-4-1-1 Big Ten)

Date: Friday December 1st
Time: 7:00 pm CT
Location: 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, MN
TV: Fox Sports North PLUS
Radio: 1130 KTLK AM in Twin Cities
Stream: BTN2Go/Fox Sports Go/TSN Go
Nate is covering for tonight: Everyone

Preview: Gophers trying to get more quality shots on goal and rebounds

Pregame Reading: Rem Pitlick's inch-by-inch journey from "little peanut" to Gophers' leader scorer, by Eric Vegoe (The Athletic) 

Note: You can follow me on Twitter @gopherstate for live, in-person coverage.

Minnesota-Wisconsin Preview: Gophers trying to get more quality shots on goal and rebounds

They remember Kyle Hayton.

The Wisconsin goaltender is new to Madison, but not to Minnesota. Hayton faced the Gophers last season when the now-senior was a member of St. Lawrence prior to coming to the Badgers as a graduate transfer.

Minnesota tied the Saints 2-2 on the road in dramatic fashion. It took everything the Gophers had to get a goal past him.

"He was good. He stopped a lot of shots. I think we put up 40-something (author's note: 42 to be exact) on him and didn't score until we had the goalie pulled in the last minute or so," said Jack Ramsey. "Good goalie. I think he comes out of the net pretty far so hopefully we can get rebounds and try to crash the net."

Feature: Gopher hockey runs into hot goalie and a great team in South Bend (The Athletic)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Solving Cale Morris and Notre Dame’s defense is easier said than done.

For most of its weekend series against the fourth-ranked Irish, Minnesota’s offense happily executed its game plan, sustaining pressure in the offensive end while the entire lineup put shots on goal.

Morris and company were up to the challenge, however, in a battle between the Big Ten’s best at Compton Family Ice Arena. He stopped 84 of 86 shots, not allowing an even-strength goal on the weekend, as then-No. 6 Minnesota lost 1-0 Friday and 5-2 Saturday, the difference between good and great on full display.

“It’s frustrating because we did some good things, and I’d say five of our six periods were pretty good,” Gophers head coach Don Lucia told The Athletic following Saturday’s defeat. “(Notre Dame)’s a good team. We didn’t do enough to give ourselves a chance to win.”

Click here to read the rest!*

*Subscription requred - here's a 25% off deal for $3.74 a month

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 10

On this week's That Gopher Hockey Puckast, we hit double digits!

Nate, Drew and a slightly sick Tom mark the occasion by doing what they've done for nine other episodes: talk some Gopher hockey.

Topics this week include the pros and cons of college hockey travel, Notre Dame's campus, the Fighting Irish sweeping Minnesota, Cale Morris, Mike Szmatula, whether these are the two best teams in the Big Ten, getting rebounds and what was different, and much, much more. Plus we look ahead to Minnesota facing Wisconsin this weekend.

Those getting food advice from Michael Russo should directly download here.


As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes. While you're at it, please leave a review and give us five stars. It helps out the podcast.

Plugs and stuff

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey and football for the Minnesota Daily.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page. He was there in South Bend this past weekend and wrote on Minnesota seeing a red-hot Notre Dame team.

Game Story: Mike Szmatula's 2 goals not enough for Minnesota to avoid a Notre Dame sweep (Zone Coverage)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Gophers will have to play catch-up in Big Ten conference play.

Winners of the past four conference regular season titles, Minnesota finds itself seven points behind first-year member Notre Dame with two more games played. (Big Ten games are worth three points apiece.) The latest comes after the first-place Fighting Irish (12-3-1, 6-0-0-0 Big Ten) swept the Gophers this weekend, most recently defeating Minnesota 5-2 Saturday at Compton Family Ice Arena.

Minnesota (9-6-1, 3-4-1-1 Big Ten) was within one goal for much of the game. Trailing from Notre Dame’s opening shot, the Fighting Irish were able to hold off the Gophers and put the game away in the final ten-plus minutes.

“We took some penalties in the third. We just didn’t have much pushback in the third,” said Minnesota head coach Don Lucia. “When they got the fourth one, it’s tough to come back. One, when it’s a one-shot game, you’re in it. We got a little too impatient and did some things we hadn’t been doing.”

Click here for the rest!

Pregame Blog: Minnesota-Notre Dame Saturday Line Combinations, Friday Notes, TV, Radio, Streaming & More

#6 Minnesota (9-5-1, 3-3-1-1 Big Ten) at #4 Notre Dame (11-3-1, 5-0-0-0 Big Ten)

Date: November 25, 2017
Time: 7:00 pm ET/6:00 pm CT
Place: Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Indiana
TV: None
Stream: NBC Sports (FREE)
Radio: Hot 102.5; 1130 KTLK-AM will join in progress (Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco)
Nate is covering for tonight: The Athletic/Zone Coverage/Wellsociated Press

Last night's recap: Gophers drop Notre Dame opener 1-0

Note: You can follow me on Twitter @gopherstate for live, in-person coverage.

Facebook Live: Minnesota-Notre Dame 11/24/17 Postgame

I went on Facebook Live to break down Minnesota's 1-0 loss and answer a couple questions. You can watch below.



As a reminder, you can Like/Subscribe my Facebook page by clicking the link here.

Game Story: Gophers drop Notre Dame opener 1-0 (Zone Coverage)

Photo credit: Nathan Wells

Above one of the goals, above the flags at Compton Family Ice Arena, the words “God, Country, Notre Dame” are painted in Celtic font.

If there is a Hockey God, in the words of Gopher senior forward Leon Bristedt, he was not on the visiting team’s side Friday night.

Minnesota could not get the puck past Notre Dame goaltender Cale Morris. The sophomore made a career-high 44 saves Friday night, shutting out the visiting Gophers 1-0 in a battle between the fourth and sixth-ranked teams in the nation.

“That’s the way hockey is some nights. Give the other team credit, they made some good blocks and defended well and had good stick positioning. If we did get a good look, the goaltender made the save,” said Minnesota head coach Don Lucia. “If you would have told me we would have given up one goal, I would have thought for sure that we would have won the game.”

Andrew Oglevie scored the game’s only goal 1:43 into the second period to help push Notre Dame’s winning streak to eight games. Coming on the power play, his shot bounced off Ryan Lindgren and floated past Eric Schierhorn into the back of the net.

Click here to read the rest!

BLOG: Amy Potomak cut from Canadian Olympic team; Gophers celebrate Thanksgiving

Both Minnesota hockey teams are on the road this weekend. The Gopher men's team is in South Bend, Indiana while the Gopher women's team travels to Saint Charles, Missouri to face Lindenwood. However, they each spent Thanksgiving differently.

The men's team traveled Thursday and is celebrating Thanksgiving together in group bonding before facing #4 Notre Dame.

The women's team let everyone go home - or for those out of staters, to someone's house - to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families. Minnesota instead is flying out Friday morning.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 9

On this week's That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, certain Twin Cities suburbs get disparaged.

We also get joined by Inside College Hockey's Mike Eidelbes to preview #6 Minnesota's match-up with Big Ten newcomer #4 Notre Dame this weekend. Mike also gives his thoughts on the Big Ten and college hockey landscape before closing with the time Mike covered Phil Kessel's college commitment.

Drew and I went over Minnesota sweeping Harvard at home, Rem Pitlick's consistency, Tyler Sheehy scoring the OT winner Saturday and his line playing well, and Harvard names. We ended by opening the mailbag to discuss the World Juniors, polls and more.

Those handing hats to future Stanley Cup champions can directly download here.



As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes. While you're at it, please leave a review and give us five stars. It helps out the podcast.

Plugs and stuff

-Mike occasionally writes for Inside College Hockey and the Week of INCH will return in 2018. You can follow Mike on Twitter @INCH.

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey and football for the Minnesota Daily.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page.

Radio: WCCO Sports Sunday with Steve Thomson (November 19, 2017)

Yesterday I made my regular WCCO radio appearance with Steve Thomson to discuss Gopher men's and women's hockey.

Topics include: The Gopher women getting a home sweep, play of the defense, how the team is coming together, the Gopher men getting a sweep of its own over Harvard, Casey Mittelstadt's electric play and the tough stretch to end the first half of the season.

You can listen below.

Direct: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/audio/steve-thomson-and-eric-nelson/11-19-17-steve-thompson-show-4-pm/#.WhN3eAbupGQ.blogger

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/steve-thomson-and-eric-nelson/id403228796?mt=2

My segment begins around the 10 minute mark of the 4pm hour on Sunday November 19, 2017.

Game Story: Tyler Sheehy scores in OT as Gophers sweep Harvard (Zone Coverage)

On shot No. 44, Merrick Madsen made his first mistake.

He didn’t make many Saturday night in a game where Minnesota continuously tested the Crimson defense. Unfortunately for Madsen, Rem Pitlick made him pay for it on shot No. 45.

Minnesota outshot the 13th-ranked Crimson 50-16 at 3M Arena at Mariucci. The Gophers needed all 50 shots to solve the Harvard goaltender, who made few mistakes Saturday. Junior captain Tyler Sheehy set off the home crowd with his game-winning goal 35 seconds into overtime in a 2-1 win and series sweep.

“That one felt good. That was one of my favorite goals I’ve scored just because we deserved to win tonight and so coming out with anything less than a win would have been unacceptable,” said Sheehy.

Madsen stopped a Tommy Novak redirection early in the first period to set the tone for Saturday’s game. No. 7 Minnesota (9-4-1, 3-2-1-1 Big Ten) outshot the Crimson 16-7 in the first period, but neither team was able to score a goal.

“It was one of those games where sometimes the goaltender has something to say about who is going to win the game,” Minnesota head coach Don Lucia said about Madsen, who finished with a career-high 48 saves. “He’s an elite goalie. He’s been that his whole career.”

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Gopher Women Jump for Joy in Sweeping St. Cloud State (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- She jumped for joy. Sixteen games into her freshman season, Minnesota defender Emily Brown had her first collegiate goal.

Coming 6:04 into the third period, Brown’s goal opened the offensive floodgates Saturday at Ridder Arena. Teammate Nicole Schammel scored twice and the Gophers defeated St. Cloud State 4-3 for its first home sweep of the season.

“Any time you can get six points, especially in the WCHA, in one weekend is a huge deal. To walk away and go into this next week with six points under our belt is definitely important,” said Brown.

Despite a perfect 8-0 road record, the Gophers (11-4-1, 8-3-1-0 WCHA) had struggled at Ridder Arena.

Click here to read the rest!

Pregame Blog: Minnesota-Harvard Saturday Line Combinations, TV, Radio & More

Harvard (2-4-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) at #7 Minnesota (8-4-1, 3-2-1-1 Big Ten)

Date: November 18, 2017
Time: 7:00 pm CT
Place: 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, MN
TV: Fox Sports North PLUS
Stream: BTN2Go/Fox Sports Go/TSN Go
Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM (Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco)
Nate is covering for tonight: The Athletic/Zone Coverage/Wellsociated Press

Last night's recap: Casey Mittelstadt & Minnesota Get Highlight-Reel Win Over #13 Harvard (Zone Coverage)

Winners of six straight at home, Minnesota is finding comfort in the friendly confines of Mariucci Arena.

While Harvard head coach Ted Donato did not make an excuse, he did believe it took his team some time to get used to the Olympic-sized ice sheet.

"(Minnesota's) a good hockey team, but hopefully we'll be a little better tomorrow," he said. "I think there's an adjustment for any team who comes to the big ice surface and they certainly have guys who can get around the ice well and get you out of your zone skating. That's not something that is surprising to us."

Adjustment or not, everything clicked Friday for Minnesota through forty minutes. The Gophers left the ice leading 4-0 and kept a speedy Harvard team in check.

"I don't know if it was the best, but we did a pretty good job other than if we turned the puck over and some vulnerable errors that could get us in trouble. Harvard's got such good speed that they are going to come back at you," said Minnesota head coach Don Lucia. "We did a good job at getting sticks on pucks and blocking shots."

Now in Saturday's rematch, both teams believe they can improve upon last night's results. Donato would like to see his team get off to a better start and be better on both ends of special teams. Harvard went 0-4 on the power play Friday night and didn't test Gopher goaltender Eric Schierhorn.

As for Minnesota?

"We need to do the same tomorrow and not even let them get a couple goals in there and close a little better," Rem Pitlick said Friday.

Line Combinations:

For the fourth time this season, Minnesota goes with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen. Nate Knoepke makes his second appearance of the season while Ryan Norman sits to make room. (Jack Glover was healthy when I asked Wednesday.)

"From a defensive standpoint, (7D) allows us to get one of the freshmen involved in the game with the comfort of knowing that one of the veterans is still availble to us," Lucia said. "From a forward standpoint it allows us to mix and match.

"We've scored the most goals when we've played 11 instead of 12. It allows us to get our top guys out a little more."

Although the Gophers twice scored six goals when utilizing 11 forwards, the third time saw Minnesota shut out against North Dakota.

Harvard makes one change wth Mitchell Perrault replacing Ferederic Gregoire on the fourth line.

University of Minnesota Golden Gophers

Forwards
Brent Gates Jr. (#10) - Tommy Novak (#17) - Tyler Sheehy (#22)
Rem Pitlick (#15) - Casey Mittelstadt (#21) -  Brannon McManus (#7)
Leon Bristedt (#18) - Mike Szmatula (#9) - Scott Reedy (#19)
 Darian Romanko (#26) - Jack Ramsey (#16)

Defense
Ryan Lindgren (#5) - Jack Sadek (#2)
Steve Johnson (#4) - Tyler Nanne (#29)
Sam Rossini (#28) - Ryan Zuhlsdorf (#20)
Nate Knoepke (#24)

Goaltenders
Eric Schierhorn (#37)
Brock Kautz (#1)
Nick Lehr (#34)

Harvard University Crimson

Forwards

Henry Bowlby (#28) - Ryan Donato (#16) - Lewis Zerter-Gossage (#77)

Seb Lloyd (#15) - Jake Horton (#19) - Michael Floodstrand (#44)

Ty Pelton-Byce (#17) - Jack Badini (#33) - Nathan Krusko (#13)

Benjamin Solin (#11) - Eddie Ellis (#7) - Mitchell Perrault (#9)

Defense

Wiley Sherman (#25) - John Marino (#12)

Jacob Olson (#26) - Adam Fox (#18)

Adam Baughman (#20) - Reilly Walsh (#2)

Goaltenders

Merrick Madsen (#31)

Michael Lackey (#35)

Cameron Gornet (#32)

Game Story: Casey Mittelstadt, Minnesota Get Highlight-Reel Win Over #13 Harvard (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Casey Mittelstadt bounced right back from a rough weekend. So did the Gophers.

Minnesota scored four times in the first two periods Friday, and held on for a 4-2 victory over No. 13 Harvard to get back in the win column. Mittelstadt, held off the scoresheet last weekend versus Michigan, finished with two points and a highlight-reel goal in the second period against Crimson goaltender Merrick Madsen.

“Obviously, there’s going to be times where you don’t play your best, and for us that might have been last weekend,” said Mittelstadt. “We came out and tried to play with pace, make plays and when we do that we play pretty well.”

Facing a Harvard team (2-4-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) that made the 2017 Frozen Four, the seventh-ranked Gophers (8-4-1, 3-2-1-1 Big Ten) put together one of its best performances of the season during the first two periods.

Minnesota’s defense was able to hold a speedy Crimson attack at bay while limiting turnovers. Eric Schierhorn made 26 saves in goal for the Gophers. Meanwhile, the team’s penalty kill went 4-4.

“I thought Eric played well tonight,” said head coach Don Lucia. “Our penalty kill has been good. They were dialed in and, if we had to make a save, Eric made it.”

Click here to read the rest!

Pregame Blog: Minnesota-Harvard Friday Line Combinations, TV, Radio & More

Harvard (2-3-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) at #7 Minnesota (7-4-1, 3-2-1-1 Big Ten)

Date: November 17, 2017
Time: 7:00 pm CT
Place: 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, MN
TV: Fox Sports North PLUS/TSN5 in Canada
Stream: BTN2Go/Fox Sports Go
Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM (Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco)
Nate is covering for tonight: The Athletic/Zone Coverage/Wellsociated Press

Pregame reading: Gopher hockey loses its finishing touch in disappointing weekend at Michigan (The Athletic), Harvard 1989 shocker still haunts Gophers 28 years later (The Athletic)

Pregame listening: That Gopher Hockey Puckast Episode 8

"That's the million dollar question."

Said by Don Lucia earlier this week, the Gopher head coach was responding to the question "how do you pull the positives all together?" Minnesota has found success on defense, allowing 2 and 1 goals against in back-to-back weekends, as well as offense, scoring 10 goals in 2 games.

However, the two have yet to go together in the same weekend.

Jared Moe commits to Minnesota

New Prauge, MN's Jared Moe verbally committed Wednesday (November 15, 2017) to Minnesota.

Proud and excited to announce my commitment to play college hockey at the University of Minnesota. Thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way! #Gophers 〽️

— Jared Moe (@MoeJared) November 15, 2017

The 1999 born Moe, currently playing goaltender for Waterloo of the USHL where he's teammates with commits Sam Huff and Garrett Wait, fills a need in the Gopher pipeline. Prior to Wednesday, Minnesota did not have a goalie verbally committed for the future.

Listed at 6'3", 205 lbs, Moe is splitting time in net with Philadelphia Flyers draft pick and former UND goaltender Matej Tomek. When he plays, he has been one of the USHL's top goaltenders in the opening two months of the season. (One scout I spoke with called him a "top-three goalie in the league this season.") Moe is second in the league behind Tri-City's Filip Larsson in both save percentage (.946%) and GAA (1.44 goals per game). He has two shutouts for the Black Hawks in seven appearances.

Moe played high school hockey at Holy Family prior to Waterloo. He is expected on campus in fall 2019 once current starting goaltender Eric Schierhorn graduates.

Recent Gopher men's hockey verbal commitments:
-Joe Miller - Minneapolis
-Noah Tussey - Stillwater
-Nick Williams - Edina
-Rhett Pitlick - Chaska
-Jake Braccini - Buffalo
-Chaz and Cruz Lucius

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 8

On this week's That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, "Daily Sports Reporter" Drew Cove signs a newspaper for producer Tom Schreier. They also discuss hockey.

Nate returns from Ann Arbor where he witnessed Minnesota's disappointing weekend against Michigan. Along with Drew and Tom, they touch on the Gophers being unable to hold on to 3-0 and 4-0 leads, along with what went wrong and some positives to take away from the OT loss and tie to the Wolverines.

They also answer your questions, discuss commits and preview this weekend's series against Harvard.

Those wondering what 90's jersey Giles was wearing can directly download here.



As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes. While you're at it, please leave a review and give us five stars.

Plugs and stuff

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey and football for the Minnesota Daily.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page.

Feature: Gopher hockey loses its finishing touch in disappointing weekend at Michigan (The Athletic)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — If Minnesota needed a reminder of the cliché “you’re only as good as your last game,” the team got one this past weekend.

Entering a two-game series against Michigan and new head coach Mel Pearson, the Gophers were 7-1-0 on the season when leading after two periods, with seven consecutive wins. Consistently finishing close games had been a point of pride for head coach Don Lucia.

That all went out one of Yost Ice Arena’s many windows this weekend. Any goodwill built up over seven wins was lost in a span of two nights.

Minnesota left Ann Arbor back at square one in closing out games. Twice Minnesota jumped out to at least a 3-0 lead. Twice the Wolverines were able to come back, winning 5-4 in overtime Friday and tying 6-6 Saturday.

“That’s not the result that we want,” Minnesota captain Tyler Sheehy told The Athletic. “Eleven goals (given up) on a weekend is not Gopher hockey. We have to get back to Gopher hockey as a whole.”

Click here to read the rest! (Subscription Required)

Game Story: Minnesota hangs on to tie Michigan (Zone Coverage)

ANN ARBOR, Mich.- Yost Arena was eerily quiet in the third period before the comeback.

Before another comeback.

For a second consecutive evening, the Gophers could not hold onto a large lead on the road against Michigan and ended up tying Saturday, 6-6.

Minnesota was ahead 4-0 in the second period, having chased Wolverines goaltender Jack LaFontaine in favor of Hayden Lavigne. The Gophers led 6-3 with under seven minutes remaining. The Wolverines (6-3-1, 2-1-1-0 Big Ten), however, were able to claw back. Tony Calderone’s second goal of the night with 1:12 remaining in regulation capped a third-period Michigan flurry.

“We gave up 10, 11 shots in the third and three went in,” said Minnesota head coach Don Lucia after the game. “Eric (Schierhorn) has played so well this year and he had a hard time finding some pucks tonight. It happens. If it was one of those third periods where the shots were 20-5 and we were getting our ears pinned back, that’s really not what happened. It was one shot deals that went in.”

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Michigan completes comeback, bounces Minnesota in OT (Zone Coverage)

ANN ARBOR, Mich.- Michigan’s Alex Roos took a puck to his helmet that was a punch to the gut of Minnesota.

The thwack of a puck bouncing off plastic saved Roos’ noggin. As a consequence, it ricocheted into the back of the net for a 5-4 defeat for the Gophers at Yost Ice Arena. His overtime power-power play goal 3:24 into the extra period was the first and only lead Michigan had all night as the Gophers could not hold onto a 3-0 lead in Big Ten conference play.

“That’s one of the more disappointing ways to lose. Just being up, having a great start and our own mistakes killing us and letting them back in the game,” said Minnesota junior Tommy Novak after a three-point (one goal, two assists) night.

The Wolverines took advantage of Minnesota turnovers and penalties. Twice the Gophers were called for penalties in the final four minutes of regulation and overtime — much to the dismay of Minnesota head coach Don Lucia.

“Those are giveaways. You just can’t give away the puck and shorten the rink. We did a really good job before that,” he said. “Their first goal was their first scoring chance against in the second period. We just had the game we wanted and then let them back in.”

Click here to read the rest!

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckast Episode 7

On this week's extended That Gopher Hockey Puckast, Nate and Drew pat themselves on the back for talking college hockey.

First, they discuss Minnesota's sweep over Michigan State last weekend. Topics include Eric Schierhorn's play against the Spartans and throughout the first 10 games, quick starts, Tyler Sheehy getting his first goal, more offense from the blue line, and where the line can be drawn in celebrating a goal.

Then, Paula Weston comes on the show to lend her expertise on this week's opponent, Michigan. She gives the low down on the current state of the Wolverines, the transition from Red Berenson to Mel Pearson, potential 2018 first round pick Quinn Hughes, who is surprising and much more. Paula also discusses the rest of the Big Ten and what she thinks of Notre Dame joining the conference.

Finally, Nate and Drew, joined by producer Tom Schreier, dip into the mailbag and answer questions on the Pairwise, Minnesota continuing its four game win streak and which is weirder: kicking a player or scoring a goal from your butt?

Those trying to high-five their opponents can directly download here.



As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes. While you're at it, please leave a review and give us five stars.

Plugs and stuff

-Paula is a Michigan-based writer who covers the Big Ten for USCHO.com. She can be found on Twitter @paulacweston.

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey and football for the Minnesota Daily. His most recent feature, mentioned on the show, is on Casey Mittelstadt.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page.

The two #weirdhockey plays mentioned on the show.

BC sophomore goaltender Joe Woll's kicking game DQ

So Joe Woll's game DQ was for "kicking." Doubt that gets reversed. You do indeed see him give a kick at a guy at about the 17 second mark. pic.twitter.com/8TyBCEJWlS

— BC Interruption (@bcinterruption) November 5, 2017

Northern Michigan's Robbie Payne scoring a butt goal.

Play until you hear the whistle, right @SportsCenter? Payne's score in a 4-1 @NMUHockey victory over #9 @msumavericks! #SCtop10 #ShareNMU pic.twitter.com/8M4QMj9Df3

— NMU Athletics (@NMU_Wildcats) November 5, 2017

Game Story: Strong Start Propels Gophers to Sweep of Michigan State (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Aware of the quick turnaround Saturday afternoon, Minnesota worked to avoid an early letdown against Michigan State in the team’s second game in less than 24 hours. The Gophers were prepared early and used a strong start to propel the team to a series sweep.

Minnesota scored twice in the game’s opening 10:15 while Eric Schierhorn made 21 saves to help lead his team to a 4-0 shutout win over the Spartans at Mariucci Arena.

With the victory, the Gophers (7-3-0, 3-1-0-0 Big Ten) have won four straight games after beginning the season with three split weekends. They are the first team this season to sweep a two-game series in Big Ten conference play.

“It feels good,” said Schierhorn, who got his 10th career shutout in his 50th career win. “We haven’t played the best in these four games, but if you’re winning nothing else matters. It’s good to know that we can win and not play our best. It’s good for our confidence.”

Click here to read the rest!

Pregame Blog: 3 Thoughts From Friday, Minnesota-Michigan State Line Saturday Combinations & More

Michigan State (4-3-0, 0-1-0-0 Big Ten) at #5 Minnesota (6-3-0, 2-1-0-0 Big Ten)

Date: November 4, 2017
Time: 4:00 pm CT - NOTE THE EARLY TIME
Place: 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, MN
TV: Fox Sports North
Stream: BTN2Go/Fox Sports Go
Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM (Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco)
Nate is covering for tonight: Zone Coverage and The Athletic

Last night's recap: Ryan Lindgren, Minnesota D shine in win
Pregame Listening: That Gopher Hockey Puckast Episode 6

Game Story: Ryan Lindgren, Minnesota D shines in 3-1 win over Michigan State (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- At the same end of the Mariucci Arena rink where he had to be helped off the last time Michigan State was in town, a healthy Ryan Lindgren spun, fell to the ice and got back up. The Gopher sophomore defenseman could celebrate this time around.

He had scored a goal.

Minnesota (6-3-0, 2-1-0-0 Big Ten) added two more Friday and get help from its defense in a 3-1 victory over the Spartans.

“I thought our D were active tonight,” said Minnesota head coach Don Lucia. “They were much more assertive in their play, something we’ve really tried to get them more involved from an offensive standpoint so it was nice to see them score the goal.”

It began early Friday on No. 5 Minnesota’s first shot of the game. Lindgren and junior defenseman Jack Sadek, part of a Gopher blue line that had two total goals this season, combined for the team’s opening goal 3:22 into the game.

Lindgren, whose freshman season ended last March when he broke his leg trying to beat out an icing call against MSU’s Taro Hirose, hustled to the net.

Click here to read the rest!

Pregame Blog: Minnesota-Michigan State Friday line combinations, TV Schedule & More

Michigan State (4-2-0, 0-0-0-0 Big Ten) at #5 Minnesota (5-3-0, 1-1-0-0 Big Ten)

Date: November 3, 2017
Time: 7:00 pm CT
Place: 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, MN
TV: Fox Sports North/Fox Sports Detroit Plus
Stream: BTN2Go/Fox Sports Go
Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM (Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco)
Nate is covering for tonight: Zone Coverage and The Athletic

Pregame Listening: That Gopher Hockey Puckast Episode 6

Greetings once again from snowy Minneapolis, where fall, we hardly knew you.

Gophers dress up for Halloween and balance serious prep with fun

On Tuesday, Nicole Schammel dressed up as a millennial for practice.

“It was kind of a funny costume, making fun of myself,” said Schammel, whose costume entailed being taped up with fragile stickers and a handwritten sign across her chest saying, “Millennial. I’m offended.” It got some laughs among her unoffended, millennial teammates.

They were dressed up as well. #6 Minnesota, coming off two losses to Wisconsin and being swept at home by anyone for the first time in seven years, chose to celebrate Halloween and practice all at once. The afternoon saw an entire lineup of costumed characters.

Noah Tussey and Joe Miller commit to Minnesota

Author's note: This might be old news for some, but I wanted to give Tussey and Miller their moment nonetheless. Sorry for the lateness.

The Gophers picked up a pair of verbal commits Saturday (October 28, 2017) from 2002-born Minnesota forwards. Both Noah Tussey and Joe Miller made their announcements via Twitter.

***

Honored to announce my commitment to play hockey at the University of Minnesota. Can’t wait to wear the maroon & gold! #Gophers 〽️

— Noah Tussey (@noah_tussey7) October 28, 2017

***

Proud to announce my commitment to play college hockey at the University of Minnesota! Can't wait to represent my home state! 〽️ #gophs pic.twitter.com/KyeDwUcQhi

— Joe Miller (@Jhmiller10) October 28, 2017

***

Tussey, a Stillwater native, is considered to be one of the top players in the state among his age group. He's a top-end skater with good hands and ability to score. He'll be going to Stillwater for high school.

Miller, not to be confused with this Joe Miller, hails from Minneapolis. He played club hockey for the Minnesota Blades (the youngest on the team) and will play high school hockey for Blake. He's another player skilled with the puck despite his 5'5", 120 lbs stature. Obviously players as young as Miller and Tussey can and will grow in size - as an example, Rem Pitlick was 5'3" when he committed to Minnesota.

Both players are expected on campus in 2021 at the earliest. They join defensemen Nick Williams and Jake Ratzlaff as 2002-born Gopher verbal commits.


Recent Gopher hockey verbal commitments:
-Nick Williams - Edina (men's)
-Rhett Pitlick - Chaska (men's)
-Jake Braccini - Buffalo (men's)
-Chaz and Cruz Lucius (men's)
-Aaron Huglen - Roseau (men's)

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckast Episode 6

The Gophers finally got a sweep this season and Nate Wells and Drew Cove are here to talk about it in this week's That Gopher Hockey Puckcast.

The two dive into Minnesota's performance in two wins against then-No. 9 Clarkson. They discuss the impact freshmen Casey Mittelstadt and Scott Reedy in their return from injuries, the power play breaking its drought, getting more scoring from seniors and the lineup, and the play of Eric Schierhorn. Wells and Cove also preview this weekend's series against Michigan State and first year head coach Danton Cole, along with what surprises them nationally after the first month of college hockey.

Those debating the ethics of cloning a team of Casey Mittelstadts can directly download here.


As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes.

Plugs and stuff

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey and football for the Minnesota Daily.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page.

Feature: Shorthanded Gopher women keep learning lessons as No. 1 Wisconsin looms (The Athletic)

Returning home to Ridder Arena from a difficult four-game road trip, Minnesota enters the end of October a different team than the one that began the month.

The Gophers face top-ranked Wisconsin Saturday and Sunday on the heels of a four-game winning streak. Along the way, Minnesota (5-2-1, 4-1-1-0 WCHA) swept two in-state foes in two tough environments. The team won a pair of games at Bemidji State before sweeping Minnesota Duluth last weekend, coming back from a 1-0 deficit Saturday with two third-period goals for a 2-1 victory.

Throughout October, Minnesota has been slowly finding its own identity.

“It’s a process. We’re learning a little bit more about that each game, each day that we practice,” senior defender Sydney Baldwin said. “I think we’re just becoming a really gritty team, just fighting back, keep moving forward and getting better each day and keep playing our hardest.”

Baldwin and Minnesota's lessons in self-discovery began early.

Click here to read the rest! (Subscription Required)

Author's note: I wrote this before the weekend series against Wisconsin. Keep that in mind.

Game Story: Minnesota Women's Hockey Swept by Wisconsin in Overtime Loss (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Sidney Peters said it happened both pretty quickly and frustratingly slow.

In an instant, the Gopher goaltender saw Wisconsin’s Baylee Wellhausen celebrate a goal and Sunday’s game all in one. The Badger senior forward scored 1:32 into overtime to hand Minnesota a 2-1 loss at Ridder Arena.

“She shot it and I kind of got a piece of [the puck] with my blocker,” Peters said of the overtime goal. “It bounced a few times, bouncing off my shoulder and into the net. It’s a frustrating way to get scored on because I watched it in slow motion.”

A moment earlier, the Gophers (5-4-1, 4-3-1-0 WCHA) nearly won the game when Nicole Schammel’s point-blank shot was saved by Wisconsin goaltender Kristen Campbell. It proved to be the difference in an intense and sometimes chippy Border Battle rivalry.

While Minnesota got off to a better start Sunday, holding the Badgers off the scoresheet in the first period, the end result was the same. The home team played with undefeated and top-ranked Wisconsin (12-0-0, 6-0-0-0 WCHA) for much of the game, but could not get a go-ahead goal.

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Gopher Seniors Score First Goals as Minnesota Gets First Season Sweep (Zone Coverage)

First Battle Hymn and stick salute of the year. #Gophers #PrideOnIce pic.twitter.com/GEcybdYtx5

— Nate Wells (@gopherstate) October 29, 2017

MINNEAPOLIS- October closes with a sweep.

Beginning the season with three weekends where No. 7 Minnesota won one game and lost one, the Gophers found some consistency this weekend against No. 9 Clarkson. For the first time this year, the team won twice in a weekend.

Seniors Leon Bristedt and Mike Szmatula each scored a power-play goal Saturday to help lead Minnesota to a 2-1 win over the Golden Knights.

“Early on we were struggling trying to find our identity. I think the older guys kind of put that on ourselves,” Szmatula said. “We know we’re going to go through some tough times and it’s just about you keep getting back up when you get knocked down.”

No players felt more comfortable Saturday night than Szmatula and Bristedt — and for good reason. Both had yet to score a goal this season entering the game.

Click here to read the rest!

Game Recap: Gopher Women Fall Short Against Top-Ranked Wisconsin (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Tying the game a third time was one too many for Minnesota on Saturday afternoon.

Trailing top-ranked Wisconsin from the opening minute, the Gophers got back in the game, but were unable to get a lead. The Badgers scored late with a goal by 2016 Minnesota Ms. Hockey Presley Norby and held on for a 3-2 victory at Ridder Arena in the first of two games between the WCHA title mainstays.

Junior forward Sophie Skarzynski had tied the game for Minnesota earlier in the third period with her fourth goal of the season.

“I was really happy again with tying it up in the third and finding a way to get that one. There’s no question you always want to use that momentum to get the next one,” said Minnesota head coach Brad Frost. “We had our chances, but we weren’t able to get over the hump.”

Both goal lights got a workout early. Featuring two of the nation’s top-11 offenses, Minnesota (5-3-1, 4-2-1-0 WCHA) and Wisconsin scored on three of the game’s five shots.

Click here to read the rest!

Pregame Blog: Minnesota-Clarkson Saturday Line Combinations, TV Schedule + More

#9 Clarkson (4-2-1, 0-0-0 ECAC) at #7 Minnesota (4-3-0, 1-1-0-0 Big Ten)

Date: October 28, 2017
Time: 7:00 pm CT
Place: 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, MN
TV: Fox Sports North Plus (AVAILABLE in Twin Cities)
Stream: BTN2Go/Fox Sports Go
Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM (Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco)
Nate is covering for tonight: Zone Coverage

Friday night's recap: Gopher Hockey Freshmen Return; Lead Minnesota Over #9 Clarkson

One aspect of Friday's win that I didn't explore much in my game recap was Minnesota's discipline.

Game Story: Gopher Hockey Freshmen Return; Lead Minnesota Over #9 Clarkson (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- As a rule, Minnesota men’s hockey freshmen cannot talk to the press during the month of October.

They can, however, let their sticks do the talking.

There is no rule against freshmen contributing on the ice, which was the case Friday for the Gophers in a late October home victory over a top-10 opponent. Freshmen forwards Scott Reedy and Casey Mittelstadt played major roles in No. 7 Minnesota’s 3-1 win over No. 9 Clarkson as both returned from missing time with injuries.

Reedy broke open a scoreless game in the second period with his second career goal. Mittelstadt, meanwhile, assisted on the play. He finished with two assists for his first official multi-point game.

“They’re obviously important players. It’s important to get them back,” said sophomore Rem Pitlick, who scored a goal for Minnesota. “We have guys who stepped up and played well in their spots, but you go down two good players like that it’s always tough and to have them back was great.”

Read the rest of the story here.

Pregame Blog: Minnesota vs Clarkson lines, TV Schedule, Gopher expectations + More

#9 Clarkson (4-1-1, 0-0-0 ECAC) at #7 Minnesota (3-2-0, 1-1-0-0 Big Ten)

Date: October 27, 2017
Time: 7:00 pm CT
Place: 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, MN
TV: Fox Sports North Plus (AVAILABLE in Twin Cities)
Stream: BTN2Go/Fox Sports Go
Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM (Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco)
Nate is covering for tonight: Zone Coverage

Pregame Reading/Listening: 
-Casey Mittelstadt/Scott Reedy updates; Justin Kloos NHL debut
-Gophers' return to North Dakota mixes old and new in college hockey's best rivalry (The Athletic)
-That Gopher Hockey Puckast Episode 5

Greetings from snowy Minnesota where we've gone from 90 degrees to snow in a span of five weeks.

Not having played the Gophers in Minneapolis since 1990 in the old building, Clarkson makes its first visit to Minnesota since the 2013 Ice Breaker. The Golden Gophers are 4-0-0 all-time against the Golden Knights, including a 4-3 comeback OT victory last year at Cheel Arena.

BLOG: Updates on Casey Mittelstadt and Scott Reedy; Justin Kloos makes NHL Debut

Casey Mittelstadt is "50/50" to play against Clarkson this weekend.

The freshman forward did skate Wednesday, dealing with an upper body injury. Mittelstadt, who has 2 goals and 2 assists in 5 games, was kept out of Saturday's 4-0 loss to North Dakota as a precaution after being cross-checked during Friday's 2-1 victory, according to Minnesota head coach Don Lucia.

"He'll skate (Thursday). I would say he's 50/50. We'll see where he's at come Friday night," Lucia said.

Lucia also said that Mittelstadt wanted to play. At this point of the season, however, the team would rather error on the side of caution.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckast Episode 5

Two guests join me for episode 5 of That Gopher Hockey Puckast.

First, Josh Seguin of College Hockey News helps preview Clarkson before they face the Gopher men at Mariucci Arena. We discuss the Golden Knights' 4-1-1 fast start, #9 rating, Eden Prairie, MN native Jake Kielly's play in net, how the ECAC shapes up and Josh drops some knowledge on new Wisconsin goaltender Kyle Hayton, who previously played 3 seasons at St. Lawrence.

Next, Nicole Haase of USCHO and The Victory Press, among other outlets, lends her expertise. She and I preview #6 Minnesota women hosting #1 Wisconsin at Ridder Arena on Saturday and Sunday. Topics include: The Badgers continuing their run of goalies, what to take from a 10-0-0 start, reloading vs. rebuilding, some first month surprises throughout the college hockey landscape and end with some USA-Canada talk in the lead up to the Olympics.

Those feeling old seeing players they covered now coaching can directly download here.




As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes.

Plugs and stuff:

You can follow Drew on Twitter @covedrew. Nate can be found @gopherstate.

Josh covers ECAC for College Hockey News. His latest there is a feature on Quinnipiac being CHN's Team of the Week. You can find him on Twitter @JoshSeguin24.

Nicole is a D1 and D3 women's hockey columnist for USCHO while also doing features for The Victory Press. Her latest at USCHO deals with Wisconsin's 10-0-0 start. You can find her on Twitter sharing dog and koala photos @nicolehaase.

Feature: Gophers' return to North Dakota mixes old and new for college hockey's best rivalry (The Athletic)

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — As a kid, Ryan Norman never had much use for the North Dakota jersey his father bought him. Being different, he put on Gopher gear to wear at the rink, having developed a bond with that team.

“We had a little bit of a rivalry growing up because I always liked cheering against him,” Norman told The Athletic of his father Todd, who played at UND from 1984-86. “I thought that it was funny to grind his gears a little bit when we would watch those games together as a kid.”

This past weekend the junior forward put on Gopher gear once again, this time a member of the team, as Minnesota made the 300-plus mile trek to North Dakota's Ralph Engelstad Arena for the first time since January 2012. None of the players on either team had participated in one. They didn’t personally know the chilling tales of snowballs thrown at buses. Many of their experiences came from growing up watching games and seeing clips on YouTube.

Five years had passed since Ben Blood and Kyle Rau’s bad-blood handshake was the final image of Gopher-UND games in Grand Forks.

“Everyone getting together at someone’s house, or trying to get tickets to the game and there’s always a brawl in any game it seemed like,” said Jack Ramsey, whose father Mike helped Minnesota win the 1979 national championship against the then-Fighting Sioux. “If your friend was cheering for North Dakota, you hated him for that week. Thinking of Gopher hockey games growing up, North Dakota games were the biggest ones to look forward to.”

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Gophers commit Clayton Phillips traded to Muskegon

Clayton Phillips is now a member of the Muskegon Lumberjacks.

The Edina, MN native and Minnesota defenseman verbal commit was traded Tuesday from the Fargo Force (USHL) to Muskegon. The Lumberjacks received Phillips and a 9th round 2018 USHL Phase 1 pick in exchange for 2nd round 2018 USHL Phase 1 and Phase 2 picks, along with a player to be named later. (Here's a primer as to what Phase 1 and Phase 2 drafts mean.)

Phillips asked to be traded, according to Fargo head coach Cary Eades. Chris Murphy of The Forum reported that Phillips was not in the Force lineup last Thursday nor did he play in either of Fargo's two road wins at Omaha last weekend.

"They've been great to me," Phillips told the author last season about the Fargo coaching staff. "I got my feet wet a little bit (in 2015-16) and this year they've been great to me, putting me in situations and it's been good."

Something changed between then and now. Fargo's leading returning scorer this season, the 5'11", 188 lbs Phillips had three points (1G-2A) in three games. A year ago he finished with 20 points (7G-13A) in 56 regular season games.

Listed at 5'11", 188 lbs, Phillips is an offensive defenseman who likes to join in the rush.

Muskegon has previously been home to Gopher players like Michael Brodzinski, Eric Schierhorn and Rem Pitlick, who found new life with the Lumberjacks when traded.

Philips is expected to arrive at Minnesota in fall 2018 after graduating high school. One of the younger draft eligible players, he is a 2017 3rd round NHL draft pick (99th overall) of Pittsburgh.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckast Episode 4

Nate and Drew return from Grand Forks to discuss Minnesota's series split with North Dakota with producer Tom Schreier.

They break down Friday's 2-1 win, Eric Schierhorn's 34 saves, Saturday's 4-0 loss, how the Minnesota-North Dakota rivalry is in 2017 and what the experience is covering a game at Ralph Engelstad Arena. They also answer questions on special teams, future college hockey expansion and what makes a successful month for the Gophers.

Those compared to Josh Duhamel can directly download here.



As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes.

You can follow Drew on Twitter @covedrew. Nate can be found @gopherstate.

Game Story: Major penalty dooms Minnesota against North Dakota (Zone Coverage)

GRAND FORKS, ND --Three goal celebrations later, Minnesota’s penalty finally came to an end.

Christian Wolanin and North Dakota made the most of a five-minute major power play, putting the game out of reach before the second period was five minutes old, and handing the Gophers a 4-0 loss at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

The result snaps a seven-game unbeaten streak for Minnesota (3-3-0, 1-1-0-0 Big Ten) against the Fighting Hawks.

“You come out, and this is a very difficult place to play, and we had an opportunity tonight to win two. It’s hard enough to win one in a weekend, but you are going to come out and have a parade to the penalty box through two periods,” Gopher head coach Don Lucia said. “We didn’t give ourselves a chance. That’s what disappointing, the parade to the penalty box.”

Read the rest here.