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.

To avoid a letdown from the high of facing North Dakota last weekend, Minnesota will need to bring its A game against another top-ten team.

The team will also need to stay out of the box. Three times over Minnesota's first six games the Gophers took a game misconduct.

It's a challenge Mike Szmatula embraces as the Gophers face its fifth consecutive ranked opponent. Through six games there is room to grow.

"I don't think we're where we need to be at all, but that's the great part. You don't want to be ready now. You want to be ready at the end of the year," he said. "We've had a couple tough games where guys aren't gelling, where forwards aren't playing as hard as we need to play.

"But I think everyone in that room is looking forward to the challenge and the adversity. There's no panic in there. It starts with the older guys too. We're going to keep working, keep getting better. We know it's going to come together and click so we're just hoping we work hard and get things going this weekend."

Line Combinations:

The Gophers get a pair of freshmen forwards back. Casey Mittelstadt and Scott Reedy both return against the Golden Knights after practicing this week. As an update from yesterday's blog, Mittelstadt - who returns to a line with Rem Pitlick and Tyler Sheehy that worked well last Friday - practiced with the two Thursday. He's lined up as a winger tonight with Sheehy the center. (All three on the line have played center at one point for Minnesota.)

In other moves, Jack Ramsey returns to the Trench Line with Reedy back.

Forwards Joey Marooney and Cullen Munson along with defensemen Sam Rossini and Nate Knoepke sit out Friday.

Jake Kielly, an Eden Prairie native and the lone Minnesotan playing, is the expected starter for Clarkson. Three players to watch for the Golden Knight are its top line of Devin Brosseau, Nico Sturm and Sheldon Rempal. All three lead CU in scoring and have played together for the better part of a year.

University of Minnesota Golden Gophers

Forwards
Rem Pitlick (#15) - Tyler Sheehy (#22) - Casey Mittelstadt (#21)
Brent Gates Jr. (#10) - Mike Szmatula (#9) - Scott Reedy (#19)
Leon Bristedt (#18) - Tommy Novak (#17) - Brannon McManus (#7)
Ryan Norman (#23) - Darian Romanko (#26) - Jack Ramsey (#16)

Defense
Steve Johnson (#4) - Jack Glover (#3)
Ryan Lindgren (#5) - Jack Sadek (#2)
Ryan Zuhlsdorf (#20) - Tyler Nanne (#29)

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

Clarkson University Golden Knights

Forwards 
Devin Brosseau (#14) - Nico Sturm (#17) - Sheldon Rempal (#11)
Grant Cooper (#26) - Brett Gervais (#19) - Nic Pierog (#6)
Kevin Charyszyn (#28) - Josh Dickinson (#21) - Jack Jacome (#16)
Juho Jokiharju (#27) - Marly (#23) - Shane Kuzmeski (#10)

Defense
Terrance Amorosa (#44) - Kelly Summers (#5)
Aaron Thow (#13) - Greg Moro (#3)
Jordan Schnieder (#12) - Connor McCarthy (#2)

Goaltenders
Chris Janzen (#1)
Jake Kielly (#29)
Nicholas Latinovich (#35)