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."