Three years ago in the visiting locker room of Wells Fargo Center, Minnesota's freshman class experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows.
Their team had defeated its biggest rival with a final second buzzer-beater win. Then two days later they fell short to Union in the 2014 national championship game.
They - Jake Bischoff, Taylor Cammarata, Justin Kloos, Vinni Lettieri and Connor Reilly (Mitch Rogge joined later) - spent three years trying to get that feeling back.
Several came back this season for an opportunity to change the past. They turned down NHL offers in order to be the one team of 60 who doesn't conclude their year with a loss. In the process they earned a #1 seed and fourth straight regular season title.
Nearly tasting ultimate success as freshmen, that's the closest they'll get.
Manchester, NH marks the end for the second time in three years. They leave SNHU Center short of the Frozen Four with Minnesota's season and, for the seniors, their college careers over, losing 3-2 to Notre Dame at the NCAA Northeast Regional semifinal.
Showing posts with label Connor Reilly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Connor Reilly. Show all posts
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Pregame Blog: Minnesota-MSU Senior Night Line Combinations
Saturday's Game Info
Michigan State at #5 Minnesota
Date: March 11, 2017
Time: 7:00 pm CT (8:00 pm ET)
Place: Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, MN
TV: Fox Sports North Plus (Doug McLeod and Ben Clymer)
Stream: Fox Sports Go (Free for cable subscribers)
Radio: 1500 ESPN (Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco)
Nate is covering for tonight: St. Paul Pioneer Press
Friday, March 10, 2017
Feature: Six seniors put Gopher hockey in a good place (St. Paul Pioneer Press)
One of the best compliments coach Don Lucia could give his six Gophers seniors came going into last weekend’s series against a Michigan team struggling without five players who departed early.
“I guarantee I’m a lot smarter because they’re back,” he said, calling them the team’s difference makers. “They’re guys you can’t replace.”
Minnesota’s 2016-17 senior class — forwards Taylor Cammarata, Justin Kloos, Vinni Lettieri, Connor Reilly and Mitch Rogge, along with defenseman Jake Bischoff — will be honored before Saturday’s regular-season finale against Michigan State. Their final series at Mariucci Arena carries a variety of emotions mixed with an opportunity to make history.
“Experiencing it, you realize (the four years) go by quicker than ever,” Bischoff said. “I’m going to try to live in the weekend and come away with a couple of wins.”
The first class to spend their entire playing tenure in the Big Ten has meant much to Lucia and the Gophers program due to their success and loyalty.
Leading Wisconsin by three points with two games remaining, Minnesota (22-10-2, 13-5-0) needs any combination of four points won by the Gophers or lost by the Badgers to win its fourth consecutive Big Ten regular-season title and sixth in a row overall dating back to 2012.
To do so would be an unprecedented feat in college hockey. Boston University won five straight Hockey East titles between 1993 and 1998.
Click here to read the rest!
“I guarantee I’m a lot smarter because they’re back,” he said, calling them the team’s difference makers. “They’re guys you can’t replace.”
Minnesota’s 2016-17 senior class — forwards Taylor Cammarata, Justin Kloos, Vinni Lettieri, Connor Reilly and Mitch Rogge, along with defenseman Jake Bischoff — will be honored before Saturday’s regular-season finale against Michigan State. Their final series at Mariucci Arena carries a variety of emotions mixed with an opportunity to make history.
“Experiencing it, you realize (the four years) go by quicker than ever,” Bischoff said. “I’m going to try to live in the weekend and come away with a couple of wins.”
The first class to spend their entire playing tenure in the Big Ten has meant much to Lucia and the Gophers program due to their success and loyalty.
Leading Wisconsin by three points with two games remaining, Minnesota (22-10-2, 13-5-0) needs any combination of four points won by the Gophers or lost by the Badgers to win its fourth consecutive Big Ten regular-season title and sixth in a row overall dating back to 2012.
To do so would be an unprecedented feat in college hockey. Boston University won five straight Hockey East titles between 1993 and 1998.
Click here to read the rest!
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Pregame Blog: Minnesota-Bemidji State Line Combinations
Once again Minnesota plays at 4 p.m. on the second day of the North Star College Cup.
It's the third straight year the Gophers will contend for the consolation championship at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota got two goals by Brent Gates Jr., but fell to #1/#2 Minnesota Duluth 3-2 and now face Bemidji State. UMD will play St. Cloud State for the championship at 7.
Weirdly only Minnesota's game is televised on Fox Sports North. The championship will not be, which in a way is fitting for the way the tournament is ending.
If you missed last night's game my recap focusing on the little mistakes and glass half full attitude Minnesota had following the loss can be read here by clicking on the ridiculously long hyperlink.
From watching the early game I thought the WCHA-leading Beavers out-played SCSU for much of the last 40 minutes. Jeff Smith made a couple timely saves and Bemidji State hit a post in the second period that would have changed course.
It's not an easy game in the final North Star College Cup. As Minnesota knows, there's a difference leaving the tournament without a win, having done so each of the past two seasons with second-day letdowns.
Will this year be different?
University of Minnesota Golden Gophers lines
Forwards
Rem Pitlick (#15) - Justin Kloos (#25) - Tyler Sheehy (#22)
Leon Bristedt (#18)- Vinni Lettieri (#19) - Taylor Cammarata (#13)
Brent Gates Jr. (#10) - Mike Szmatula (#9) - Luke Notermann (#11)
Ryan Norman (#23) - Darian Romanko (#26) - Jack Ramsey (#16)
Defense
Jake Bischoff (#28) - Ryan Lindgren (#5)
Steve Johnson (#4) - Jack Sadek (#2)
Ryan Zuhsldorf (#20) - Ryan Collins (#6)
Goaltenders
Eric Schierhorn (#37)
Nick Lehr (#34)
Brock Kautz (#1)
Minnesota's only change from Friday's lineup is Luke Notermann returning in place of Connor Reilly.
Bemidji State University lines:
Once again I'm covering for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Pick up a copy and read my coverage to support if you can.
It's the third straight year the Gophers will contend for the consolation championship at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota got two goals by Brent Gates Jr., but fell to #1/#2 Minnesota Duluth 3-2 and now face Bemidji State. UMD will play St. Cloud State for the championship at 7.
Weirdly only Minnesota's game is televised on Fox Sports North. The championship will not be, which in a way is fitting for the way the tournament is ending.
If you missed last night's game my recap focusing on the little mistakes and glass half full attitude Minnesota had following the loss can be read here by clicking on the ridiculously long hyperlink.
From watching the early game I thought the WCHA-leading Beavers out-played SCSU for much of the last 40 minutes. Jeff Smith made a couple timely saves and Bemidji State hit a post in the second period that would have changed course.
It's not an easy game in the final North Star College Cup. As Minnesota knows, there's a difference leaving the tournament without a win, having done so each of the past two seasons with second-day letdowns.
Will this year be different?
University of Minnesota Golden Gophers lines
Forwards
Rem Pitlick (#15) - Justin Kloos (#25) - Tyler Sheehy (#22)
Leon Bristedt (#18)- Vinni Lettieri (#19) - Taylor Cammarata (#13)
Brent Gates Jr. (#10) - Mike Szmatula (#9) - Luke Notermann (#11)
Ryan Norman (#23) - Darian Romanko (#26) - Jack Ramsey (#16)
Defense
Jake Bischoff (#28) - Ryan Lindgren (#5)
Steve Johnson (#4) - Jack Sadek (#2)
Ryan Zuhsldorf (#20) - Ryan Collins (#6)
Goaltenders
Eric Schierhorn (#37)
Nick Lehr (#34)
Brock Kautz (#1)
Minnesota's only change from Friday's lineup is Luke Notermann returning in place of Connor Reilly.
Bemidji State University lines:
Today's lineup vs the Gophers. 4pm puck drop at the Excel Energy Center #northstarcollegecup pic.twitter.com/h47ITD7tfC— Bemidji St. MHockey (@BSUBeaversMHKY) January 28, 2017
Once again I'm covering for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Pick up a copy and read my coverage to support if you can.
Friday, January 27, 2017
Pregame Blog: Xcel Energy Center no "home game" for Gophers + Line Combinations
Xcel Energy Center is 7.5 miles away from Mariucci Arena, but to Don Lucia it could be a world away.
The Gophers coach doesn't consider this weekend's North Star College Cup to be home games.
"Not at all. It's a neutral site venue. We don't play on a small ice sheet like at Xcel Center," Lucia said. "We've been there as often as anyone else the past few years."
Minnesota's record at the home of the Wild, a place where the team won the 2002 NCAA national championship, has been a mixed bag as well, which is not the best news with an opponent in UMD that has defeated Minnesota six straight times.
The Gophers defeated Ohio State at the 2016 Big Ten conference tournament before falling to Michigan. It's the only win in the past six B1G/WCHA games in the building dating back to 2007-2008. The same can be said with the North Star. Minnesota hasn't won since the opening game in 2014 against St. Cloud State, going 1-4-1.
(Minnesota has had more success during NCAA regionals. The past two times the Gophers advanced to the Frozen Four began with a pair of wins in St. Paul.)
Lucia believes any of the four teams can win this weekend in the last tournament being played. It's also the last time the X will host college hockey until the 2018 Frozen Four.
"I was just thinking about that today we're going in there this weekend and I don't know when we'll be back in there," he said. "We had the Final Five to look forward to and North Star Cup at the Xcel Energy Center every year. That's not going to be the case."
With the neutral site nature, the Gophers are technically the road team both games in spite of likely having a crowd advantage due to distance.
University of Minnnesota Golden Gophers Line Combinations
Forwards
Rem Pitlick (#15) - Justin Kloos (#25) - Tyler Sheehy (#22)
Taylor Cammarata (#13)- Vinni Lettieri (#19) - Leon Bristedt (#18)
Brent Gates Jr. (#10) - Mike Szmatula (#9) - Connor Reilly (#21)
Ryan Norman (#23) - Darian Romanko (#26) - Jack Ramsey (#16)
Defense
Jake Bischoff (#28) - Ryan Lindgren (#5)
Steve Johnson (#4) - Jack Sadek (#2)
Ryan Zuhsldorf (#20) - Ryan Collins (#6)
Goaltenders
Eric Schierhorn (#37)
Nick Lehr (#34)
Brock Kautz (#1)
The Gophers make one change from last weekend's series at Wisconsin. Connor Reilly moves up to the third line in place of Luke Notermann, who sits after appearing in the past six games. It's a spot the redshirt senior practiced in this week.
University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs Line Combinations
Forwards
Alex Iafallo (#14) - Dominic Toninato (#19) - Adam Johnson (#7)
Kyle Osterberg (#8) - Jared Thomas (#22) - Joey Anderson (#13)
Riley Tufte (#27) - Avery Peterson (#11) - Karson Kuhlman (#20)
Jade Miller (#26) - Sammy Spurrell (#28) - Billy Exell (#16)
Defense
Carson Soucy (#21) - Willie Raskob (#15)
Neal Pionk (#4) - Brendan Kotyk (#10)
Nick Wolff (#5) - Dan Molenaar (#3)
Goaltender
Hunter Miska (#35)
Nick Deery (#37)
Hunter Shepard (#32)
Bulldogs Avery Peterson and Carson Soucy are Wild draft picks (as is Gopher D Jack Sadek for that matter).
As a reminder, I'm covering this weekend's tournament for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. You can follow me on Twitter @gopherstate.
The Gophers coach doesn't consider this weekend's North Star College Cup to be home games.
"Not at all. It's a neutral site venue. We don't play on a small ice sheet like at Xcel Center," Lucia said. "We've been there as often as anyone else the past few years."
Minnesota's record at the home of the Wild, a place where the team won the 2002 NCAA national championship, has been a mixed bag as well, which is not the best news with an opponent in UMD that has defeated Minnesota six straight times.
The Gophers defeated Ohio State at the 2016 Big Ten conference tournament before falling to Michigan. It's the only win in the past six B1G/WCHA games in the building dating back to 2007-2008. The same can be said with the North Star. Minnesota hasn't won since the opening game in 2014 against St. Cloud State, going 1-4-1.
(Minnesota has had more success during NCAA regionals. The past two times the Gophers advanced to the Frozen Four began with a pair of wins in St. Paul.)
Lucia believes any of the four teams can win this weekend in the last tournament being played. It's also the last time the X will host college hockey until the 2018 Frozen Four.
"I was just thinking about that today we're going in there this weekend and I don't know when we'll be back in there," he said. "We had the Final Five to look forward to and North Star Cup at the Xcel Energy Center every year. That's not going to be the case."
With the neutral site nature, the Gophers are technically the road team both games in spite of likely having a crowd advantage due to distance.
University of Minnnesota Golden Gophers Line Combinations
Rem Pitlick (#15) - Justin Kloos (#25) - Tyler Sheehy (#22)
Taylor Cammarata (#13)- Vinni Lettieri (#19) - Leon Bristedt (#18)
Brent Gates Jr. (#10) - Mike Szmatula (#9) - Connor Reilly (#21)
Ryan Norman (#23) - Darian Romanko (#26) - Jack Ramsey (#16)
Defense
Jake Bischoff (#28) - Ryan Lindgren (#5)
Steve Johnson (#4) - Jack Sadek (#2)
Ryan Zuhsldorf (#20) - Ryan Collins (#6)
Goaltenders
Eric Schierhorn (#37)
Nick Lehr (#34)
Brock Kautz (#1)
The Gophers make one change from last weekend's series at Wisconsin. Connor Reilly moves up to the third line in place of Luke Notermann, who sits after appearing in the past six games. It's a spot the redshirt senior practiced in this week.
University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs Line Combinations
Forwards
Alex Iafallo (#14) - Dominic Toninato (#19) - Adam Johnson (#7)
Kyle Osterberg (#8) - Jared Thomas (#22) - Joey Anderson (#13)
Riley Tufte (#27) - Avery Peterson (#11) - Karson Kuhlman (#20)
Jade Miller (#26) - Sammy Spurrell (#28) - Billy Exell (#16)
Defense
Carson Soucy (#21) - Willie Raskob (#15)
Neal Pionk (#4) - Brendan Kotyk (#10)
Nick Wolff (#5) - Dan Molenaar (#3)
Goaltender
Hunter Miska (#35)
Nick Deery (#37)
Hunter Shepard (#32)
Bulldogs Avery Peterson and Carson Soucy are Wild draft picks (as is Gopher D Jack Sadek for that matter).
As a reminder, I'm covering this weekend's tournament for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. You can follow me on Twitter @gopherstate.
Friday, January 20, 2017
Feature: Gopher Hockey preps for Badgers without Tommy Novak (St. Paul Pioneer Press)
(This article originally appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer Press)
Connor Reilly has an idea what Gophers hockey teammate Tommy Novak is going through.
Twice Reilly, a redshirt senior and alternate captain, had his season end early because of lower-body injury, just like Novak, who was hurt in Minnesota’s 4-2 victory over Michigan on Saturday and is out for the season.
He pulled Novak aside and talked with him for a little bit.
“There will be some good days. There will be some bad days,” Reilly said he told Novak. “It’s not easy. It’s a difficult process, but I told him to treat it as an opportunity to learn a lot about yourself as a person. Hopefully you grow more as a person because it is an interesting process. You can’t look too far ahead; you can’t look too far behind.”
Just as quickly, attention turned to how seventh-ranked Minnesota (13-5-2, 5-1-0-0 Big Ten), currently on a six-game winning streak, will replace the sophomore center’s playmaking abilities in the lineup beginning with this weekend’s road series against top rival Wisconsin (10-7-1, 3-1-0-0).
Connor Reilly has an idea what Gophers hockey teammate Tommy Novak is going through.
Twice Reilly, a redshirt senior and alternate captain, had his season end early because of lower-body injury, just like Novak, who was hurt in Minnesota’s 4-2 victory over Michigan on Saturday and is out for the season.
He pulled Novak aside and talked with him for a little bit.
“There will be some good days. There will be some bad days,” Reilly said he told Novak. “It’s not easy. It’s a difficult process, but I told him to treat it as an opportunity to learn a lot about yourself as a person. Hopefully you grow more as a person because it is an interesting process. You can’t look too far ahead; you can’t look too far behind.”
Just as quickly, attention turned to how seventh-ranked Minnesota (13-5-2, 5-1-0-0 Big Ten), currently on a six-game winning streak, will replace the sophomore center’s playmaking abilities in the lineup beginning with this weekend’s road series against top rival Wisconsin (10-7-1, 3-1-0-0).
Click here to read the rest!
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