Monday Morning Gophers: Minnesota Sweeps Niagara, St. Cloud State

Don't take a Battle Hymn for granted.

Each weekend leaves several lessons to take away, but if there's one to sit and chew upon, it's the above sentence. Sweeps are not a gimme.

Minnesota went nearly the entire season in 2018-19 without sweeping a team at home. The Gophers needed exactly two games in 2019-20 to match the total after a 3-2 overtime win on Friday and 4-2 victory Saturday.

On paper, it's easy to write, "It was just Niagara. Of course, the Gophers should win. Why didn't they win by more?" That would be further from the truth for Minnesota.

No matter what from a name perspective, Niagara was set up to be a tricky team for the Gophers. In a way, the Purple Eagles are at the point Minnesota would like to be.

A season ago, NU added 11 freshmen and one transfer to a team that was in need of a makeover. The Purple Eagles come into the season with the top sophomore class from a scoring perspective and one who played its best hockey towards the end of the season. Niagara came within an overtime goal of making the NCAA Tournament.

Niagara also plays a very constricting defense, which makes it difficult for a team finding its chemistry in October to find success. It's a good lesson for Minnesota, with its 11 freshmen and one transfer, given the team faces the two-time defending champions next weekend in Minnesota Duluth, who do not give many opportunities.

All of these things are those which challenge Minnesota. By sweeping, the Gophers passed its next test. Enjoy the Battle Hymn that comes with a home sweep on Saturday night.

Truth is, it's not easy to sweep any team.

Five Quick Thoughts:

1. It wasn't the prettiest pair of wins, but the pair of wins didn't need to be pretty. There was a difference between coming through Friday after turnovers and a mishmash of failed plays with Saturday's much cleaner win.

However, in both games, it was nice to see a trailing Minnesota keep their foot on the pedal after scoring. The Gophers scored back-to-back goals in under 75 seconds in both games, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 game. Add in a pair of goals in back-to-back shifts in the win against Colorado College and that makes three in a row.

2. It's early in the season. Sometimes that means time to get used to new players and new numbers. In this case, I'm getting used to
Brannon McManus being the upperclassman on a line with freshmen Jonny Sorenson and Ben Meyers. In a very college hockey way, it's less about age and more about experience. McManus is younger than Meyers and two months older than Sorenson.

3. Once again both goaltenders played this weekend with veteran Jack LaFontaine starting Friday and rookie Jared Moe getting the nod Saturday. Both kept Minnesota in the game when needed. It'll be interesting whether the rotation continues. Friday's game is in Minneapolis while Duluth hosts Saturday.

4. Tyler Nanne left Saturday's game following being checked into the boards and did not return.

5. Friday marked Charlie Beattie's debut as the Gopher hockey play-by-play announcer on Fox Sports North. Based on my timeline, it seemed like he got positive reviews. I really enjoyed his call of Sammy Walker's OT game-winner. Beattie had a perfect combination of making Walker's winner seem like a big deal mixed with letting it breathe and allowing the crowd and band noise at Mariucci to take over. There was nearly 20 seconds between the winning call and when Ben Clymer next spoke.

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN! Sammy gets his second of the year at the perfect time and wins this one for the #Gophers in OT. pic.twitter.com/FdwJnrzUop

— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) October 19, 2019

Gopher Women Sweep St. Cloud State to move to 8-0-0

Minnesota ends its opening month with a perfect record after sweeping St. Cloud State at home. Sydney Scobee finished with a 21 save shutout on Saturday before the Gophers won 4-2 on Sunday. (The game was further apart than the score indicated. Minnesota outshot SCSU 40-15 and the second goal came with 10 seconds left.)

This was a weekend where the Alex Woken-Taylor Heise-Grace Zumwinkle line shined, led by Woken scoring on Saturday's first shift. After the Potomaks and Wente line made the most of the trip to Pittsburgh, the group was only on the ice for a single goal, scored by defender Emily Brown. Alex Gulstene remained out, as Scobee started both games.

On paper, the next month gets difficult for No. 2 Minnesota, who received two of 15 first-place votes in the USCHO poll. The Gophers face Ohio State and Wisconsin in the next two weeks. Still, as much as the opening month was supposed to build to this stretch, here's something to keep an eye on: Minnesota's opponents are playing well. Colgate has not lost since facing the Gophers, Minnesota State just tied the Buckeyes twice, and Robert Morris, who gave Minnesota its biggest scare, tied and lost by a goal to another perennial winner in Clarkson.

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University of Minnesota Men's Hockey 2019-20 Full Preview

Throughout the summer, a building under construction greets me each morning, smiling with glass windows for teeth as it stands over the rest of the skyline.

It’s surrounded by some of the nicest buildings in town, many of which are newly completed. A pair have seen their best days after being recently overhauled, reaching new heights and reputations. One is making the most of its latest name change. Another nearby building seems to be the envy of the neighborhood and town. That one is an old friend who keeps winning awards and enjoying being considered the model building of both the area and town. All of them are moving on yet continue to judge themselves against the one currently under construction.

As the neighborhood continues to undergo changes, it joins a town where new, splashy buildings making an immediate impact on the scene mixed with some forgotten ones finding a renaissance, growing in favor.

Construction has made the skyline unrecognizable from the beginning of the decade. Many of the ones who perennially grab attention have been overshadowed and dropped off lists as new tastes emerge, challenging the old guard. Several of those buildings are making cosmetic and wholesale changes to keep up with the rest of the neighborhood.

That’s been the case for the building which greets me. Scaffolding exists, along with a crane and an observation deck devoid of people in its second year of renovations. Signs of change slowly appear on its young face.

Obviously, 600 words are not enough to preview Minnesota’s 2019-20 season and the job Bob Motzko is doing in Dinkytown. The Gophers enter Motzko’s second year as head coach still a work in progress with 12 newcomers in a group that’s largely of his own choosing. By age the youngest D1 men’s hockey team on average and by size the biggest, they add to a team which finished 7-2 over its final 9 games and third in the Big Ten. At the same time, Minnesota missed its second consecutive NCAA Tournament and third in the past four years after a run of six straight Big Ten and WCHA regular-season championships.

Let’s break it down more in-depth.

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!

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.

Click here to read the rest (subscription required)!

Game Story: Undisciplined play costs Gophers against No. 1 Notre Dame

MINNEAPOLIS- After a hard-fought win Friday, undisciplined play cost No. 13 Minnesota a chance to sweep the top-ranked Fighting Irish at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The Gophers put Notre Dame on the power play six times and paid dearly. Entering Saturday having been shut out in back-to-back games following a 16-game winning streak, the Fighting Irish scored three power-play goals en route to a 4-1 win and series split.

“We took some undisciplined penalties tonight. Against a good quality team like that you can’t,” Minnesota head coach Don Lucia said. “We got down 2-rip and you’re chasing. Against them that’s not the team you want to chase the scoreboard against.

“(Notre Dame has) got the record they do for a reason so we’ll continue the learning process. It was important for us to get a win this weekend.”

Brannon McManus scored the home team’s lone goal late in the second period to get the Gophers within a goal. Skating down the ice on an odd-man rush with Rem Pitlick, he made a move around a defender and buried the puck past goaltender Cale Morris.

“Any time you can go in with any sort of momentum it’s obviously big,” McManus said about his team entering the third period. “They’re the number one team in the country and they don’t take losing easily. It showed tonight.”

Click here to read the rest!

Pregame Blog: Minnesota-Michigan Saturday Line Combinations, Gophers Lose Trophy & More

Michigan (9-10-2, 4-7-2-1 Big Ten) at #9 Minnesota (13-11-1, 4-8-1-1 Big Ten)

Date: Saturday January 13th
Time: 7:00 pm CT
Location: 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, MN
TV: Fox Sports North PLUS
Radio: 1130 KTLK AM in Twin Cities
Stream: BTN2Go/Fox Sports Go/TSN Go
Nate is covering for tonight: Zone Coverage/The Athletic

Last night's recap: Minnesota falls to Michigan (Zone Coverage)

Friday's loss ensures the Gophers will be handing off the Renfrew-Mariucci trophy for the first time since Michigan and Minnesota joined the Big Ten.

Game Story: Minnesota falls to Michigan (Zone Coverage)

MINNEAPOLIS- Fourteen seconds into Friday’s game, the Gophers trailed Michigan.

Playing catch-up at home from the opening shot to the final minute, No. 9 Minnesota fell to the Wolverines 5-3 and extended a four-game conference losing streak. The Gophers are 1-7-1 in their last nine Big Ten conference games.

“We don’t want to start the game the first shift and get scored on,” said Brannon McManus, one of three Gopher freshmen forwards to score on Friday. “We have to start fast and obviously we didn’t. It set up behind a little bit.”

Minnesota (13-11-1, 4-8-1-1 Big Ten) did have a chance to tie the game with 41.4 seconds remaining on a power play. Setting up for an offensive zone faceoff, the Gophers — having already used their timeout on a failed offsides challenge — could not control the puck.

Michigan’s Brendan Warren took advantage to get the puck and easily scored on an empty net, turnovers and struggling defensemen bookending Minnesota’s night.

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)

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.

BLOG: What is a verbal commit from a 13/14 year-old worth?

By the time yesterday's two young verbal commits play for the Gophers, if all goes to plan, none of the current players on the roster will be playing at the University of Minnesota.

And that's if all goes to plan. A half decade can be a lifetime when teenagers choose their college choice before choosing a high school. If history tells us anything, it's far easier for players taking the path that Chaz and Cruz Lucius did - committing at 13 and 14 - to go on another rather than stick with their original.

Without delving into the good, bad and ugly of recruiting itself (a subject for another day), or recruiting getting younger, I wanted to look at whether past early commitments by 13 and 14 year-olds panned out for players and teams. What is a verbal commitment worth? Do star players remain stars? How much do plans change?

The answer is complicated.

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.

BLOG: Brannon McManus, Mat Robson and Sam Rossini advance to junior league championships

Both the upcoming Canadian Junior A and USHL championships will be contested by players heading to the University of Minnesota.

Brannon McManus, Mat Robson and Sam Rossini all advanced over the weekend. Garrett Wait, meanwhile, can join them tonight (May 9, 2017) when Waterloo (USHL) faces Sioux City in a winner-take-all Game 5.

Whichever team wins advances to the Clark Cup Final to face McManus' Chicago Steel team in a best-of-five series. (5/9 9:40 pm CT Update: Sioux City took Game 5 and the series with a 8-3 victory.)

Chicago earlier defeated Dubuque 3 games to 1 to take the USHL Eastern Conference title. The 5'9", 181 lbs forward continued his scoring streak after notching the game-tying and game-winning goals in Game 1. McManus, who split the season between Omaha and Chicago, finished the four game series with four goals and an assist.

Here is McManus (#15) scoring in Chicago's 7-3 Game 4 win (starts at 1:19 mark).


Robson and Rossini, teammates with Penticton, already won the BCHL championship. They will get a chance to compete for the Canadian Junior A championship after advancing to the RBC Cup with a 3-2 win over Chilliwack to grab the second spot.

The Vees were one of two teams to come out of the Western Canada Cup, made up of the four western Canadian league champions (and BCHL runner-up Chilliwack since Penticton doubled as host).

Robson, who signed a letter of intent to play at Minnesota last month, has shined in net in single-elimination situations this postseason. Penticton had five Game 7s or must-win games, including needing to win twice in the Western Canada Cup. In those the Toronto native stopped 107 of 112 shots, finishing with a .955 save percentage, 0.97 GAA and a pair of shutouts in five victories.

Rossini, a defenseman from Inver Grove Heights, is getting his legs back following a season debut in Game 7 of the BCHL Final (also against Chilliwack - somehow those two teams played each other 11 times in a season).

The @PentictonVees push ahead by a 3-0 score as @Jared14Nash bangs home a rebound off a @samrossini shot! #WCC2017 #Road2RBC pic.twitter.com/xKPA74nZL5

— WesternCanadaCup (@CJHL_WCC) May 6, 2017

The RBC Cup begins this weekend in Cobourg, Ontario. Teams will play a round-robin tournament with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals.

Any champion this season would join fellow Minnesota commit Blake McLaughlin in claiming a title. McLaughlin helped lead Grand Rapids to the Minnesota Class AA boys hockey title. He also skated for the Steel following Grand Rapids' season, but did not play in the series against Dubuque.

BLOG: Brannon McManus, Justin Holl find postseason success Friday night

Quiet for much of Chicago's USHL Eastern Conference semifinal series against Youngstown, Minnesota commit Brannon McManus (Newport Beach, CA) scored both the game-tying and game-winning goals Friday night in Game 1 of the USHL Eastern Conference finals.

McManus' pair of third period goals came just over six minutes apart. Chicago, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, ended up coming back to defeat #2 seed Dubuque by a 4-3 score.

Steel rallied from a 3-1 deficit in 3rd period to win Game 1, 4-3. Brannon McManus tied it and then scored this game-winner! #SteelTheCup pic.twitter.com/3bqoepyyUB

— #SteelTheCup (@ChicagoSteel) April 29, 2017

Game 2 in the best-of-five series is tonight in Chicago.

BLOG: Gopher commits in playoffs + U-18 WJC Schedule

Yes, the college hockey season is over. Several Minnesota commits play on, however.

Watch the highlights from the U.S. Men's National U18 Team's win over Belarus today at #U18Worlds.

More coverage: https://t.co/MZCPbh2Pj0 pic.twitter.com/TmFCWBYhyk

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) April 13, 2017

Scott Reedy and Nate Knoepke earlier today kicked off the 2017 U-18 World Junior Championships in Poprad and Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia with a 7-0 win over Belarus. Knoepke (Farmington, MN) finished Thursday with two assists. His first helped up set Reedy's (Prior Lake, MN) goal (happens at about the :25 mark in the above tweet).

2017 NHL Draft: Casey Mittelstadt 3rd in Central Scouting Final Rankings

Casey Mittelstadt keeps moving up Central Scouting's 2017 NHL Draft board.

Mittelstadt is the third-highest North American skater in the final rankings released Tuesday by NHL Central Scouting. He moves up two spots from the mid-term rankings released in January. Mittelstadt earlier began the year with an "A" rating as a player expected to go in the first round.

Sitting behind two CHL forwards (Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier) who are the popular picks to go #1 overall, the Eden Prairie, MN native is both the highest ranked American and player with college ties.

What's Next? A Look At The 2017-18 Minnesota Men's Hockey Roster (Part 1)

Casey Mittelstadt makes it looks effortless #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/qdXeQ5dmLf

— USHL (@USHL) March 26, 2017

The movie never ends. The soap opera is told and unfolds. But the beat goes on, and so do we.

Tickets remain to be punched (or, since it's 2017, they are more likely to be scanned off of a smartphone) for this year's Frozen Four. With Minnesota's season over following yesterday's 3-2 upset loss to Notre Dame, attention turns away from the Northeast Regional and Chicago.

Instead, let's take a look to the 2017-18 season, which begins (and could end) in the Twin Cities. Minnesota sees plenty of turnover. A large senior class departs for the pros and real life. In their place, head coach Don Lucia brings in his best recruiting class on paper since 2010-11.

BLOG: Casey Mittelstadt named USHL Forward of the Week

Returning to the USHL with some unfinished business that will stay that way, it didn't take long for Eden Prairie senior and Minnesota commit Casey Mittelstadt to make an impact in his first weekend back with Green Bay Gamblers.

Mittelstadt was on Monday named the USHL Forward of the Week. The 2016 Minnesota Mr. Hockey scored a pair of goals Friday, finishing with three points. He added three more assists in wins against Cedar Rapids and Madison.

Yes he is... #GoGamblers. @CMittelstadt with 3 points tonight (2g, 1a) in the @USHL tonight pic.twitter.com/slL2EjBkIC

— Green Bay Gamblers (@GamblersHockey) March 18, 2017

Blog: Gopher commit Casey Mittelstadt ranked fifth in NHL Central Scouting

Led by Eden Prairie native Casey Mittelstadt, five University of Minnesota commits were named to NHL Central Scouting's Mid-Term Rankings.

Ranked fifth among North American skaters, Mittelstadt is the top player with college hockey ties. The 6’0”, 201 lbs forward was leading the USHL in scoring as a 17 year-old (he has since turned 18) when he left Green Bay to come back to Eden Prairie and try to win a Class AA championship. He will return to Green Bay after Eden Prairie's season ends.