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

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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)