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!

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!

Gopher Hockey Notebook: Potomak plans, Lindgren speech, Novak status & more

Heralded freshman forward Amy Potomak has enrolled at the University of Minnesota. Unfortunately for Gopher fans, they will have to a while longer to see #16 skate in a game.

Potomak will take classes and practice with fifth-ranked Minnesota while continuing to redshirt, The Gopher Hockey Blog has learned. This allows her to keep a full four years of playing eligibility and get an extra semester of school. The 18 year-old will be a redshirt freshman in 2018-19 provided she doesn't skate in a game.

Potomak missed the first semester as one of 28 players centralized in Calgary with the Canadian Olympic team. Cut from the team in November, the Aldergrove, British Columbia native took her time with Gophers head coach Brad Frost making a decision. In the interim, she skated with teammate Lindsay Agnew on Canada's National Women's Development Team in the Nations Cup.

A side effect of the decision is that she will spend a semester with the team without older sister Sarah. The older Potomak, also cut from the Canadian Olympic team, will continue to redshirt by spending the semester in her native Canada.

Sarah will be a redshirt junior next season.

Game Story: Minnesota opens second half with shutout win (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Minnesota captain Tyler Sheehy wanted to prove to himself that him and his team could work harder than the service academy visiting 3M Arena at Mariucci.

At the end of the night he was happy. Having lost five of six to close out the first half, the Gophers returned home from the holiday break by outpossessing, outworking and opening with a 3-0 shutout win over Army.

Sheehy began the game with his sixth goal of the season. Fellow junior Eric Schierhorn stopped all 13 shots faced for his 11th career shutout.

“For the majority of the game tonight we were working pretty hard and getting pucks back, things like that and doing the little things that coaches really like us doing,” Sheehy said. “It ended up working out for us.”

Missing forward Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Ryan Lindgren due to the World Juniors, Minnesota (11-9-1, 4-7-1-1 Big Ten) juggled some lines against the Black Knights from West Point. The defense spent all week in practice rotating defensive pairings so that everyone would be familiar with one another.

Click here to read the rest!

Feature: Gopher hockey loses its finishing touch in disappointing weekend at Michigan (The Athletic)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — If Minnesota needed a reminder of the cliché “you’re only as good as your last game,” the team got one this past weekend.

Entering a two-game series against Michigan and new head coach Mel Pearson, the Gophers were 7-1-0 on the season when leading after two periods, with seven consecutive wins. Consistently finishing close games had been a point of pride for head coach Don Lucia.

That all went out one of Yost Ice Arena’s many windows this weekend. Any goodwill built up over seven wins was lost in a span of two nights.

Minnesota left Ann Arbor back at square one in closing out games. Twice Minnesota jumped out to at least a 3-0 lead. Twice the Wolverines were able to come back, winning 5-4 in overtime Friday and tying 6-6 Saturday.

“That’s not the result that we want,” Minnesota captain Tyler Sheehy told The Athletic. “Eleven goals (given up) on a weekend is not Gopher hockey. We have to get back to Gopher hockey as a whole.”

Click here to read the rest! (Subscription Required)

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckast Episode 7

On this week's extended That Gopher Hockey Puckast, Nate and Drew pat themselves on the back for talking college hockey.

First, they discuss Minnesota's sweep over Michigan State last weekend. Topics include Eric Schierhorn's play against the Spartans and throughout the first 10 games, quick starts, Tyler Sheehy getting his first goal, more offense from the blue line, and where the line can be drawn in celebrating a goal.

Then, Paula Weston comes on the show to lend her expertise on this week's opponent, Michigan. She gives the low down on the current state of the Wolverines, the transition from Red Berenson to Mel Pearson, potential 2018 first round pick Quinn Hughes, who is surprising and much more. Paula also discusses the rest of the Big Ten and what she thinks of Notre Dame joining the conference.

Finally, Nate and Drew, joined by producer Tom Schreier, dip into the mailbag and answer questions on the Pairwise, Minnesota continuing its four game win streak and which is weirder: kicking a player or scoring a goal from your butt?

Those trying to high-five their opponents can directly download here.



As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes. While you're at it, please leave a review and give us five stars.

Plugs and stuff

-Paula is a Michigan-based writer who covers the Big Ten for USCHO.com. She can be found on Twitter @paulacweston.

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey and football for the Minnesota Daily. His most recent feature, mentioned on the show, is on Casey Mittelstadt.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page.

The two #weirdhockey plays mentioned on the show.

BC sophomore goaltender Joe Woll's kicking game DQ

So Joe Woll's game DQ was for "kicking." Doubt that gets reversed. You do indeed see him give a kick at a guy at about the 17 second mark. pic.twitter.com/8TyBCEJWlS

— BC Interruption (@bcinterruption) November 5, 2017

Northern Michigan's Robbie Payne scoring a butt goal.

Play until you hear the whistle, right @SportsCenter? Payne's score in a 4-1 @NMUHockey victory over #9 @msumavericks! #SCtop10 #ShareNMU pic.twitter.com/8M4QMj9Df3

— NMU Athletics (@NMU_Wildcats) November 5, 2017

Game Story: Strong Start Propels Gophers to Sweep of Michigan State (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Aware of the quick turnaround Saturday afternoon, Minnesota worked to avoid an early letdown against Michigan State in the team’s second game in less than 24 hours. The Gophers were prepared early and used a strong start to propel the team to a series sweep.

Minnesota scored twice in the game’s opening 10:15 while Eric Schierhorn made 21 saves to help lead his team to a 4-0 shutout win over the Spartans at Mariucci Arena.

With the victory, the Gophers (7-3-0, 3-1-0-0 Big Ten) have won four straight games after beginning the season with three split weekends. They are the first team this season to sweep a two-game series in Big Ten conference play.

“It feels good,” said Schierhorn, who got his 10th career shutout in his 50th career win. “We haven’t played the best in these four games, but if you’re winning nothing else matters. It’s good to know that we can win and not play our best. It’s good for our confidence.”

Click here to read the rest!

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckast Episode 6

The Gophers finally got a sweep this season and Nate Wells and Drew Cove are here to talk about it in this week's That Gopher Hockey Puckcast.

The two dive into Minnesota's performance in two wins against then-No. 9 Clarkson. They discuss the impact freshmen Casey Mittelstadt and Scott Reedy in their return from injuries, the power play breaking its drought, getting more scoring from seniors and the lineup, and the play of Eric Schierhorn. Wells and Cove also preview this weekend's series against Michigan State and first year head coach Danton Cole, along with what surprises them nationally after the first month of college hockey.

Those debating the ethics of cloning a team of Casey Mittelstadts 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 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.

Game Story: Schierhorn saves 34 in 2-1 Gophers win over North Dakota (Zone Coverage)

GRAND FORKS, ND– It was a win nearly six years in the making. For junior goaltender Eric Schierhorn, it was more specific. Friday’s performance came from the culmination of a whole summer’s work.

Playing at Ralph Engelstad Arena for the first time since January 2012, visiting Minnesota skated off the ice with a 2-1 victory over North Dakota in the 294th game played between the two teams throughout their long history.

Schierhorn, who shut out the Fighting Hawks the last time the two teams in Minneapolis, finished with 34 saves on 35 shots. His teammates helped, blocking 29 UND shots, taking bumps and bruises, and keeping an explosive offense off the scoresheet until the third period.

Minnesota’s penalty kill finished the night 5 for 6 a week after giving up four goals in two games against Penn State.

“It’s unbelievable. It energizes me, energizes the team, brings us closer,” said Schierhorn. “The sellout you saw from all of our guys tonight was unbelievable and that’s the reason we won.”

Click here to read the rest!

Gopher hockey has another rollercoaster weekend against Penn State (The Athletic)

MINNEAPOLIS — Don Lucia walked into his postgame press conference Friday night and opened by saying his Minnesota team is not yet a finished product. The same holds true after Sunday’s game against Penn State, although the Gophers could take solace in their best 60-minute performance of the young season coming two days after their worst.

Two weekends into 2017-18 has seen Minnesota twice struggle Friday night before bouncing back in the weekend’s second game to earn a victory.

This has created plenty of teaching moments for Lucia in the early going. Repeatedly in practices Monday through Thursday, players have been told to focus on staying disciplined and starting off the first 10 minutes strongly.

Neither happened Friday night.

Click the link for the full story (Subscription Required)

Pregame Blog: Minnesota-PSU line combinations, Big Ten Hockey in October, Schierhorn ties record

Eric Schierhorn (pictured after Saturday's 2-0 win) makes his 78th consecutive start for Minnesota (Photo Credit: Nathan Wells)

#11 Penn State (1-1-0) at #7 Minnesota (1-1-0)

Date: October 13, 2017
Time: 7:00 pm CT
Place: Mariucci
TV: Fox Sports North (Doug McLeod and Ben Clymer)
Stream: BTN2Go/Fox Sports Go
Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM (Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco)
Nate is covering for tonight: The Athletic Minnesota

Pregame Reading: Tyler Nanne living his dream with Gophers after long recovery (The Athletic - subscription required)
Follow along for live tweeting @gopherstate

As the old promo that got greeted by Minnesota fans with boos goes, Big Ten hockey...is here.

In October. Yes, this weekend features a Big Ten conference series.

BLOG: Six snubs from today's Big Ten Preseason Watch List

Several thoughts came to mind when seeing today's Preseason Watch List.

First, the future of the Big Ten is bright. There's a lot of good, young new talent in the conference and it shows. 8 of the 17 players named are either freshmen or sophomores while 4 more did not play in the Big Ten last season. Of Minnesota's 4, 3 are underclassmen. So are all 3 of Michigan's representatives.

Second, I want to know which coach(es) left Ohio State's Mason Jobst off their ballot. The junior forward was the leading scorer in Big Ten conference games and one of the returning players along with Sheehy and Frederic, the two unanimous choices. You can even make an argument Jobst deserved to win the B1G Player of the Year Award.

And third? While the media doesn't make its own, I figure there are enough returning players left off the coaches' watch list that could deserve a look to where I can fill an entire team of snubs.

So let's give it a shot. Introducting your 2017-18 Preseason All-Big Ten Watch List Snub Team.

Gophers Hockey Lands In #1 Seed Range For NCAA Tournament (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

The Gophers hockey team sat idle Saturday waiting to find out where they will play and what seed they will receive in the 2017 NCAA tournament.

Late in the night Minnesota regained the fourth and final No. 1 seed it had lost the night before.

Minnesota was already assured of an at-large bid by virtue of its 23-11-3 record and high placement in the Pairwise rankings, which mimic the criteria used by the NCAA selection committee to seed its 16-team field and pick 10 at-large teams.

“Obviously we’re in a much different situation from last year. We’re excited for the selection process [Sunday] and see where we end up,” sophomore forward Jack Ramsey said.

The opportunity opened thanks to Western Michigan losing 3-1 to Denver in the NCHC third-place game. Needing one of Boston College, North Dakota or Penn State to win, the first two results went the other way. The Eagles lost 4-2 to UMass-Lowell and UND lost 4-3 to Minnesota Duluth.

But Penn State, for the second consecutive night, won in double overtime, defeating Wisconsin 2-1 to win its first-ever conference title when Liam Folkes scored on a breakaway. Minnesota, Penn State and Ohio State — as the last at-large team in — will represent the conference in the NCAA tournament.

Moving forward, the Gophers are hoping to learn from the lessons and mistakes it made against Penn State. The Gophers gave up six penalties and 63 shots on goal to the Nittany Lions, totals that disappointed the team.

“I didn’t really like our start. Even though we scored two in the first, I don’t think we managed the puck real well,” Gophers coach Don Lucia said following Friday’s 4-3 defeat. “I thought Penn State played very well. They had a lot on the line [Friday]. They played that way.”

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Penn State beats Gophers in 2nd OT of Big Ten tournament semifinal (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

3/17/2017 Game Story

Big Ten conference tournament semifinal
#4 Penn State 4
#1 Minnesota 3
FINAL (2OT)

DETROIT – Twenty-seven days removed from a last-second goal and ensuing overtime road victory against Penn State, the Gophers men’s hockey team was unable to repeat the feat Friday night at Joe Louis Arena.

Despite a career-high 59 saves by Eric Schierhorn, Penn State defeated the Gophers for the first time in five meetings this season.

Nittany Lions defenseman Erik Autio pinched and put a Denis Smirnov pass into the back of the net to take home the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament berth and hand the Gophers a 4-3 double-overtime loss in a Big Ten tournament semifinal. At a total of 93 minutes, 33 seconds, it was the longest game in Big Ten history, and it was an emotional one for the Gophers.

“We played hard and we blocked a lot of shots toward the end,” said Schierhorn, who for the third consecutive game against Penn State set a career high in saves. “We battled. We did. You can’t say we didn’t try and play our hearts out.”

Playing before a crowd announced at 2,791, the Gophers (23-11-3) were able to tie Penn State 3:42 into the third period on defenseman Jack Sadek’s third goal in three games. Like Minnesota’s tying goal in late February, this one came directly off of a faceoff.

The Big Ten regular- season champions had chances late in the game and during overtime. Michigan native Mike Szmatula came closest in the first overtime period. However, it took Penn State (23-11-2) getting the first power play in over two periods on a Leon Bristedt holding call to score the winner.

Click here to read the rest!

Podcast: The Podcast That Ruined College Hockey (Episode 5)

Last week I was a guest on my friend Jashvina Shah's Big Ten-centric podcast. Jashvina is a writer for College Hockey News, The Victory Press, and several other outlets.

Topics include: Minnesota's consistency (or lack of), the pros and cons of a tough non-conference schedule, Eric Schierhorn and Minnesota's defense, Tyler Sheehy's success, Penn State, Michigan and who is the most underrated player in the Big Ten.

You can listen below:

Tyler Sheehy named Big Ten player of the Year; 6 Gophers earn honors

(Portions of this article originally appeared at SB Nation College Hockey)

On Friday, Minnesota won its fourth straight Big Ten regular season championship. On Monday, the Gophers had four of the six spots on the All-Big Ten First Team, led by Big Ten Player of the Year Tyler Sheehy.

Sheehy, senior forward Justin Kloos, senior defenseman Jake Bischoff (New York Islanders) and sophomore goaltender Eric Schierhorn were all named to the All-Big Ten First Team along with Ohio State forward Mason Jobst and Penn State defenseman Vince Pedrie.

Game Story: Gophers blank Spartans, win Big Ten championship (St. Paul Pioneer Press)

3/10/2017 Game Story

Michigan State 0
Minnesota 4
FINAL

MINNEAPOLIS- Jack Sadek skated off the ice at the end of the first period having scored more goals in 20 minutes than he had in two years with the Gophers.

In 45 games prior, the sophomore defenseman from Lakeville and Minnesota Wild draft pick had one goal as a Gopher. Making up for lost time and getting a chance to finally show off some goal celebration moves, Sadek finished with two as Minnesota defeated Michigan State 4-0 Friday night at Mariucci Arena.

“I said earlier that I don’t think I’ve scored twice in a game,” Sadek said between laughs. “It feels good to help out the team in a big game.”

With two celebrations in hand, Sadek and his teammates added another after the game. Minnesota’s victory clinched at least a share of its fourth Big Ten Conference championship in four years, and the Gophers became outright champions 45 minutes later when Ohio State beat Wisconsin 5-1.

The Gophers (23-10-2, 14-5-0-0 Big Ten) have put together sixth straight conference championship seasons, including the last two as a member of the WCHA before that league realigned.

“You’re happy for the guys. You feel like it was going to happen this weekend, but you still have to go out and earn it,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia said following the win.

Click here to read the rest!

Puck Dynasty Podcast: Vinni Lettieri: A Goalie's Second-Best Friend (Episode 16)

Puck Dynasty is a weekly podcast covering the University of Minnesota men’s hockey team and college hockey. Nathan Wells (SB Nation College Hockey/various outlets), Declan Goff (1500 ESPN/GoMN Sports) and Drew Cove (Minnesota Daily) discuss the latest news, analysis and give their opinions about the Gophers and sport as a whole.

This week Nate and Declan trudge ahead without an under the weather Drew for a packed episode. They open with answering a number of Twitter questions before moving on to discussing Vinni Lettieri's improved senior season and play in Minnesota's series split against the Badgers. Other weekend topics include a lack of puck luck from those not named Lettieri, Wisconsin's defense, the crowd at Mariucci, Eric Schierhorn's play, and Justin Kloos scoring timely goals

In the second half of the show this weekend's series against Michigan is previewed before ending with a look at the Pairwise rankings and where the Gophers may end up playing a NCAA Tournament regional.

Those whose names Nate butchered can directly download at 1500 ESPN, Podcast One or subscribe on iTunes.


Follow Nate (@gopherstate), Declan (@dexstweets) and Drew (@drewcove48) on Twitter. If you like what you hear, be sure to give it a five star review on whatever platform you consume podcasts.

Radio: WCCO Radio on Sports Sunday with Steve Thomson (February 26, 2017)

Once again I was on WCCO Radio with Steve Thomson for what is becoming a weekly segment during the hockey season on The Good Neighbor.

Calling in prior to covering Minnesota's Game 3 with Bemidji State,
topics include the Gopher women losing Saturday and how it affects the team's NCAA bid, goaltending, the differences between this year's team and the past two national championships, the Minnesota men splitting with Wisconsin, why it puts the Gophers in the driver's seat for the Big Ten championship, Vinni Lettieri and Minnesota's forward depth, and the play of Eric Schierhorn of late.

I also plug this site at the end. If anyone found their way here from that, congrats!

Direct: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/audio/steve-thomson-and-eric-nelson/

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

My segment begins at the 18:30 mark of the 3 pm hour on Sunday February 26th.

Pregame Blog: On Friday's loss, Saturday game times & more Minnesota-Wisconsin notes

Saturday game info:

#19 Wisconsin at #4 Minnesota

Date: February 24, 2017
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Place: Mariucci Arena
TV: Fox Sports North Plus (Fox Sports Wisconsin for our friends in Madison)
Stream: BTN2Go/Fox Sports Go (Free for cable subscribers)
Radio: 1500 ESPN
Nate is covering for tonight: St. Paul Pioneer Press