Bracketology: 2021 NCAA Tournament Women's Hockey Final Projected Bracket

Four teams officially scanned their digital tickets to the 2021 NCAA Tournament, hours away from Selection Sunday. 

All games have been played Robert Morris, the CHA's third seed, won its third game in as many days, defeating Syracuse 1-0 to take home the CHA conference tournament championship. The Colonials return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.

Northeastern, much to the joy of Boston College and bubble teams elsewhere, defeated Providence 6-2 to claim its fourth straight Hockey East conference title Saturday night. The Huskies enter the NCAA Tournament a remarkable 20-1-1 and not lost since its second game of the season. 

Colgate held back a late St. Lawrence attempt Sunday afternoon to send the game to OT to defeat the Saints 3-2. The win leaves the Red Raiders as the ECAC's lone representative by default as the loss drops St. Lawrence below .500, along with Clarkson (and Quinnipiac taking away 6 NEWHA wins against LIU and Sacred Heart).

Ohio State, after scoring six more goals against UMD Saturday than in two games when the two teams played in Duluth, had an opportunity to make a statement and repeat as WCHA Final Faceoff champions facing the Badgers, who defeated Minnesota on Saturday. For a second consecutive year, the Buckeyes and Wisconsin went to overtime to decide a champion. This time, however, it was the Badgers who celebrated an OT championship. Lacey Eden scored 42 seconds in to win Wisconsin's eighth WCHA conference tournament title and break a 2-2-0 tie on the season against Ohio State.

The four teams earning automatic bids are noted with their conferences in parenthesis. If you need a refresher on what subjective criteria the NCAA Tournament selection committee will use to seed the top four and choose the eight teams, click here. Otherwise, here is the final projected bracket.

You can watch the 2021 NCAA Women's Hockey Tournament Selection Show at 9 pm ET Sunday, March 7 on NCAA.com

The Bracket:

1. Northeastern (Hockey East) vs. Robert Morris (CHA)

4. Colgate (ECAC) vs. Minnesota

2.  Wisconsin (WCHA) vs. Boston College

3.  Ohio State vs. Minnesota Duluth

(All games played March 15-20 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, PA)

How Did We Get Here:

Several teams had opportunities to make arguments for higher seeds or steal automatic bids. In the end, only Colgate and Robert Morris did. The Red Raiders winning the ECAC championship mixed with Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth losing in the WCHA Final Faceoff semifinals gives Colgate the fourth and final seed. 

From there, I avoided inter-conference matchups as much as possible and go with a straight bracket as travel does not matter. One matchup seems locked into the bracket: Northeastern as the No. 1 overall seed, facing Robert Morris. The selection committee has traditionally protected the No. 1 overall seed when possible, and this is a case where it would be easy to do so.

Four WCHA teams making the bracket and protecting the No. 1 overall seed leaves one WCHA inter-conference matchup. For that, I went with the lower of the two WCHA seeded teams to face Minnesota Duluth while the higher goes against Boston College.

Who Was Left Out? Deciding The Final At-Large Bids 

Penn State and Providence, I'm so sorry.

The final at-large bids come down to the selection committee putting in one of the following three choices: A fourth WCHA team, a third Hockey East team, or a second CHA team. It would not be out of the realm of possibility for any of the three to be included when the bracket gets shown Sunday night, however, in my bracket as selection committee I am going with the fourth WCHA team, Minnesota Duluth.

Providence's loss Saturday leaves the Friars 12-7-1 compared to Boston College's 14-5-0. The Friars are hoping the committee gives credence to PC going 2-1 against BC, with the loss happening on the road in OT. As good as Providence has been, the Eagles finished higher in comparison when it comes to statistical rankings (BC was also the only team to beat Northeastern while the Friars went 0-4) and I am keeping Boston College ahead as the second-ranked Hockey East team.

Penn State should be given more credit. As SB Nation College Hockey's Chris Dilks points out, the Nittany Lions have been recruiting well since Jeff Kampersal took over. It has been paying off for PSU. In another season where there are more comparison and non-conference games, I think it's an easier argument for whether or not Penn State makes the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid. As it is, the CHA's historical and past performances make it difficult to put a second team into my bracket, leaving Penn State the best CHA team to miss.

Instead, Boston College and UMD get the spots. I find it easier to believe a second Hockey East team finds its way in and comparing Minnesota Duluth's resume to Providence and Penn State gives the nod to the Bulldogs.

Why is Minnesota Duluth, who finished ahead in the conference, the fourth WCHA team instead of the Gophers? A mixture of head-to-head and strength of schedule. Minnesota swept the Bulldogs in Duluth when the two teams played in December. The Gophers are undefeated against teams not named Wisconsin and Ohio State while Minnesota Duluth lost to a two-win Bemidji State team. In addition, the Gophers are also higher in the Pairwise and other statistical rankings when comparing WCHA teams. Minnesota's 2-8-1 record against Wisconsin and Ohio State (UMD is 2-3-0 against the two) puts it a distant third, though.

Nuts and Bolts:

Teams By Conference:

4- WCHA
2- Hockey East
1- ECAC, CHA

Last Two Teams In: Boston College, Minnesota Duluth
First Two Teams Out: Penn State, Providence

Related:

2021 NCAA Tournament Women's Hockey Bracket Version 2.0

2021 NCAA Tournament Women's Hockey Bracket Version 1.0

Five Selection Questions + NCAA Tournament Locks & Bubble Teams

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College Hockey Stock Report: October 28, 2019

It's hard to believe October is already nearly over! At this rate, the season will fly by. Heck, even the Ivies finally started to play! (Well, the women's teams did. The men still wait until next weekend.) October ending means the start of full conference play is around the corner, as teams begin to discover their identities and contenders start to emerge.

As always, here's what is going on throughout the college hockey landscape. This week's stock report recaps who is doing well, who is on their way down, and what trends should be followed.

Photo credit: Ohio State Hockey

Up: Being Able To Read Ohio State's Numbers

For a second consecutive year, Ohio State unveiled black sweaters against Minnesota. For a second consecutive year, Ohio State wore the black sweaters in both October games.

And for the first time, I can read the numbers on Ohio State's black sweaters.

After last year's illegal uniforms (link), the Buckeyes made sure version 2 can be read. Ohio State can continue to want to be Darth Vader (Link) and pull off continuing to give Minnesota fits on and off the ice. (The Gophers also wore gold third sweaters in Friday's game, which saw OSU defeat the previously undefeated Gophers.) At this point, I wouldn't expect anything other than these every time Ohio State faces Minnesota.

After all, it's working.

60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less): Ohio State

Ohio State University

2018-19 Record: 20-11-5 (13-7-4, 1st in Big Ten)
Head Coach: Steve Rohlik, 7th Year
Top returning scorer: Tanner Laczynski (10G-20A)
Top returning goaltender: Tommy Nappier (Jr.)

Without fail, a team or two each year peaks too early and wishes the season ended in February.

This year, Ohio State comes to mind. The Buckeyes enter 2019-20 in the best shape in program history. OSU built off its 2018 Frozen Four appearance by being the Big Ten's lone dominant squad. When things went right, Ohio State was a veteran team using its experience and a season-long goalie platoon of Tommy Nappier and Sean Romeo to its advantage.

As every other school beat up on one another for hard-earned splits, Ohio State was trading in sweeps. During a three-month stretch, the Buckeyes went 15-2-3 and Steve Rohlik's team looked to be the conference's best hope at another Frozen Four.

Instead, Ohio State's year ended on a 1-7-1 skid which began when Minnesota came into Columbus and swept the Buckeyes, and concluded at the West Regional with Denver shutting out OSU in only its second game in four weeks. With times looking like 2018-19 being Ohio State's year to make a national title run, the Buckeyes march on trying to prove the window is not closed.

What's New: Not scheduling the other two Ohio schools. What in the name of Sloopy is going on?

The Buckeyes are not guaranteed to face either Bowling Green or Miami. Ohio State does participate in the Ice Breaker tournament the Falcons host, however, the two don't face one another in the opening round. OSU also travels to Las Vegas for the Fortress Invitational with Army, Providence, and Cornell.

Ohio State rewarded Rohlik with a contract extension through 2023-24. Among this year's rookie class is 2019 3rd round pick Layton Ahac (D) and Michael Gildon (F).

Last but certainly not least, Ohio State gets to raise a regular-season banner. The only other time the Buckeyes won a regular-season title was the CCHA's inaugural year in a four-team league.

Closing Thoughts: Ohio State finds itself in a weird spot. After four seasons moving up the Big Ten standings, the Buckeyes reached the top. There's nowhere to go up. Some big-name schools would be happy with three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a Frozen Four appearance.

The challenge now is maintaining that success without taking a step back following Big Ten career leading scorer Mason Jobst, Dakota Joshua, Sasha Larocque, Romeo and several key players graduating. Tanner Laczynski remains one of the league's top players and Gustaf Westlund looked like he was ready at times to take the next step. He'll get that chance.

In a way, the Buckeyes were the Dads of the Big Ten. When the rest of the league were out late scoring goals and being as entertaining as possible, Steve Rohlik made sure OSU was responsible with the car and play in 3-1 games. Ohio State does not need to tinker too much to keep being in good shape, unlike other B1G schools. Several veterans plus the majority of its defense and Nappier, who likely gets a bigger role in goal after posting a .926% save percentage, return.

That's the good news as long as the team didn't miss the timing to buy a sports car before it appears to be a midlife crisis.

Recent 60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less) Features
Arizona State
Harvard
Bowling Green
Penn State
Every Team So Far

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Gophers head outdoors for HDM, face Ohio State in WCHA action

The Gophers will be heading outdoors in January.

A day after speculating whether Hockey Day Minnesota 2020 would be January 18th and what it meant for the University of Minnesota, HDM announced the official date Wednesday (June 26, 2019). As part of it, the Minnesota women's hockey team will face Ohio State outdoors in WCHA action on a rink near Parade Stadium and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

This will be the team's second outdoor game. Minnesota hosted Minnesota State at TCF Bank Stadium as part of an outdoor doubleheader in January 2014. (Coincidentally, the men's team played Ohio State.)

The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports North as part of a three-day-long Hockey Day Minnesota event, leading into the Wild hosting the Dallas Stars.

Playing outdoors gives Minnesota a premier event game in the state with the Gophers sitting out the Minnesota Cup this year. There's a connection with the Buckeyes, who have gone 2-2-1 at Ridder Arena against Minnesota over the past two seasons. Five Minnesotans will return from OSU's roster. Head coach Nadine Muzerall is a Minnesota alum and longtime assistant to Brad Frost while assistant coach Milica McMillen also played for the Gophers.

For all the positives, the best display was a low-key Jedi move by Muzerall during the announcement.

Ohio State, during its last trip to Ridder Arena, debuted an all-black third jersey (see above) that was designed with help by Muzerall.

It was the only time they ended up being worn. OSU was penalized for illegal uniforms before the start of the Saturday game, which the Buckeyes ended up winning. The black numbers with a thin red outline could barely be seen on skating players. They were the bane of every stats crew's existence.

Neither team was happy with one another after the weekend. Ohio State used the opportunity to celebrate and sell the program with Muzerall telling The Athletic's Alison Lukan, "I'd prefer to be Darth Vader than Luke Skywalker any day."

This being the next time Ohio State was in the Twin Cities for an event with the Gophers, Muzerall brought it back.

She. Came. Back. And. Wore. The. Jersey.

Amazing!

If the outdoor game is as good as Muzerall's power move, the fans at Parade Stadium will be beyond entertained.

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NHL Draft 2019: The Rest of The Big Ten and Upper Midwest

Friday's first round was a big night for the Big Ten.

Five of the nine players with college ties selected in the 2019 NHL Draft's first round will be attending Big Ten programs this fall. That total includes two players apiece from the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin, which had the highest drafted player in forward Alex Turcotte, chosen 5th overall by the Los Angeles Kings.

Overall, 19 players at or heading to Big Ten schools were drafted this weekend as all seven programs had at least one player hear their name called.

Additionally, 11 players either attending Upper Midwest schools or from Minnesota and attending schools outside the region were drafted this weekend.

All can be found below. For a summary of the University of Minnesota's NHL Draft weekend, click here.

BLOG: Analyzing the Big Ten's 2019-20 Non-Conference Schedule

Wednesday (June 5, 2019) saw most of the Big Ten teams announcing full 2019-20 schedules.

I already wrote some thoughts on Minnesota's schedule, but one that continues to stick is the Gopher non-conference schedule. From a name value and competition standpoint, Minnesota's foes outside the Big Ten hit on both. The Gophers will be tested.

So with the idea that, on (digital) paper, Minnesota's non-conference schedule should be tough, I wanted to see how it compared to the rest of the conference.

Turns out, of the six Big Ten schools who ended up releasing full schedules, Minnesota faces the toughest set of teams based on last year's Pairwise. That makes sense. The Gophers play two of the top three overall teams and are the only school who released a schedule to not play a team finishing in the bottom-10.

Minnesota's schedule also falls in line with other Big Ten trends, however. The Gophers scheduled nearby schools and old foes. There's little traveling - several schools only take one trip outside its home state - and a slant towards home games in the home/road split.

Each Big Ten non-conference schedule can be found below:

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)

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)

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!

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.

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!

BLOG: Leftover New York City "Super Saturday" Thoughts

All Photos: Nathan Wells

I ended up with enough extra thoughts about last weekend's "Super Saturday" to fill a blog.

New York, I love you (for college hockey)...
-Let's start with this: I'm a fan of more college hockey in New York City.

-There's something special about seeing and covering a game at Madison Square Gardern. It starts outside, getting out of Penn Station below the building or walking up and seeing the 10 story circular building. You feel the history inside the World's Most Famous Arena. Muhammad Ali fought there. Patrick Ewing played there. Decades of Rangers have skated on the ice.

Inside the building feels new thanks to a recent renovation. You can tell it's a renovation, however, with some of the odd paths and ways to get around. (Ice/court level is on the fifth level.) I got completely lost leaving the building the first time.

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.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 12 (with Chris Peters of ESPN)

On episode 12 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast we discuss the World Juniors with our first ever repeat guest.

Chris Peters, now at ESPN, comes back on the show to help Nate, Drew and producer Tom Schreier break down the United States' 2018 preliminary World Juniors roster. He highlights the two Gophers on the squad, competition battles to follow, goaltenders, players to keep an eye on, what the US needs to do to repeat and his take on the US-Canada game. Plus: Chris breaks some United States of Hockey news.

Afterwards, Nate and Drew preview the Ohio State series.

Those wanting to skip the line at Raising Cane's 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

-Chris Peters works for ESPN. Much of his work appears on ESPN Insider (subscription required) although you can find him daily on the main ESPN site. Did I mention ESPN? He'll be covering the World Juniors live in Buffalo and is a must-follow for the December 26-January 5 tournament on Twitter @chrismpeters.

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey and football for the Minnesota Daily. This week he wrote a feature on Tyler Nanne returning to Ohio State, a school he attended while not playing due to a heart condition.

-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: WCCO Sports Sunday with Steve Thomson (October 8, 2017)

Once again I'm going to be a regular guest on WCCO. This weekend I made my season debut with Steve Thomson, discussing the Gopher men's and women's teams.

Topics included: How the Minnesota men's weekend went, Amsoil Arena, some positives and negatives in each game, Casey Mittelstadt being brought along slowly and the challenges of being a highly regarded freshman, what's hampering the Gopher women after a 1-2-1 start, Olympic losses, and why I'm contributing this season to The Athletic.

Direct: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/audio/steve-thomson-and-eric-nelson/10-8-17-sports-sunday-3-pm/#.Wdu1TXeRbc8.blogger

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

My segment begins a little after the 5 minute mark in the 3 pm hour of Sunday October 8, 2017.

Catching up with Minnesota & college hockey (May 2017)

Here's what has been going on with Gopher hockey that you may or may not missed this month. Don't worry if you fall into the latter category. It is the offseason, after all.

-As far as the men's team goes, Minnesota still remains without an assistant coach. It's one of two college hockey vacancies although the other (Michigan assistant) appears to be filled yet not announced. Don't expect the Gophers to go too much longer (sometime this week or early next) without Grant Potulny's replacement. With the school year over and interviews had, little is left other than naming a new assistant.

The job is open due to Potulny last month taking over as head coach of Northern Michigan.

-While the men have already announced its 2017-18 schedule, the women's schedule won't be out until June. North Dakota's decision to drop the sport put much of the calendar in flux. Each of the remaining seven WCHA teams had four games to fill.

I'm interested to see Minnesota's final result. Booking non-conference games in the past has been a challenge. Between travel (other than Lindenwood, every non-WCHA school is east of Ohio and a flight), financial (it's cheaper for ECAC and Hockey East teams to play one another) and competition, the Gophers ended up with interesting non-conference schedules. Minnesota hosted "1 for 2" with Penn State and BU where the Gophers played a single game against those two teams at home (St. Cloud State came down to be the fourth team) for a two-game road series.

The team technically played 33 games each of the past two seasons in spite of needing to fill only six non-conference games. One of those was the US Hall of Fame Game where Minnesota faced a fellow WCHA team. Two others that didn't count were against the post-collegiate Minntesota Whitecaps (another team with issues scheduling others).

With an extra four to fill this season, going from 28 to 24 WCHA games, would playing conference opponents in non-conference be the case again? Does it open up new opportunities for Minnesota? What effects does this have for other WCHA teams? Plenty of good questions will be answered.

2017 Big Ten Hockey Tournament Preview

Photo from 2015

A quick and dirty Big Ten preview prior to the games beginning later this afternoon in Detroit, Michigan.

Favorite: Minnesota

As the 2016-17 Big Ten regular champions, the Gophers enter as the favorite and in the precarious position of not needing to play for a NCAA Tournament bid. Minnesota has one wrapped up regardless. However, the Gophers do have an incentive to win the 2017 Big Ten tournament. The team is playing for a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Minnesota needs a win or two to accomplish.