University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Hosts Huskies This Weekend
11/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
| Minnesota vs. St. Cloud State | |||||||||||
| Game 1 | Friday, Nov. 27 | 6:05 p.m. | ||||||||||
| Game 2 | Sunday, Nov. 29 | 6:05 p.m. | ||||||||||
| Location | Mariucci Arena | Minneapolis, Minn. | ||||||||||
| Television | FOX Sports North (Both Games) | ||||||||||
| Stream | BTN2Go, FOX Sports Go (Both Games) | ||||||||||
| Radio | 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network (Both Games) | ||||||||||
| Live Stats | | | ||||||||||
| G.H.L. | Game 1 | Game 2 | ||||||||||
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com | ||||||||||
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels | ||||||||||
| Game Notes | Minnesota | SCSU | Big Ten | ||||||||||
| Social Media | @GopherHockey | Facebook | Instagram | ||||||||||
The Gopher Hockey program celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday with a nonconference series against No. 7 St. Cloud State this weekend at Mariucci Arena. Minnesota opens the series on Friday, Nov. 27 and concludes the two-game meeting on Sunday, Nov. 29. Both games are set for 6 p.m. CT. FOX Sports North will televise both games with the action also available via stream on FOX Sports Go and BTN2Go. Radio broadcasts for both games will be on 1500 ESPN and the Gopher Radio Network.
Kloos Lets Loose
Junior forward Justin Kloos was held without a goal for Minnesota's first six games of the year, but the team captain has found his scoring stride in the last three games. Kloos has a goal in each of the last three games (one even-strength goal, one short-handed goal, one power-play goal) for a new career-best goal scoring streak. The junior tallied his first career hat trick in Minnesota's last meeting with the Huskies -- a 4-3 overtime win at Mariucci Arena on Nov. 1, 2014 with Kloos capping the hat trick with the overtime game winner. The forward is Minnesota's active-leading scorer with 70 points (32 goals, 38 assists) in 89 career games with the Maroon & Gold.
The Swedish Sensation
Sophomore forward Leon Bristedt saw his career-best five-game point streak and four-game goal streak snapped in the Minnesota State series finale, although plenty of positives came during the streak for the sophomore. Bristedt, who leads the Gophers with five goals this year, has scored all of his seven points this season during the five-game stretch. The forward scored five goals in four games entering Minnesota's last game after totaling five goals in 35 games as a freshman last season.
Lucia Looks for Milestone Win
Minnesota head coach Don Lucia's next win will give him his 400th win behind the Gophers bench - making the Grand Rapids, Minn. native the first coach in program history to reach the mark. Lucia is Minnesota's all-time winningest coach with 399 victories to his name after passing Doug Woog late last season. Lucia's 678-362-97 all-time record ranks ninth all-time among college hockey coaches and is third among active coaches (Jerry York, Red Berenson).
Penalty Kill on the Rise
The Minnesota penalty kill has held opponents without a power-play goal in seven of nine games this season and has only allowed one power-play goal in its last six games (25-for-26 over that span). The Maroon & Gold rank seventh nationally and first in the Big Ten on the penalty kill (.906, 29-for-32).
Gophers Sign Five in Early Period
The newest crop of Golden Gophers signed their National Letters of Intent last week with five Minnesota natives looking to join the ranks of the Maroon & Gold in the coming years. Defensemen Ryan Lindgren (Minneapolis, Minn.), Sam Rossini (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and Ryan Zuhlsdof (Edina, Minn.) as well as forwards Rem Pitlick (Plymouth, Minn.) and Garrett Wait (Edina, Minn.) all inked National Letters of Intent with Minnesota.
Coaching Connection - Round Two
For the second-straight series, Mariucci Arena will be visited by a head coach who used to stand next to Don Lucia on the Minnesota bench. St. Cloud State head coach Bob Motzko served as an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota for four seasons (2001-2005) and helped the Gophers capture back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003. Motzko also served as an assistant coach under Lucia for the U.S. at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championships in Sweden. Former assistant coach Mike Hastings brought Minnesota State to Mariucci Arena two weeks ago.
Four Championships -- A Program First
For the first time in Gopher Hockey history, the Maroon & Gold have earned four-straight regular-season conference titles after repeating as Big Ten champions last year. Minnesota's 6-2 win over Penn State in the regular-season finale clinched the championship for Minnesota with the title standing as the 16th regular-season conference crown in program history. Prior to the back-to-back Big Ten titles, Minnesota won two-straight MacNaughton Cups as WCHA regular-season champions in the team's final two years in the league (co-champions in 2012-13).
Against the Huskies
In a series that dates back to 1990, the University of Minnesota is 55-29-12 all-time against St. Cloud State including a 30-10-5 mark on home ice. The Gophers are 7-3-0 in the last 10 games against this weekend's opponent.
Pacing the Nation
Not only have the Gophers won four-straight conference titles, they've earned four-straight NCAA tournament berths over that span including two trips to the NCAA Frozen Four and added a Big Ten tournament title last year. Perhaps even more impressive is the overall record of the Maroon & Gold over that stretch. Over the last four years, Minnesota led the nation in total wins (105), winning percentage (.690) entering the 2015-16 season.
Our Home, Our Hockey
Now entering its 22nd season at Mariucci Arena, Minnesota has been incredibly successful on its home ice, boasting a 306-120-46 all-time record at the venue. The dominance has never been more apparent than the last four years with the Gophers leading the nation in home wins (63), home winning percentage (.801) and fewest home losses (13) entering the 2015-16 season. In Big Ten play, Minnesota holds a 17-1-2 (.875) all-time record on home ice. (All statistics except for Mariucci Arena record include Minnesota's win at TCF Bank Stadium in 2013-14.).
Four to Lead in 2015-16
The Gophers will see a new crop of leaders in the locker room this season with junior forward Justin Kloos serving as team captain while redshirt junior forward Connor Reilly, junior forward Hudson Fasching, and junior defenseman Jake Bischoff will act as alternate captains for the Maroon & Gold. Kloos, who returns as Minnesota's active leading scorer, replaces two-year team captain Kyle Rau while the cadre of alternate captains take over for Ben Marshall and Seth Ambroz. This year's group of leaders mark the 161st-164th players to serve as either captain or alternate captain for the Gophers in a tradition that dates back to the program's first year of play in 1921-22 when Chet Bros led the Maroon & Gold.
Fresh Faces on the Team
With six seniors graduating last season and three juniors signing professional contracts, a sizable rookie class will be joining the Gophers roster this year. Coach Lucia has added 10 incoming freshmen to bolster the roster (Jack Sadek, Curt Simonson, Brent Gates Jr., Brock Kautz, Tyler Sheehy, Ryan Norman, Tommy Novak, Jack Ramsey, Eric Schierhorn, Darian Romanko). Broken down by position, Minnesota adds two goalies, two defensemen and six forwards. Additionally, the Maroon & Gold have added junior forward Mike Szmatula to the roster following a transfer from Northeastern. (Szmatula will sit out the 2015-16 due to NCAA transfer rules.)
Gophers in the Draft
The University of Minnesota features 12 players whose rights have been drafted by NHL teams including four newcomers. Three freshmen were drafted in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft -- Brent Gates Jr. (Anaheim, third round, 80th overall), Tommy Novak (Nashville, third round, 85th overall), Jack Sadek (Minnesota, seventh round, 204th overall) -- while Jack Ramsey was selected in 2014 (Chicago, seventh round, 208th overall). The Minnesota Wild (Sadek, Nick Seeler) and the New York Islanders (Taylor Cammarata, Jake Bischoff) lead all NHL teams with two Gopher draftees each.
12 Gophers on NHL Rosters
Gopher Hockey has featured 12 NHL alums this season with Nick Bjugstad (Florida Panthers), Alex Goligoski (Dallas Stars), Erik Haula (Minnesota Wild), Erik Johnson (Colorado Avalanche), Phil Kessel (Pittsburgh Penguins), Nick Leddy (New York Islanders), Paul Martin (San Jose Sharks), Kyle Okposo (New York Islanders), Nate Schmidt (Washington Capitals), Jordan Schroeder (Minnesota Wild), Thomas Vanek (Minnesota Wild) and Blake Wheeler (Winnipeg Jets) making the cut. Additionally, Darby Hendrickson continues to serve as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Wild and Paul Holmgren is the president of the Philadelphia Flyers.
