Column: The Year That Was 2018

A quiet Xcel Energy Center post-UMD's
Frozen Four championship in April 2018
(Photo: Nathan Wells)

Another year has come and gone in men’s college hockey. At least, calendar-wise.

December 31st ends up being a strange time to reflect over the past 365 days. Where it’s easy to turn the page to new on January 1st for most aspects of life, when it comes to college hockey, late December marks a midway point through another season. It makes sense to stop and take stock yet doing so for two halves of two different seasons? That can be tricker.

Still, as we try to make sense of the year that was 2018, several lessons seem to arise.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 31

On episode 31 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, we kick off season 3 of podcasting about college hockey.

Fresh off attending the University of Minnesota men's hockey media day, Nate Wells and Drew Cove break down the 2018-19 Gophers. From players to watch to expectations for the season to new sweaters and more, the two answer all the questions you have about how the team will do in Bob Motzko's first year as Minnesota head coach. They also preview this weekend's opening home-and-home series against Minnesota Duluth. Plus: Some Joe Mauer and Gritty talk.

Those who get nervous meeting Neal Broten for the first time can directly download here.



Since the feed is new, it'd help us out to leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. You can subscribe on iTunes here.

Plugs and stuff

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and is the sports editor for the Minnesota Daily. His byline can also be found in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

-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.

-Tom can be found on Twitter @tschreier3. He is the Founder and President of Zone Coverage.

Game Story: Minnesota Women Shut Out, Sweep Mercyhurst (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Towards the end of the first period, when the shot counter was a lopsided 20-1 for the home team it became apparent that the Gophers had found a better start against No. 10 Mercyhurst.

That continued throughout Saturday’s game.

No. 3 Minnesota (2-0-0, 0-0-0-0 WCHA) won 5-0 to sweep the Lakers at Ridder Arena thanks to a three-goal second period and two goals by sophomore forward Grace Zumwinkle.

Outshooting Mercyhurst (0-2-0, 0-0-0 CHA) 20-4 in the first period and 43-17 overall, the home team scored in all three periods.

“We just challenged them a little more. When our teams have been at their best, they’ve just not been a second-period team. They’ve been a three-period team,” said Gopher head coach Brad Frost. “Last night as we watched video back the first four shifts were pretty good, then it came to a screeching halt. We needed to build on that momentum.”

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Familiar Faces & Lines Lead Minnesota to Season-Opening Win (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Opening the season trailing after twenty minutes, some new old faces got the Gophers on the winning track against No. 10 Mercyhurst.

No. 3 Minnesota scored four unanswered goals after changing lines, defeating the Lakers 4-2 in the season opener for both teams. Kelly Pannek and Sarah Potomak, in their return to wearing the maroon and gold, each finished with two points.

“We just needed something to spark some energy and that happened to be changing lines,” said Pannek, who spent the 2017-18 season winning an Olympic gold medal with the United States national team. “What was really cool is that everyone responded so well to it. You saw four units go out there and possess the puck, make awesome plays and it was really fun to see everyone gel and click like that so quickly.”

Minnesota (1-0-0, 0-0-0-0 WCHA) began the game with its top forwards spread out across all four lines. Head coach Brad Frost wanted to have balance, however, the team wasn’t able to pressure Mercyhurst (0-1-0, 0-0-0 CHA) goaltender Kennedy Blair.

Instead, the Lakers got chances and made the most of a 12 second power play when Emma Nuuitinen shot the puck past sophomore goalie Alex Gulstene.

Click here to read the rest!

WCHA Women's Preview: Influx of Olympic talent boosts a loaded group (The Athletic)

College hockey is back. In the WCHA, so are several of the sport’s top players.

If the topsy-turvy turnover nature that surrounded 2017-18 was an opening for several teams then 2018-19 is a return to the status quo. The year is a bit of a comeback season for the conference. Despite three teams in the eight-team NCAA tournament and two Frozen Four finalists, the year ended empty. For the first time since women’s ice hockey was sponsored by the NCAA in 2000, no WCHA team made the championship game.

It’s also a comeback in the fact that many top collegians are returning after spending a year centralized with their country training for the Olympics. Several teams restock with leaders. Others are getting Olympians as freshmen.

Of the four players given votes for Preseason WCHA Player of the Year, none played college hockey in 2017-18. (Even two of the three nominees for the Preseason Rookie of the Year award delayed their enrollment by a season.) Maddie Rooney gives UMD stability in net. Kelly Pannek, Sarah Potomak and Amy Potomak give Minnesota a top line. The end result is four WCHA teams ranked in the top 9, including one that finished below .500 last season.

Read the full preview, including in-depth looks at the Gophers and all seven WCHA teams here. (subscription required)

Top 10 2017-18 Features Nate Wrote (or) Welcome Back!

Welcome back!

With summer unofficially coming to an end after the Minnesota State Fair closing up shop for another year, September marks a new year of hockey.

It's time to prepare for the 2018-19 college hockey season. School has begun around the country. Ice sheets are ready to go. Same with captain's practices. Countdowns until opening night remains somewhere in the 20s to 40s.

Starbucks brought back its Pumpkin Spice Latte, perhaps the biggest sign fall peeks around the corner.

Prior to any preseason coverage, however, and on the one-year anniversary of The Athletic Minnesota launching, I wanted to showcase some of my favorite features from the site in the year since launching. Give them one last bit of love before turning my attention towards the future.

BLOG: Five Thoughts on Scott Bell's late departure

Minnesota will make one more change to its coaching staff before the 2018-19 season begins.

Assistant coach Scott Bell, the lone holdover on the bench from Don Lucia's staff to new head coach Bob Motzko, officially left his position yesterday to take a scouting job with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bell previously scouted amateur talent for the Pittsburgh Penguins for five seasons, helping the Penguins uncover Midwest talents such as Jake Guentzel and Teddy Blueger, among others. He departs after one season.

With one month until school begins and two months until opening night, it's a late departure although not entirely unique. Several other colleges currently are filling assistant openings.

Here are five quick thoughts on the subject.

1) Job security matters 

One of the rationales Bell, who interviewed for the head coaching job that went to Bob Motzko, gave to Randy Johnson of the Minneapolis Star Tribune for leaving a job at his alma mater to go to the Leafs organization was getting job security with a multi-year deal. That's something Bell didn't have at Minnesota where his contract went through April 30, 2019. Combined with working for a coach who didn't hire him, it creates a situation where he would be spending the season auditioning for his job.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 30

On episode 30 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, we reach a milestone: recording an episode without Tom.

With Tom Schreier away, Declan Goff takes over the producing the rest of the squad for a July offseason update. Nate Wells and Drew Cove - back from a giant Midwest road trip - catch up over mics. Topics include NHL Draft highlights, Gophers at NHL Development camps (one of which Drew covered), Minnesota getting a pair of Mittelstadts, what it's like being pampered in first class, "Jersey Shore," Da Beauty League and much, much more. Plus: We answer your mailbag questions and solve college hockey's OT problem.

As a reminder, this offseason episode is on our new podcast feed. You'll have to (re-re) subscribe to get updates as the old feed(s) will no longer update with college hockey content. Here it is on iTunes.

Those discovering Kirby Puckett only played in two postseasons can directly download here.


Since the feed is new, it'd help us out to leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts.

Plugs and stuff

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and is the sports editor for the Minnesota Daily. His byline was recently featured in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

-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.

-Declan covers hockey for Minnesota Hockey Magazine and other outlets in addition to producing. He can be followed on Twitter @dexstweets.

-Tom can be found on Twitter @tschreier3. He is the Founder and President of Zone Coverage.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 29

On episode 29 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, we're back...with a new home.

Nate Wells, Drew Cove, Tom Schreier and Declan Goff get together in early June after some offseason time away to discuss what's going on with the Gophers. Topics include the men's hockey schedule release, games to watch, some breaking news (at the time), Garrett Raboin joining Bob Motzko's staff, former St. Cloud State recruits joining Motzko at Minnesota down the line and much more.

In addition, this offseason episode is the first on our new feed. You'll have to (re-re) subscribe to get updates as the old feed(s) will no longer update with college hockey content. Here it is on iTunes.

Those who can derail the show for five minutes can directly download here.


Since the feed is new, it'd help us out to leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts.

Plugs and stuff

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and is the sports editor 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.

-Declan covers hockey for Minnesota Hockey Magazine and other outlets in addition to producing. He can be followed on Twitter @dexstweets.

-Tom can be found on Twitter @tschreier3. He is the Founder and President of Zone Coverage.

BLOG: On college hockey's confusing and compromising overtime format continuing

No matter your perspective on the subject, one thing remains clear. Explaining how overtime works in college hockey can be a major pain.

The same holds true for deciding what overtime format to use.

A new standardized rules proposal for every regular season game to end in a tie if tied after five minutes of five-on-five OT was not long for this world. It didn't take Nostradamus to see this simplifying decision meeting the same fate as four-on-four OT proposed two years ago.

From the moment the NCAA rules committee last month unveiled it last month, it was only a matter of time before backlash ended with a return to status quo.

Just as it was the time before. And the time before that too.

BLOG: On Oliver Wahlstrom being a good poster child for college hockey recruiting craziness

Smack in the middle of recruiting craziness, this week saw a rare occurrence in the college hockey world. One of the top 17 year-old hockey players in the country chose his school months before he'll suit up for them.

Not years. Months.

Oliver Wahlstrom, a potential 2018 top-10 NHL Draft pick, will be playing for Boston College. It's a big get for the Eagles, who pick up a player whose USNTDP goal-scoring total is sixth all-time and has been in the public eye since he was a nine year-old viral star.

In most college sports, a five-star recruit deciding at the deadline would be business as usual. Maybe there'd even be a ceremony with hats. College hockey? Five-star recruits commit before they can drive. Look at a U-17 or U-18 roster for the USNTDP. The names without college logos jump out because there are so few.

Most of the time when elite players are undecided at 18 it's a precursor to planning on heading to the CHL or Europe.

When it comes to elite players deciding to go the college route as seniors over the past 10-15 years, Phil Kessel and Brock Boeser stand out as the exception rather than the rule.

May 2018 College Hockey Mailbag (The Athletic)

This week I participated, along with a few others, in answering questions from Athletic subscribers and Twitter followers. We ended up enough college hockey questions to split the whole thing into three parts based on schools. (Part III also has a couple more general college hockey questions.) I can't thank everyone enough for sending such thoughtful questions. Hopefully, we do something similar soon.

They can be read below.

Part I: On Mankato, Bemidji, North Dakota and the NSCC

Part II: On the Gophers' men's and women's programs

Part III: On the national champions and St. Cloud State

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 28

On episode 28 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, the 2017-18 season comes to an end.

This week, Nate Wells, Drew Cove and producer Tom Schreier discuss the men's Frozen Four fallout that saw Minnesota Duluth win the 2018 national championship over Notre Dame. The three look at the event in St. Paul, what Minnesota can learn from UMD's run to a second national championship and Nate gives his two big takeaways of the weekend.

Also discussed are Gophers in the NHL playoffs, new coach Bob Motzko's past success getting the most out of recruits and offseason podcast plans. Plus: Which Gopher do they think starts a club bass fishing team?

Those who think age is just a number 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, softball 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. His latest feature is on 2018 Humanitarian Award winner Sidney Peters.

Non-Gopher Stories (March & April 2018)

Much like the radio and podcast article, I thought it'd be best to put all my recent coverage from non-Minnesota stories in one spot. Feel free to click and read up although as a head's up, everything is from the not-free The Athletic.

Minnesota High School State Boys Hockey Tournament Coverage:

-Wednesday Dispatch
-Thursday Dispatch
-Friday Dispatch
-Saturday Dispatch

Women's Frozen Four Coverage:

-With ex-Gophers at the helm, Ohio State comfortable at this Frozen Four
-In WCHA country, Clarkson wins first all-ECAC Frozen Four

Men's West Regional

-Everything's on the line in the latest clash between Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth
-OT veterans of Minnesota Duluth rally for thrilling win over Minnesota State
-Minnesota Duluth hoping to ride 2011 parallels to another title

Men's Frozen Four Coverage:

-Notre Dame's Minnesota contingent making their mark, fishing for a title (The Athletic Minnesota)
-Stars' Tufte, Minnesota Duluth wins NCAA title (The Athletic Dallas)
-Stars prospect Cecconi grows as player and leader (The Athletic Dallas)

Feature: The Humanitarian Spirit of Sidney Peters (The Athletic)

When you spend a lifetime tying your identity to hockey, discovering who you are outside the game can be difficult.

That was the case for Sidney Peters in fall 2013 when she stepped on campus at the University of Minnesota. One of the top goalies in her age group, the Geneva, Illinois, native saw herself competing right away for a starting spot. Instead, she sat behind Amanda Leveille, redshirting her first year and playing a combined 17 games the next two.

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Sitting on the bench forced Peters to figure out who she was without hockey. Over the past four years she has logged over 800 volunteer hours, traveled to Haiti as a certified Emergency Medical Technician and figured out her post-hockey career; all while backstopping the Gophers to a Frozen Four last season and WCHA Final Faceoff championship this year.

Her work away from the ice resulted in Peters being one of five finalists for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, which will be presented Friday afternoon to college hockey’s “finest citizen” for leadership in community service.

Click here to read the rest!

Not an Athletic subscriber? Click here for 40% off an annual subscription!

Radio and other podcasts Nate recently appeared (March-April 2018)

With the end of the season, a coaching change and multiple Frozen Fours, I've been in busy mode lately. One side effect is not having the time to post every little thing to the site. There was a lot of content between articles, radio appearances, podcasts and more.

Now that the season is over, I'm trying to catch up. In lieu of posting every little thing as its own, I thought it might be best if I put all the radio and podcast appearances together in one post.

Here it is:

WCCO Radio with Steve Thomson:
-March 18th
-March 25th
- April 8th

NPR "All Things Considered" with Tom Crann
-March 27, 2018

Bruce Ciskie Show

Giles and the Goalie Podcast
-Episode 145

Interstate Hockey Podcast
-Episode 11

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 27 (with Declan Goff)

Author's note: Catching up reposting older content. This is originally from April 2nd.

On episode 27 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, we kick off the Bob Motzko Era.

News broke for a second consecutive Tuesday, meaning Nate Wells, Drew Cove and producer Tom Schreier had an entire week to come up with their thoughts on the newest University of Minnesota men's hockey head coach, along with covering an introductory press conference. Joining them is old friend Declan Goff, who has covered both St. Cloud State and Minnesota. He brings his unique perspective in what the former Huskies head coach will bring to his new role as Gophers head coach.

Plus: The three also discuss the upcoming Frozen Four in St. Paul

Those believing Motzko joined the NWO 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

-Declan freelance writes for Minnesota Hockey Magazine. He can be found on Twitter @dexstweets.

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey, softball 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.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast (Episode 26)

On episode 26 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, we officially pay our respects to Don Lucia Era.

Minnesota's head coach stepped down after a 19-year run in charge of the Gophers. Drew Cove, Nate Wells and producer Tom Schreier discuss the ramifications of the coaching change, the challenges the next coach (this was recorded prior to the news of Bob Motzko's hiring) will face along with the team losing a pair of players to early departures in Ryan Lindgren and Casey Mittelstadt.

Plus: A giant mailbag that answers several questions, including the Frozen Four and what were Drew and Nate's favorite pieces to write this season.

Those reading their favorite Frank Serratore quotes 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, football and softball 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. His latest story comes from the West Regional and explores the parallels between the 2011 and 2018 UMD teams, right down to Jack Connolly coming in to speak with the latest Bulldogs team to make an St. Paul Frozen Four.

Bob Motzko leaves St. Cloud State to become new Gopher hockey head coach (The Athletic)

Bob Motzko will be the next head coach of the University of Minnesota men’s hockey team, the school announced Tuesday.

“I am excited and honored for the opportunity to lead Golden Gopher Hockey,” Motzko said in a press release from the school. “The rich history and tradition of this program is honored by so many in our state and around the country. We will work tirelessly to make those people proud.”

Motzko, who celebrated his 57th birthday Tuesday, has spent the past 13 years as head coach at his alma mater St. Cloud State University. He replaces Don Lucia, who stepped down last week after 19 seasons behind the bench.

Motzko served as an assistant coach to Lucia between 2001 and 2005. The Gophers won a pair of national championships during that time.

Click here to read the rest!

Casey Mittelstadt signs with Buffalo + his thoughts on the college experience

Casey Mittelstadt's time at the University of Minnesota has come to an end.

Mittelstadt signed an entry-level contract Monday (March 26, 2018) with the Buffalo Sabres, who drafted the Eden Prairie, MN native eighth overall in the 2017 NHL Draft. The Gopher forward will forgo his final three years of college eligibility.

We've signed forward Casey Mittelstadt to a 3-year entry-level contract.

Welcome to Buffalo, @CMittelstadt! pic.twitter.com/kvLie4Bueu

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) March 26, 2018

Mittelstadt finishes his one college season second on the Gophers with 30 points (11G-19A) in 34 games. He missed three games this year to play in the 2018 WJC, leading the U-20 competition in points.

The first freshman to depart Minnesota for a professional contract since Nick Leddy in 2010, Mittelstadt joins WJC teammate Ryan Lindgren in departing the Gophers early after head coach Don Lucia stepped down last Tuesday following his 19th season. Whoever takes over as head coach in 2018-19 will have to replace the team's most dynamic forward and top defenseman.

In his short time in college, the 19 year-old Mittelstadt earned a new appreciation for the fans and students of the college hockey game.

"Definitely," Mittelstadt told The Gopher Hockey Blog before facing Penn State in the Big Ten quarterfinals. "Obviously, it's cool to see people go all out like that and have some fun. I think for me, it's always fun to see that stuff, it makes for some good laughs in the locker room, things like that. I always enjoy it and think it's pretty funny."

Roar Zone student section signs. All the small photos are Casey Mittelstadt at the NHL Draft combine.

1) Wonder if the "Ew" sign was reused from Wisconsin. 2) The Sabres are owned by this rink's namesake. pic.twitter.com/m8CvFUErnY

— Nate Wells (@gopherstate) February 23, 2018

As the second collegian drafted in 2017, Mittelstadt was the focus of every opposing student section. From Ann Arbor to Grand Forks to State College and everywhere in between, students chanted his name and posted pictures of him attempting to do a pull-up.

"It's definitely fun. (Penn State) has a very good fanbase. I didn't expect it to be that good," he said. "Their student section was great and it made for a very fun weekend."

Mittelstadt signing now means he can burn a year of his ELC. He is expected to play for the Sabres later this week.

-------
If you enjoyed this blog, you can follow Nate on Twitter and like/subscribe to my Facebook page. Thanks!

Feature: Questions facing the Gopher program...beyond finding a coach (The Athletic)

“Selfishly, we feel like we have the best hockey job in the country.”

University of Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle was frank during Tuesday’s press conference announcing head coach Don Lucia would be stepping down after 19 years. As questions turned to who would be Lucia’s successor — the third permanent head coach since 1985 — Coyle mentioned he wants someone who understands what the program means to the state.

“We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished and our incredible tradition,” he said. “I look forward to having conversations with the right people and making sure we find the best fit for our student-athletes and our program.”

However, a new head coach is not the only question facing the Gopher program. Whoever gets the job will have some work to do in 2018-19 after a season that ended with a 19-17-2 record, four consecutive road losses to Penn State and the perfect storm of outcomes to knock the team out of the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s a look at some of the other questions facing Minnesota in 2018-19.

Click here to read the rest!

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 25 (with Chris Eckes and Giles Ferrell)

On Episode 25 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, we discuss the greatest upset in college hockey history.

At 6:15 pm Saturday, Minnesota had a 1 in 64 chance to miss out on the NCAA Tournament. Six games needed to go wrong. By 9:52 pm, all six did, leaving the Gophers out of the 2018 NCAA Tournament and ending the team's season. Upsets galore, blowouts, multiple automatic bids won and last minute comebacks put the nearly impossible front and center.

Chris Eckes and Giles Ferrell join Nate Wells, Drew Cove and producer Tom Schreier for a full season post-mortem. The talk starts with Saturday's night improbable bad beat before turning to what went wrong, what went right and what could have been. All discuss whether Don Lucia had coached his last game with the Gophers (recorded a day before news broke of Lucia stepping down) and end with some NCAA jersey talk.

Those who like the old John Mayasich Minnesota sweaters 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:

-Chris writes at Gopher Puck Live and Pride on Ice blog. His Lucia piece mentioned on the show can be read here. You can follow Chris on Twitter @chriseckes.

-Giles writes at Zone Coverage where he covers the Minnesota Wild and hosts the Giles and the Goalie podcast. He can be followed on Twitter @gilesferrell.

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey, football and softball 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. His latest story is on the questions facing the 2018-19 Gopher hockey team.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 24 (with Dan Kelly)

On episode 24 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, a Wellsy Award winner joins in on the action.

Without a weekend series to discuss, Nate Wells, Drew Cove and producer Tom Schreier reconvene anyways. The three get off track quickly before coming back and talking about Minnesota's chances of making the NCAA Tournament now that at least one at-large spot has been taken away. The Minnesota State High School Boys Hockey Tournament that Nate covered gets touched upon as well as who Drew and Nate think should make the Hobey Baker top 10.

Then BTN college hockey announcer and voice of the Chicago Fire Dan Kelly joins to discuss his busy weekend juggling the women's Frozen Four and Chicago-Minnesota United opener. In between, Dan opens up about growing up around the NHL (his father Dan was the longtime voice of the St. Louis Blues) and how that shaped his philosophy calling games, preparing for multiple teams in multiple sports, what he liked about the Big Ten this season and whether Minnesota's year was a disappointment.

Those who miss Chicago Stadium 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:

-As mentioned, Dan will be broadcasting the women's Frozen Four from Ridder Arena for BTN and Chicago Fire-Minnesota United for CSN Chicago. He occasionally announces soccer for ESPN as well. Dan can be found on Twitter at @dankelly_21.

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey, football and softball 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.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 23

On episode 23 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, it only seems like a repeat.

Once again the Gophers headed out to State College, PA. Once again the Gophers were swept by Penn State, only this time it came in the Big Ten conference tournament quarterfinals.

Nate Wells, Drew Cove and producer Tom Schreier dive into the weekend that turned Minnesota's two-game losing streak into a four-game losing streak. They discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of the series, which saw Minnesota lose 5-3 and 6-5. Nate also shares how the games got on FSN as well as NCAA Tournament discussion given the Gophers are likely in the field of 16 in two weeks (from air date).

Those stuck in the midst of pothole season 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, football and softball 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. His latest Gopher hockey feature was on the Gopher women's team winning the WCHA Final Faceoff.

Feature: When they needed it most, Gopher women found a way to beat the best (The Athletic)

With her team’s center of attention turning towards needing two wins, internally Sidney Peters spent much of the weekend focusing on a single droplet of water.

It’s a trick Peters, a kinesiology major, picked up to help concentrate. During stoppages of play Minnesota’s redshirt senior goaltender will spray her water bottle in the air and try to watch the droplets falling down.

“It’s a way to keep my eyes awake. You have all these little muscles in your eyes. When you’re zoning out and not getting a lot of shots, you can lose control,” she said. “It’s also a focal point for me. It helps me to stay focused and deal with the anxiety that’s inevitable as an athlete.”

Inevitably there was anxiety.

Two hours before Saturday’s WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal, any plans of the Gophers making the NCAA tournament as an at-large bid disappeared 1,100 miles away. Minnesota players and coaches found out through scoreboard watching that UConn upset Hockey East regular-season champion Boston College. Hockey East’s automatic bid would go to a team outside the top eight in the Pairwise Rankings, taking away an at-large spot in the eight-team field.

That spot would have been Minnesota’s.

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Minnesota wins WCHA Final Faceoff Championship (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Only once the puck crossed the red line and into the empty net was Minnesota able to celebrate Sunday.

With Minnesota holding on to a one-goal lead against the top-ranked Badgers, Wisconsin spent nearly two minutes in the Gopher end before Nicole Schammel sealed the game by skating in alone and scoring an empty-netter with 13.3 seconds remaining.

“It felt pretty good once that went in,” said Minnesota head coach Brad Frost, noting Patrik Stefan’s missed empty net attempt in the NHL as reason to not count a goal before it happened. “Once it crossed the line I felt good.”

The Gophers celebrated again once the final whistle was blown, defeating Wisconsin 3-1 Sunday to take home the 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff championship. Sidney Peters made 31 saves Sunday as her team claimed victory over the Badgers for the first time in five attempts this season.

Minnesota (23-10-4), winning the tournament for the first time since 2014, earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The eight-team field will be announced Sunday evening.

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Penn State holds on, knocks Gophers out of Big Ten Conference Tournament (Zone Coverage)

The Gophers, having likely done enough over the first 34 games to earn an at-large bid when the 16 team field is announced on March 18, will enter the NCAA Tournament on a four-game losing streak, all to the Nittany Lions and all at Pegula Arena.

The latest loss came Saturday when Penn State came out ahead 6-5 in a game which saw Minnesota (19-17-2) explode for four goals in the second period and four lead changes.

Evan Barratt scored twice Saturday, including the game-winning goal with 8:35 remaining in regulation.

“We were a little sluggish in the first and then after that I thought we played hard and fought right until the end. It’s just disappointing we didn’t get that final goal,” Minnesota head coach Don Lucia told reporters after Saturday’s game. “The guys had a great push in the second and third period and showed a lot of who they are coming back from 3-1 on the road.”

Combined with Friday’s 5-3 victory, Penn State won the best-of-three quarterfinal series 2-0 and will advance to next week’s Big Ten semifinal.

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Gophers advance to WCHA Final Faceoff (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Needing a win, Minnesota got its biggest victory of the season. The Gophers will continue theirs.

Freshman Grace Zumwinkle scored both goals Saturday in a 2-0 win over Ohio State. Minnesota (23-10-3) will face Wisconsin for the WCHA Final Faceoff championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

“It was a great game here tonight. I thought we played extremely hard and battled and competed,” said head coach Brad Frost. “(Gophers redshirt senior goaltender) Sid(ney) Peters was fantastic obviously and Zummy and her line, in particular, played a really big role.”

Entering Saturday on the outside of the NCAA Tournament and having gone 0-3-1 against the opponent, Peters stopped all 33 shots she faced.

Ohio State (23-10-4) appeared to have scored in the opening 90 seconds, but Charly Dahlquist’s shot was waved off when the net came off first. Referees reviewed the play and confirmed the call.

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Penn State takes Game against Minnesota (Zone Coverage)

Fifty-five seconds near the end of the second period changed the course of Friday’s Big Ten quarterfinal opener.

With the game tied at two and 1:12 remaining, Penn State’s Denis Smirnov and Andrew Sturtz each scored before the second-period buzzer sounded to leave the Gophers in a two-goal hole entering the third period.

It was enough of a cushion for the Nittany Lions to hold on in a 5-3 win in the best-of-three series and put the Gophers on a three-game losing streak.

“When you get into a game like that I thought both teams competed hard,” head coach Don Lucia told reporters after the game. “We battled back to tie it 2-2 and the next turning point for me was the last minute of the second period.”

Special teams played a major role for both teams in the third consecutive game against one another at Pegula Arena. Freshman Casey Mittelstadt got his first multi-goal game for Minnesota (19-16-2) with both markers coming on the power play.

Click here to read the rest!

Feature: Taylor Williamson "overcame the impossible" to get back to Gophers (The Athletic)

During the first period of Minnesota’s first game, Taylor Williamson quietly left the bench. She didn’t return for over three months.

To get back to her spot at Ridder Arena, where Minnesota will this weekend try to escape the NCAA tournament bubble and win an automatic bid through the WCHA Final Faceoff, was far from a guarantee.

“I was the only person who in my head thought I could do it,” Williamson told The Athletic. “If you would have asked the doctors, my coaches, my teammates, the way they would had seen me at my lowest point, easily people would have said there’s no way Taylor is going to make it.”

Nothing has been easy for Williamson in a year which saw the 21-year-old undergo brain surgery, be diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular disorder and, in her words, overcome the impossible.

Click here to read the rest!

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 22

On Episode 22 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, all goodwill went out the window.

After a trip to Penn State ended in the first-ever sweep for the Nittany Lions, Minnesota will go back next weekend in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament. Nate Wells, on the scene last weekend, Drew Cove and producer Tom Schreier lead the post-mortem over what went wrong. They touch on Friday's 5-1 loss and embarassing performance, Saturday's 5-2 loss and much more before turning attention towards next weekend's opponent...Penn State.

Plus: Mailbag questions and Nate breaking news that this weekend's games would be on TV!

Those who think Drew looks like a lost Reilly brother 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 was on assignment, but he can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey, football and softball 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: This Week in College Hockey with Zig Fracassi (February 26, 2018)

I appeared as a guest on "This Week in College Hockey" on Sirius XM's ESPNU Radio channel. Host Zig Fracassi and I discussed Ryan Lindgren, who went from Boston to New York as part of the Rick Nash trade, as a prospect, Minnesota's season, covering a game at Penn State, how the Big Ten looks entering the playoffs and Notre Dame's season.

A subscription is required, but you can find it here - https://www.siriusxm.com/espnuradio

Radio: WCCO Sports Sunday with Steve Thomson (February 25, 2018)

Speaking from a Wawa parking lot on my way back from State College, Steve Thomson of WCCO had me on the radio last Sunday.

There was a lot to discuss between the Minnesota men being swept by Penn State and the Gopher women sweeping St. Cloud State to advance to this weekend's WCHA Final Faceoff. Topics include what went wrong at Pegula Arena, the odd year for blue blood programs, Minnesota's NCAA chances after being swept (Spoiler: They're fantastic), whether I'm going back to PA next weekend (Spoiler: I'm not), the WCHA Final Faceoff and where the Gopher women sit in the NCAA Tournament picture.

You can listen below.

Direct: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/audio/steve-thomson-and-eric-nelson/2-25-18-4-pm-sports-sunday/#.Wph23V1mTsA.blogger

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

My segment begins at around the 7:30 mark of the 4 pm hour on Sunday February 25.

Feature: Gophers eye one last hurrah at Mariucci for seniors in Big Ten tourney (The Athletic)

Author's note: I realized I never linked to this feature over at The Athletic, which was written after the Ohio State series and prior to Minnesota losing to Penn State. Keep that in mind when reading.

If you haven't subscribed to The Athletic and want to find out about the quality journalism, no ads or clickbait for the price of a coffee a month, let me know so I can hook up with a deal.

Prior to the final six games of the regular season, Minnesota’s underclassmen had a goal to give their five seniors one more chance to play at home after the two remaining guaranteed regular-season home games. To get there, the Gophers, sixth place in the Big Ten at the time, needed to finish fourth in order to ensure a best-of-three conference tournament quarterfinal series would be at Mariucci.

Three wins and a tie later, Minnesota is in reach of that goal.

Senior Day came and went Saturday afternoon. Minnesota held a pregame ceremony before facing Ohio State. Every freshman, sophomore and junior sat on the bench watching their teammates be honored.

“I’ve been so blessed and so rewarded to come to this program. It’s a decision I’ll never forget,” senior defenseman Steve Johnson told The Athletic.

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Minnesota loses game, series & home ice to Penn State (Zone Coverage)

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA- Losing a shootout last Saturday turned out to be the difference for Minnesota.

Or it could possibly be a blown 3-0 lead to Michigan in November that resulted in a loss in overtime.

The 4-0 lead the next night which resulted in two points rather than three comes to mind. Maybe Wisconsin or Ohio State finding a way to win tied games in the third period did it. Maybe being shut out at Notre Dame despite 44 shots on Cale Morris.

Then there’s this weekend. After 24 Big Ten league games, Minnesota fell one point short of home ice.

“It’s tough. It’s not the weekend that we wanted,” Gopher junior forward Brent Gates Jr. said.

Needing a single point on the road in either of the two games against Penn State, the Gophers got swept at Pegula Arena for the first time in program history. Despite a better start Saturday a night after handily losing 5-1, Minnesota could not find a way early past Peyton Jones.

The Nittany Lions scored twice in the opening 10:48 to go on and win the regular season finale 5-2. Celebrating with streamers from the student section, PSU finishes with 34 points compared to 33 for the Gophers.

“We didn’t play as we needed to yesterday, as the shots and score showed. You can’t leave the second game to chance,” said Mike Szmatula.

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Minnesota embarrassed in Happy Valley (Zone Coverage)

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA- Before the game the Roar Zone, Penn State’s student section, unveiled a giant banner that showed a Nittany Lion chasing a Gopher and said “Ski-U-Meh.”

Photo credit: Nathan Wells

“Meh” might be kind.

Alex Limoges was able to tap a Roar Zone poster of an “easy” button against the glass when he scored his team’s fifth goal in a move which summed up the night for Penn State.

Facing a desperate Penn State team needing wins to keep its NCAA Tournament chances alive, the Gophers were anything but Friday night. The Nittany Lions defeated Minnesota 5-1 in front of 6,171 fans, leaving an embarrassed Gopher squad angry at their own effort.

“It’s really disappointing. When you lose a game because you didn’t bring your effort, that’s on you,” sophomore defenseman Ryan Lindgren said. “When you get outshot (61-15) it’s flat out embarrassing. When you don’t bring the effort that’s on us.”

Click here to read the rest!

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 21 (With Ben Jones)

On episode 21 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, Nate is in two places at once.

Joining Drew Cove and Tom Schreier from New York City, the trio discuss Minnesota's win and tie over then-No. 6 Ohio State. They touch on Mat Robson's performance, Senior Day, the Gophers being one point away from clinching home ice and much more.

Afterwards Ben Jones of State College.com comes on the show to help break down the Nittany Lions' season a year after making the NCAA Tournament for the first time. He also explains the growing college hockey culture in State College with one of Division 1's newest programs.

Those who have heard of more than one student newspaper 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:

-Ben is the editor at StateCollege.com where he also covers football, basketball and hockey. He wrote the book "Happy Valley Hockey" on Penn State's first five years of Division 1 men's hockey. It can be ordered on Amazon and other places books are sold. You can follow him on Twitter @ben_jones88.

-Drew was on assignment, but he can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey, football and softball for the Minnesota Daily. His latest story is on goaltenders Eric Schierhorn and Mat Robson being in new territory.

-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). His feature on Minnesota's seniors celebrating Senior Day and eyeing one more home series can be read here. You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page.

Pohl Talk: Why is Minnesota stuck at 8th/9th in the Pairwise?

It's hard to believe NCAA Selection Sunday is less than 4 weeks away.

When the Pairwise is set for good once the final game is played March 17th, it appears the Gophers will once again be one of the 16 teams. College Hockey News put out its first Pairwise Probablity Matrix on Monday. Minnesota makes the tournament in 99.9% of the 20,000 monte carlo simulations that CHN ran.

That's the good news if you're a Gopher fan. Minnesota's 6-1-1 run over the last 8 games, combined with a 9-3-0 non-conference record against top-tier opponents, seems to solidified a spot. Only two regular season games remain along with at least two conference tournament games. Even if the Gophers go 0-4 during this stretch the team, currently eighth in the Pairwise, would stay in position to get an at-large bid.

At the same time, there is not much room to move up. Several of you have noticed, which allows me to answer one of the questions I've most frequently been asked: Why is Minnesota stuck in the same Pairwise position?

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 20 (With Nicole Haase)

On episode 20 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, our attention turns to the Olympics.

First repeat guest this season Nicole Haase joins Nate Wells and producer Tom Schreier to discuss all things women's hockey. Being in Madison, Nicole gives her take on Wisconsin sweeping Minnesota and where the Gophers go from there. She also helps explain the St. Anselm situation and Minnesota's bubbling NCAA Tournament chances before touching on some of favorites for the Patty Kazmaier and NCAA championship.

With the Olympics currently ongoing, they preview the medal round and where Team USA stands in the quest to end a 20 year Olympic gold medal drought. This was recorded prior to the Americans blowing out Finland and doing exactly what Nicole said USA needed to do.

Those who have lost sleep watching Olympic hockey 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:

Nicole is a D1 and D3 women's hockey columnist for USCHO while also doing features for The Victory Press. You can find her on Twitter sharing dog and koala photos @nicolehaase.

-Drew was on assignment, but he can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey, football and softball for the Minnesota Daily. His latest story is on forwards Darian Romanko and Jack Ramsey thriving in their defensive roles.

-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). His latest feature is on Gopher alum Kate Schipper participating in the NWHL All-Star Game and pro women's hockey in Minnesota. You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page.

Game Story: Gopher Senior Day ends in tied goaltender duel (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Neither goalie would budge, even when the game was officially over.

Minnesota goaltender Mat Robson and Ohio State goaltender Sean Romeo matched one another for 65 minutes. Each allowed one goal as the two top-10 teams finished Saturday afternoon tied 1-1.

OSU (19-8-5, 12-8-2-1 Big Ten) earned an extra point in the Big Ten standings by winning an eight-round shootout 2-1 between the two teams.

Making his seventh consecutive start in net, Robson tied his career high with 38 saves Saturday. In 11 games this season, the Minnesota (19-13-2, 10-10-2-1 Big Ten) sophomore has allowed two goals or fewer in nine and has a .945 save percentage.

“He was great. He’s been really good since he’s been able to join us,” said Brent Gates Jr. after the game. “You can’t blame him for that. He played an amazing game. He played great in overtime and did amazing in the shootout. One beat him, but he played a phenomenal game.”

Click here to read the rest!

Pregame Blog: Gophers learning from mistakes, Senior Day line combinations vs Ohio State, TV, Radio & More

Records: No. 10/9 Minnesota (19-13-1, 10-10-1-1 Big Ten), No. 6 Ohio State (19-8-4, 12-8-1-0 Big Ten)
Date: Saturday February 17, 2018
Time: 4:00 pm CT
Location: 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, MN
TV: ESPNU (John Buccigross and Sean Ritchlin)
Radio: 1130 KTLK AM in Twin Cities (Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco)
Stream: Watch ESPN/TSN Go
Nate is covering for tonight: Zone Coverage/The Athletic
Last night's recap: Minnesota defeats #6 OSU 2-1

Winning six of seven games, Brent Gates Jr. believes some of the puzzle pieces are starting to come together on the Gopher offense.

"We've put in a lot of hard work. It's been a bit of an up and down season and I think everyone knows that," he said. "Everyone else knows we have the firepower and it's about playing good hockey at the right time. That's what we're starting to do."

Game Story: Sadek sweep, Glover goal help No. 9 Minnesota defeat No. 6 Ohio State (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- By his own admission, it wasn’t the best clear Jack Sadek had.

With No. 6 Ohio State (19-8-4, 12-8-1-0 Big Ten) pulling goaltender Sean Romeo and looking for a last-minute game-tying goal, the Minnesota junior defenseman gave a helping hand to his goaltender. Matthew Weis’ shot beat Gopher goaltender Mat Robson, going off the post.

Sadek was right there, however.

He sent the puck down the length of the ice and nearly scored on an empty net with 32 seconds remaining to stymie OSU’s best and last chance. No. 9 Minnesota held on to beat the Buckeyes 2-1 for its sixth win in the team’s last seven games.

“I was lucky enough to clear it,” he said. “Probably not the best clear up the middle, but it worked out.”

While the Gopher offense, coming off an 11-goal weekend in Madison, continued to click and create chances, the defense once again came through. Playing with the mentality that the playoffs began last week Minnesota (19-13-1, 10-10-1-1 Big Ten) limited the number of Buckeyes odd-man rushes and opportunities.

Click here to read the rest!

Pregame Blog: Minnesota vs. Ohio State Friday Line Combinations, TV, Radio & More

Records: #10/9 Minnesota (18-13-1, 9-10-1-1 Big Ten), No. 6 Ohio State (19-7-4, 12-7-1-0 Big Ten)
Date: Friday February 16, 2018
Time: 8:00 pm CT
Location: 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, MN
TV: Big Ten Network (Dan Kelly and Ben Clymer)
Radio: 1130 KTLK AM in Twin Cities (Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco)
Stream: BTN2Go/Fox Sports Go/
Nate is covering for tonight: Zone Coverage/The Athletic

It's mid-February, but with the new Big Ten conference tournament format this weekend marks the final two home games of the regular season. The Gophers host Ohio State in a battle of top-ten teams.

It's the latest series for Minnesota against a top-tier opponent, which has been beneficial for NCAA Tournament chances. Entering tonight the Gophers are ninth in the Pairwise, which mimics the criteria used to determine the NCAA Tournament field. A win this weekend against the Buckeyes or next weekend at Penn State would help secure a spot, however, the Gophers need eight points over the last four games to secure home ice in the first round of the Big Ten conference tournament.

A pair of Minnesota players, junior forward Jack Ramsey and senior defenseman Jack Glovers, will appear in their 100th career game Friday.

BLOG: Don Lucia on Gopher Alums Making NHL Debuts

On Tuesday, Nick Seeler became the fifth Gopher alum in 2017-18 to make his NHL debut when he skated for the Minnesota Wild. He also played in Thursday's 5-2 loss to Washington at Xcel Energy Center.

A fifth round pick drafted by the Wild out of Eden Prairie HS, he joins a growing list of Minnesota players in the NHL. Seeler is the 23rd alum to play in an NHL game this season. No NCAA team has had more.

"I thought we didn't develop anyone in our program. That's the word," head coach Don Lucia said sarcastically when a reporter brought up that fact.

Along with Seeler, alums Justin Kloos, Travis Boyd, Justin Holl and Vinni Lettieri, who was on the ice with the New York Rangers against Seeler's Wild, have all debuted.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 19

On Episode 19, the Gopher offense comes alive in Madison.

Nate Wells, Drew Cove and producer Tom Schreier discuss all of Minnesota's road sweep over Wisconsin. Offense gets a lot of discussion - well deserved with the Gophers winning 7-1 Saturday and seeing several scoring droughts snapped - but Mat Robson and the Minnesota blue line get their fair shake, as well. So does Nick Seeler making his NHL debut, the latest Gopher alum to do so.

They then turn their attention to this weekend's opponent, Ohio State. Plus: The Big Ten race for home ice and Minnesota's NCAA Tournament standing (spoiler: it's good) are topics of discussion before opening the mailbag.

Those trying to move around in the Joe Louis Arena press box without running into anyone 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. His latest story is on forwards Darian Romanko and Jack Ramsey thriving in their defensive roles.

-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.

BLOG: Tyler Sheehy named Big Ten first star & NCAA second star

Tyler Sheehy's weekend earned the Minnesota captain some national honors.

Sheehy earned the Big Ten first star of the week and NCAA second star of the week for his performance in Minnesota's road sweep over Wisconsin. The Burnsville, MN native led the conference over the weekend with five points (3G-2A) in two wins. Sheehy twice put the Gophers ahead in Friday's 4-2 win before getting a goal and two assists Saturday. His 12 goals now lead the Gophers, who entered the weekend without a player in double digits.

Still, Sheehy's 23 points are off the pace of last season's sophomore campaign where his 53 were the most by any Gopher in over a decade.

One of the oddities this year is that the junior has found success in the states of Michigan and Wisconsin and struggled elsewhere. In five games in those two states Sheehy has 14 points (7G-7A) and five multi-point games. In every other state he has 9 points (5G-4A) in 25 games and is without a multi-point performance.

To compare, he had 19 multi-point games as a sophomore.

The Gophers do not play in Michigan or Wisconsin for the rest of the season, which means Sheehy will have to add a new state to the total. The Gophers host Ohio State this weekend, a team that in four games last season Sheehy had 10 points (5G-5A).

In addition, goaltender Mat Robson was named the Big Ten third star of the week. The sophomore stopped 61 of 64 shots on the weekend, including a career-high 38 in Saturday's 7-1 victory.

Game Story: Border Battle ends with 7-1 Minnesota win and sweep

Droughts snapped, Minnesota’s offense came out of hibernation in front of Kohl Center’s first sellout crowd since 2014.

The Border Battle ended Saturday with the visiting Gophers leaving Madison in dominating fashion with the team’s first true road sweep of the season. With 15,000 fans watching, Minnesota defeated Wisconsin 7-1 Saturday.

“It’s one of those nights where we haven’t had much puck luck all year long with guys scoring goals. Tonight they went in,” said Minnesota head coach Don Lucia. “The guys we needed to score scored.”

All four lines scored for Minnesota (18-13-1, 9-10-1-1 Big Ten), whose seven goals were a season high. The Gopher power play, which had been an abysmal 3 for its last 54 attempts over a 13 game stretch, matched that total Saturday.

Mat Robson, making his fifth consecutive start, stopped 23 of 24 shots for the Gophers.

“Our team did a real good job keeping (Wisconsin) to the perimeter and made my job really easy and I feel they made me look really good all weekend,” he said.

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Tyler Sheehy leads the way for Minnesota in Border Battle win (Zone Coverage)

Minnesota’s captain led the way in the third period when the team needed him most.

In front of a hostile Kohl Center crowd, Tyler Sheehy twice put the Gophers ahead of Wisconsin to help Minnesota return from an idle weekend with a 4-2 road win.

“Coming into this weekend we knew it was going to be high emotions with a rival like Wisconsin so it felt great to play a really, really good game,” Sheehy told reporters postgame. “We competed for 60 minutes and completed it there at the end.”

The Gophers entered the game with a struggling offense having scored four goals in its last three games. The struggles continued before erupting for three goals in the third period alone.

Playing on a line with Tommy Novak and Brent Gates Jr., Sheehy scored the game-winning goal with 4:48 remaining in regulation.

“Fortunately for us, our captain came through,” head coach Don Lucia told reporters.

Click here to read the rest!

Border Battle series kicks off Minnesota's stretch run

Returning to the ice fully charged from an idle week, Minnesota junior forward Tommy Novak has a goal in mind. Three series remain in the Big Ten regular season beginning with this weekend's Border Battle in Madison Friday and Saturday against the Wisconsin Badgers.

Novak would like to be home at the end of it.

"To be at Mariucci for the Big Ten playoffs would be huge. Our seniors don't only want to play two more games here at Mariucci so that would be the biggest goal, getting home ice for the Big Ten playoffs," he said.

The top four teams host games in the new conference tournament format. First place gets a bye to the semifinals while second through fourth host a best-of-three quarterfinal series.

To get home ice in the quarterfinals would likely be enough for Minnesota (16-13-1, 7-10-1-1 Big Ten) to clinch an at-large berth in the 16 team NCAA Tournament. The Gophers are currently ninth in the Pairwise thanks in part to a 9-3-0 non-conference record and five wins over the eight teams ahead.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 18 (with Todd Milewski)

On episode 18, we get back to hockey.

Nate Wells and Drew Cove spent Minnesota's off weekend going to an unnamed restaurant (that is totally named in the podcast) without producer Tom Schreier.

After some college hockey talk, attention turns to this weekend's Border Battle between Minnesota and Wisconsin in Madison. Todd Milewski of the Wisconsin State Journal joins the podcast to give the inside scoop on the Wisconsin Badgers and how things are in year 2 of the Tony Granato era. The Badgers, 18th in the Paiwise (the Gophers are 9th), are third in the Big Ten, five points ahead of sixth-place Minnesota.

Plus: Super Bowl talk and awkward moments in media coverage.

Those who have gotten frozen out at a press conference 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

-Todd is the Wisconsin Badgers hockey beat writer for the Wisconsin State Journal. He also is one of the bigwigs at USCHO and can be found on Twitter @toddmilewski.

-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.

Gopher commit Robbie Stucker traded to Fargo

Minnesota commit Robbie Stucker was traded Monday from Chicago (USHL) to Fargo.

The Force acquired Stucker as part of a eight player deal that also saw two picks trade hands.

Stucker, who committed to the Gophers in December, has 19 points (4G-15A) in 34 games this season with the Steel. The defenseman is a 2017 7th round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets and a St. Paul native.

In a roundabout way, Stucker heading to Fargo helps the Force replace an offensive defenseman hole opened when current Gopher Clayton Phillips was traded to Muskegon in October. Phillips spent two months in Muskegon before enrolling a semester early. The Force being able to trade a 2nd round USHL Phase 1 pick was helped by receiving an extra one in the Phillips trade.

Fargo is currently fifth place in a tight USHL Western Conference. Three points separate first and fifth place. Chicago, the defending champion, is tied for third in the USHL Eastern Conference with 40 points.

--
Stucker isn't the only Gopher commit traded in the USHL this week as teams ramp for Tuesday's trade deadline. Rhett Pitlick's affiliate rights were also traded this weekend.

Pitlick the younger's USHL rights went from Central Illinois to Omaha. He currently is a sophomore at Chaska (HS-MN) where he leads the Hawks in goals with 17. Previous Gophers to have played for Omaha include current players Brannon McManus and Steve Johnson along with Minnesota alums Ben Marshall, Seth Ambroz and Erik Haula.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 17

On Episode 17, Drew Cove hobnobs with celebrities while the Gophers add another resume-building win (and loss).

Two artists putting in work: Drew Cove and JB Smooth pic.twitter.com/DaVPYrdbf8

— Jack White (@JackWhiteMN) January 30, 2018

Drew comes back from covering Super Bowl Opening Night and running into JB Smoove to tell Nate Wells and producer Tom Schreier about the experience. The group also discuss the Minnesota series they covered - the Gophers splitting against then-No. 1 Notre Dame - and all the fallout. Casey Mittelstadt's OT winner, Mat Robson in goal both games, the Gophers matching Notre Dame one night before the Fighting Irish took over Saturday and another weekend with a lack of scoring all get discussed. Plus: Can a 0-0 game going into overtime be entertaining?

In addition, they answer a couple questions on the correct way for college hockey to end overtime and how many Big Ten teams will make the NCAA Tournament. Thanks Pat Micheletti!

Those too young to watch Donovan McNabb mix up NFL rules on ties 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. His Super Bowl story on Damarius Travis can be read here.

-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.

After another top-five win, Gopher hockey eyes a consistent formula for the season (The Athletic)

At his end of the ice, playing in a scoreless game that had gone into overtime, Mat Robson had one thing in mind.

“Make the next save,” he said.

Matching Notre Dame’s Cale Morris save for save, the Gopher goaltender did just that Friday. Robson stopped all 25 and was rewarded when Casey Mittelstadt, on a point of emphasis from the last time the two teams met, crashed the net and tapped in a Rem Pitlick rebound for a 1-0 victory over a No. 1 Fighting Irish team that swept the Gophers (and every other Big Ten team) earlier this season.

“Don’t give up the first one. You can’t think about losing or winning, you just have to make the next save and keep yourself composed,” said Robson, who for the first time this season started both games in a weekend.

When that doesn’t happen, as was the case in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to snap a three-game winning streak, it leaves Minnesota searching.

3M Arena at Mariucci has seen its share of highs and lows during the month of January. The Gophers have now twice shut out the then-No. 1 team in the nation. Sandwiched between was a 15-minute postgame players-only meeting at home, necessitated by a lifeless 3-1 defeat to Michigan.

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