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.
Lineups:
Sick with the flu for much of the week, senior Leon Bristedt, who broke a scoring drought dating back to December, is not in tonight's lineup. Bristedt was unable to practice Wednesday and Thursday. I'll get an update after Friday's game.
Due to Bristedt being sick, Ryan Norman slots into the top-nine. He plays for the first time since January 13th against Michigan.
The Gophers are going with 12 forwards and six defensemen, sitting freshmen Sam Rossini and Clayton Phillips after both got an opportunity in Minnesota's sweep over Wisconsin. Having 12 forwards gives an opportunity to Joey Marooney for only the third game since late October.
Ohio State's lone change from Saturday's 5-1 win over Notre Dame is senior defenseman Janik Moser replacing Tommy Parran.
University of Minnesota Golden Gophers
Forwards:
Rem Pitlick (#15) - Casey Mittelstadt (#21) - Brannon McManus (#7)
Brent Gates Jr. (#10) - Tommy Novak (#17) - Tyler Sheehy (#22)
Ryan Norman (#23) - Mike Szmatula (#9) - Scott Reedy (#19)
Joey Marooney (#12) - Darian Romanko (#26) - Jack Ramsey (#16)
Defense:
Ryan Lindgren (#5) - Jack Sadek (#2)
Steve Johnson (#4) - Tyler Nanne (#29)
Ryan Zuhlsdorf (#20) - Jack Glover (#3)
Goaltenders:
Eric Schierhorn (#37)
Mat Robson (#40)
Brock Kautz (#1)
(The) Ohio State University Buckeyes
Forwards:
Freddy Gerard (#15) - Matthew Weis (#16) - Tanner Laczynski (#9)
John Wiitala (#10) - Mason Jobst (#26) - Sam McCormick (#17)
Kevin Miller (#19) - Ronnie Hein (#40) - Christian Lampasso (#18)
Luke Stork (#27) - Brendon Kearney (#25) - Austin Pooley (#14)
Defense:
Sasha Larocque (#3) - Wyatt Ege (#7)
Gordi Myer (#5) - Matt Miller (#50)
Janik Moser (#20) - Matt Joyaux (#46)
Goaltending:
Sean Romeo (#30)
Evan Moyse (#31)
Tommy Nappier (#37)
Italics indicate starter.
-------
If you enjoyed this blog, you can follow Nate on Twitter and like/subscribe to my Facebook page. Thanks!
No comments:
Post a Comment