University of Minnesota Athletics
25th Annual Mariucci Classic
12/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
| 25th Annual Mariucci Classic | |||||||||||
| Location | Mariucci Arena | Minneapolis, Minn. | ||||||||||
| Day One | Friday, Jan. 1, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Semifinal One | Harvard vs. Ferris State | 4 p.m. CT | ||||||||||
| Game Links | | Free Stream | ||||||||||
| Semifinal Two | Minnesota vs. Connecticut | 7 p.m. CT | ||||||||||
| Television | FOX Sports North | ||||||||||
| Stream | BTN2Go and FOX Sports Go | ||||||||||
| Radio | 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network | ||||||||||
| Game Links | Gopher Hockey Live | | ||||||||||
| Day 2 | Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Consolation Game | Connecticut vs. Ferris State | 4 p.m. CT | ||||||||||
| Game Links | | Free Stream | ||||||||||
| Championship Game | Minnesota vs. Harvard | 7 p.m. CT | ||||||||||
| Stream | BTN PLUS | ||||||||||
| Radio | 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network | ||||||||||
| Game Links | Gopher Hockey Live | | ||||||||||
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Big Ten | UConn | FSU | Harvard | ||||||||||
| Social Media | @GopherHockey | Facebook | Instagram | ||||||||||
Gopher Hockey kicks off the second half of the season this weekend with the 25th annual Mariucci Classic -- honoring former University of Minnesota coach and the "Godfather of Minnesota Hockey" John Mariucci. Joining the Maroon & Gold are Connecticut. Harvard and Ferris State.
Mariucci Classic Notes
Entering the 25th year of the holiday tournament, Minnesota has won 13 of 24 Mariucci Classics including the inaugural event in 1991-92 as well as eight-straight tournaments (and 16-straight games) from 1999-2000 to 2006-07...Coach Don Lucia's first eight years with the program. The Gophers are 33-12-3 (.719) all-time at the Mariucci Classic. Connecticut is making its Mariucci Classic debut...Ferris State is 3-5-2 all-time at the event and won the second annual Mariucci Classic in 1992-93 (Minnesota is 3-0-1 against FSU in the tournament)...Harvard is 0-5-1 all-time at the event (Minnesota is 2-0-0 against Harvard in the tournament.
A Great Start to the Second Half
Five teams have gone on to win the NCAA title after capturing the Mariucci Classic title earlier in the season (Lake Superior State in 1993-94, Boston University in 1994-95, Minnesota in 2001-002 and again in 2002-03 and Boston College in 2007-08).
First Meeting with the Huskies
Friday's semifinal with Connecticut will mark the first-ever meeting between the Gophers and the Huskies. Minnesota has now played 56 of 59 possible Division I opponents (Arizona State, Bentley and American International are the only Division I programs Minnesota has not played).
Strike First Success
Scoring first has been a major factor for the Gophers' success this season through 15 games. The Maroon & Gold are 6-1-0 when scoring the first goal while the team is 1-7-0 when its opponent finds the net first.
Novak Stays Hot
Freshman forward Tommy Novak is currently riding a six-game point streak -- the longest active streak among the Gophers and a career best for Novak. The rookie has seven points (one goal, six assists) over the stretch.
In the Circle
The Gophers rank second in the nation in the faceoff circle with a .558 winning percentage on the draw (479 wins, 379 losses). Only Union (.565) has a better winning percentage on faceoffs. Vinni Lettieri is Minnesota's top man in the circle -- leading the Big Ten with a .615 winning percentage (104 wins, 65 losses).
Junior Class Leads the Way
Minnesota's junior class has tallied more than half of Minnesota's points and goals this season, scoring 51 percent of the team's points (61 of 119) and 52 percent of the team's goals (22 of 42). The junior class was responsible for five of Minnesota's six goals at Michigan to close out the first half.
Big Ten Bullet Points
Now in its third year as members of the Big Ten Conference, the Gophers return to conference this weekend as two-time defending Big Ten regular-season champions as well as the defending Big Ten tournament champions. In 44 regular-season Big Ten games, Minnesota is 29-9-6-0 (.727) while the Maroon & Gold hold an impressive 19-1-2-0 (.909) record in conference games on home ice.
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).
Our Home, Our Hockey
Now entering its 22nd season at Mariucci Arena, Minnesota has been incredibly successful on its home ice, boasting a 308-122-46 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 19-1-2 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.
13 Gophers on NHL Rosters
Gopher Hockey has featured 13 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), Brady Skjei (New York Rangers), 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.
