University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Kick Off B1G Season
12/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
| Minnesota vs. Ohio State | |||||||||||
| Game 1 | Friday, Dec. 4 | 7:05 p.m. | ||||||||||
| Game 2 | Saturday, Dec. 5 | 7:02 p.m. | ||||||||||
| Location | Mariucci Arena | Minneapolis, Minn. | ||||||||||
| Television | Game 1: FOX Sports North | ||||||||||
| Game 2: ESPNews | |||||||||||
| Stream | Game 1: BTN2Go, FOX Sports Go | ||||||||||
| Game 2: WatchESPN | |||||||||||
| 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 | Ohio State | Big Ten | ||||||||||
| Social Media | @GopherHockey | Facebook | Instagram | ||||||||||
The Gopher Hockey program opens Big Ten Conference play this weekend with a two-game series against Ohio State at Mariucci Arena. The series kicks off on Friday, Dec. 4 (TV: FOX Sports North; Stream: FOX Sports Go, BTN2Go; Radio: 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network) and concludes on Saturday, Dec. 5 (TV: ESPNews; Stream: WatchESPN; Radio: 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network). Both games are set for 7 p.m. CT.
Big Ten Bullet Points
Now in its third year as members of the Big Ten Conference, the Gophers kick off conference play this weekend as two-time defending Big Ten regular-season champions as well as the defending Big Ten tournament champions. In 40 regular-season Big Ten games, Minnesota is 26-8-6-0 (.725) while the Maroon & Gold hold an impressive 17-1-2-0 (.875) record in conference games on home ice.
Freshmen Firsts
Minnesota's final goal on Sunday saw a pair of freshmen forwards combine for their first career points as Darian Romanko picked up an assist for his first point after feeding Ryan Norman for the newcomer's first goal as a member of the Maroon & Gold.
Bristedt Continues Hot Streak
Big Ten Third Star of the Week Leon Bristedt led the conference with five points (two goals, three assists) last week including a pair of multi-point games against St. Cloud State. The sophomore factored into five of Minnesota's six goals over the weekend including his first career three-point game on Sunday. Bristedt has tallied at least one point in seven of the last eight games and leads Minnesota with seven goals and 12 points this season. His seven goals have already surpassed his freshman season total of five in 35 games last year.
Gophers Power Play Looks Familiar
Minnesota's power-play went 3-for-4 in last weekend's series with the Huskies while the team's second power-play unit pocketed a pair of goals on the advantage. Interestingly, the same three Gophers factored into Minnesota's first goal of the night in both games as Jake Bischoff scored a power-play goal from Vinni Lettieri and Leon Bristedt.
Against the Buckeyes
In a series that dates back to 1968, Minnesota owns a 19-3-1 all-time record against the Buckeyes including an 11-1-0 record on home ice. The Gophers took the last meeting between the two teams -- a 3-0 victory on March 20, 2015 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in the 2015 Big Ten Tournament semifinals. In 10 career games against Ohio State, Taylor Cammarata is the team's active leading scorer with 13 points (three goals, 10 assists).
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 678-364-97 all-time record ranks ninth all-time among college hockey coaches and is third among active coaches (Jerry York, Red Berenson).
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).
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 306-122-46 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.
Gophers Sign Five in Early Period
The newest crop of Golden Gophers signed their National Letters of Intent earlier this year 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.
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.
