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.

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.

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: 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!

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!

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!

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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Facebook Live: Notre Dame at Minnesota 1/27/18 Postgame

From the Mariucci Arena press box I went on Facebook Live to discuss Casey Mittelstadt's OT winning goal, Mat Robson's 25 save performance that matched Cale Morris, Minnesota's standing in the Big Ten and nationally, beating the #1 team in the nation for the second time this month and much more.

Game Story: Mittelstadt magic gives No. 13 Minnesota OT win over No. 1 Notre Dame (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- There was nothing pretty about the goal Casey Mittelstadt scored other than it giving Minnesota its second shutout victory over a No. 1 ranked team this month.

Known for his highlight-reel plays that are replayed on television and internet, the freshman forward made one for himself Friday. Mittelstadt, just as he imagined himself as a kid growing up in Eden Prairie, scored his first-ever collegiate overtime winning goal.

Mittelstadt crashed the net in front of Fighting Irish goaltender Cale Morris. Being at the right place, he tapped in a Rem Pitlick shot that Morris could not quite control and sent the 3M at Mariucci crowd into celebration 3:35 into OT in a 1-0 win.

“That’s a pretty special moment,” he said. “Being a Gopher is something that I’ve always dreamed of. Now that I’m actually here I get to make plays out here and wear the jersey and it’s pretty special.”

The victory gives No. 13 Minnesota (16-12-1, 7-9-1-1 Big Ten) a three-game winning streak and breathing room in the Pairwise rankings, which mimic the criteria used to select the NCAA Tournament field. The team also earned three much-needed points in the Big Ten conference standings. One point separates third and sixth place in the Big Ten with the Gophers, Wisconsin and Penn State all tied for fourth with 23 points.

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.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 14 (with Declan Goff)

On episode 14 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, an old friend drops on by.

Nate, Drew and producer Tom are joined by St. Paul native Declan Goff of Minnesota Hockey Magazine and an podcast that will not be named in this space. They had a lot to catch up with this week. New players, multiple series and multiple subjects to discuss due to being off the last few weeks.

After bringing up Clayton Phillips' early arrival, much of the focus was on then-No. 10 Minnesota and then-No. 1 St. Cloud State's home-and-home split, which all three attended both legs. Declan gives his thoughts on both team's seasons. All discuss Mat Robson's play, Ryan Lindgren's effect after missing Saturday's game due to not having his equipment, Minnesota having quality wins at home, road woes, and the controversial St. Cloud State no-goal Sunday.

They also touch on Minnesota's sweep of Army and preview the Gophers' return to Big Ten play against Michigan. Plus: Declan Goff, the Duke of St. Cloud?

Those helping Drew get the show a Culver's sponsorship 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 and is an ESPN Radio correspondent for Minnesota Vikings games. He can be found on Twitter @dexstweets.

-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. His Mat Robson feature mentioned this week can be read here.

Game Story: Minnesota shuts out top-ranked St. Cloud State (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- A day after leaving St. Cloud with a loss and praise for the top-ranked Huskies, Minnesota rebounded Sunday with a 2-0 home shutout win in Minneapolis.

The Gophers defeated the No. 1 team in the USCHO poll for the first time since beating Boston College 8-1 on December 30, 2012.

Sophomore goaltender Mat Robson made 34 saves to earn his first career shutout and salvage a series split. He bested St. Cloud State David Hrenak in a goaltending battle where each seemed to one-up the other as both teams traded chances.

“Both goalies were outstanding today. That was a heck of a duel people were able to watch,” said SCSU head coach Bob Motzko, whose team’s nine-game unbeaten streak came to an end.

Darian Romanko’s early third period goal proved to be the difference when a potential St. Cloud State (13-3-3, 7-2-1-1 NCHC) tally by Mikey Eyssimont was waved off by the officials following a five minute delay with multiple reviews.

Click here to read the rest!

Game Story: Minnesota's Mat Robson gets first college win (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Taking the long road to his home debut, Minnesota sophomore goaltender Mat Robson did not waste any time getting his first collegiate win.

Robson, who sat out a year and a half of college sandwiched around a stint in the BCHL, made 25 saves on Saturday as the Gophers defeated Army 4-1 to sweep the Black Knights at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

“I’m really happy for Mat Robson,” Gophers head coach Don Lucia said about his goaltender, ineligible the first semester and playing in his second game. “He made a lot of really great saves.”

Freshman defenseman Sam Rossini scored a third-period goal and added an assist for his first career multi-point game.

After Tyler Sheehy got Minnesota (12-9-1, 4-7-1-1 Big Ten) started for a second straight night, the Gophers took a 2-0 lead in the closing seconds of the first period. Rossini’s shot was tipped by sophomore Tyler Nanne, playing at forward instead of defense for the third time this season.

“We had a lot more time than yesterday and we also found the lanes,” said Rossini, who has 3 goals in 10 career games. “Teams are good at blocking shots and getting in lanes nowadays. As the season goes on and we practice more and more, I think we’re going to get better.”

Click here to read the rest!

Finally eligible, Mat Robson is ready for his shot in the Gophers net (The Athletic)

For practical purposes, Minnesota’s second half of the regular season begins when the team returns from a two-week break for finals and the holidays. Technically, as Gopher sophomore goaltender Mat Robson certainly knows, it started with last weekend's road series against then-No. 15 Ohio State.

Ineligible for the season’s first half, the true halfway point marks a new beginning. Excited and in good spirits, there’s one thing Robson wants now after finally earning his college hockey eligibility back.

“Just play,” he told The Athletic prior to the Ohio State series. “I just want to play and play well and give our team a chance to win every night, whenever I’m looked upon to do my part and to be a good teammate as well. We definitely want to get to St. Paul at the end of the year (for the Frozen Four).”

Being able to play does not guarantee playing time, however. Head coach Don Lucia acknowledges as much with Robson’s addition. Junior Eric Schierhorn is in his third year as Minnesota’s starting goaltender. This season he has a career-high .912 save percentage.

Click here to read the rest!

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 13 (with Eric Vegoe)

On episode 13 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, the first half of the season comes to a close.

Eric Vegoe of The Athletic and Gopher Puck Live joins Nate, Drew and producer Tom Schreier to put the finishing touches on a 1-5 Gophers stretch after Minnesota was swept by Ohio State. Much of the weekend, from the road woes to the power play to Mat Robson's Gopher debut Saturday, gets discussed. They also look back on Minnesota's first half, the offensive struggles down the stretch, where the Gophers sit nationally, Big Ten players who have stood out and hand out several awards to Minnesota players. You'll have to tune in to find out who won the vaunted "Casey Mittelstadt Award for Best Freshman Not Named Casey Mittelstadt."

Plus: We take a quick tour of St. Paul and tips for the renaissance hockey fan to close out the show.

Those who would watch a Jack Ramsey "Man vs. Wild" style show can directly download here.


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

Plugs and stuff

-Eric is a co-host on the Gopher Puck Live podcast with Hammy and Jupiter that is recorded live during the season every Wednesday night at 9 pm CT. He writes for the site as well as The Athletic. His most recent feature is on Rem Pitlick's "inch-by-inch" journey to being the team's most consistent player. You can follow him on Twitter @evegoe.

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey and football for the Minnesota Daily. His tip was following Sean McIndoe's work @downgoesbrown.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page. His tip was reading Steve Rushin's "Sting-Ray Afternoons" memoir.

BLOG: A Look At 2017-18 New Men's Players Numbers & More

Three weeks from Friday the Minnesota men will be kicking off 2017-18 against Minnesota Duluth.

So long summer. Hello hockey.

The previews and features will be ramping up, both here and with other outlets, the closer it gets to the Ice Breaker. To kick things off, however, I wanted to start with something simple before diving into the deep end. Introduce the new Gopher players. Point out their names, their numbers, their size and maybe find out which junior teams were off in their measurements.

I say new players, not freshmen, because goaltender Mat Robson is officially a sophomore (and sitting out half a year). Connor Hurley, who enrolled this fall at Minnesota to begin classes, is a senior. The size and numbers are below for all except Hurley, who is not included due to sitting out the year as a transfer.

Why Mat Robson will be sitting out the first half

New Minnesota sophomore goaltender Mathew Robson officially will sit out half of the season due to his time playing Canadian major juniors. He will have 2.5 years of eligibility.

Eric Vegoe of Gopher Puck Live was first to report. The Gopher Hockey Blog has confirmed.

Robson, who last season helped lead Penticton (BCHL) to the Canadian Junior A championship tournament, is ineligible for 18 games, but when the goaltender will be officially eligible to make his debut is not exactly clear at this time. He will either be eligible to play in the team's final series of the first half (December 8-9 at Ohio State), or the first series after Christmas (December 29-30 vs Army). (UPDATE: Confirmed Robson will be eligible at OSU.)

BLOG: Chicago wins USHL Clark Cup, Penticton falls in RBC Cup to cap 2016-17 commit season

Thanks to the one who gives me the opportunity to do what I love. Couldn't have done this without you and dad❤️ CLARK CUP CHAMPS. pic.twitter.com/HQ6PWiCEIg

— Brannon McManus (@Bmcmanus7) May 24, 2017

The last of Minnesota's commits had his season end Tuesday.

(There remain a few in the pros. Phil Kessel and Pittsburgh play Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals tonight. Former Gopher defensemen Michael Brodzinski and Ben Marshall's AHL teams are in their league semis although both players only appeared in a handful of playoff games.)

Brannon McManus became Tuesday the first person committed to Minnesota to hoist the USHL Clark Cup since Nico Sacchetti in 2008 when Chicago defeated Sioux City 2-1 in overtime of winner-take-all Game 5.

A few days earlier Penticton, with Gopher commits Mat Robson (goalie) and Sam Rossini (defense), ended its season two wins short of taking home the RBC Cup, the highest prize in Canadian Junior A. The BCHL league champions lost 3-1 Saturday to eventual RBC Cup winner Cobourg.