University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Ready for Boston Road Trip
11/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
| Gopher Hockey: No. 8/11 vs. Northeastern and No. 4/3 Boston College | |||||||||||
| Game 11 | Minnesota at Northeastern | ||||||||||
| Date | Friday, Nov. 25, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Location | Matthews Arena | Boston, Mass. | ||||||||||
| Puck Drop | 6 p.m. CT | ||||||||||
| Stream | GoNU.com | ||||||||||
| Radio | 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network | ||||||||||
| Game Links | Gopher Hockey Live | Live Stats | ||||||||||
| Game 12 | Minnesota at Boston College | ||||||||||
| Date | Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Location | Conte Forum | Chestnut Hill, Mass. | ||||||||||
| Puck Drop | 12 p.m. CT | ||||||||||
| Stream | BCEagles.tv | ||||||||||
| Radio | 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network | ||||||||||
| Game Links | Gopher Hockey Live | Live Stats | ||||||||||
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Northeastern | Boston College | Big Ten | ||||||||||
| Game Info | Tickets | Local Weather | Preferred Hotels | ||||||||||
| Social Media | @GopherHockey | Facebook | Instagram | ||||||||||
MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) -- The No. 8/11 Gopher Hockey program returns to action this weekend with its final nonconference road trip of the 2016-17 season, playing Northeastern on Friday, Nov. 25 and No. 4/3 Boston College on Sunday, Nov. 27.
Szmatula Stays Hot
Junior forward Mike Szmatula returns to Northeastern this weekend where he played his first two years of college hockey including a freshman season that saw him earn Hockey East All-Rookie honors. A Commerce Township, Mich., Szmatula has averaged more than a point a game this year with 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 10 games. The forward has scored a point in eight of Minnesota's 10 games this season including a team-best six-game point streak heading into this weekend.
Lucia Nears 700th Win
Minnesota head coach Don Lucia is in the middle of his 18th season as head coach of the Gophers and 30th overall season as a Division I head coach. Lucia is Minnesota's all-time leader in coaching victories at 420 while his 699 career wins rank eighth all-time in NCAA history regardless of division. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native needs one more to become the eighth coach in NCAA history to win 700 career games -- Norwich's Mike McShane won his 700th career game this weekend.
Captain Kloos Comes Up Big
Senior captain Justin Kloos scored the lone goal in last Saturday's 1-0 win over Minnesota State, marking his ninth career game-winning goal (most among active Big Ten skaters) and second of the season. Kloos returns to the Gophers as the active-leading scorer in the Big Ten Conference (tied for fourth in the NACAA) with 114 points (48 goals, 66 assists) in 127 games. The forward led the Maroon & Gold with a career-high 43 points (16 goals, 27 assists) in 2015-16.
Gophers Sign Four to NLIs
While the 2016-17 season continues, the Gopher Hockey program continues to plan for the future. Minnesota has signed four prospects to National Letters of Intent in Casey Mittelstadt (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Brannon McManus (Newport Beach, Calif.), Nate Knoepke (Farmington, Minn.) and Scott Reedy (Prior Lake, Minn.) More info on the signees is available at GopherSports.com.
Schierhorn Shuts Out Mavericks
Defending Big Ten Goaltender of the Year Eric Schierhorn made 23 saves on Saturday to pick up his third shutout of the season and sixth career shutout -- a stat that leads all active Big Ten goaltenders.
Against Northeastern
Minnesota enters Friday's matchup with a 10-6-0 all-time record against Northeastern although the program is 0-4-0 on the road against Friday's foe. The Gophers claimed wins of 4-0 and 4-3 against Northeastern last year at Mariucci Arena with the series opener serving as Eric Schierhorn's first career win and shutout with the Gophers. Justin Kloos is the team's active-leading scorer against Northeastern with four points (one goal, three assists) in three career games.
Gophers Picked to Pace B1G
The Maroon & Gold were selected to finish first in this year's Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll followed by Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan State. Meanwhile, Minnesota led all Big Ten programs with four players on the 13-player Big Ten Preseason Watch List -- Justin Kloos, Leon Bristedt, Jake Bischoff and Eric Schierhorn. Kloos and Schierhorn were two of four overall unanimous selections to the list.
The Skate for Six
Minnesota enters the 2016-17 campaign having won five-straight regular-season conference titles -- a feat that matched Boston University's NCAA record from 1994-98. The Maroon & Gold have won the first three Big Ten regular-season crowns (2014-16) and previously won two-straight WCHA regular-season titles (2012-13). Minnesota has won 17 regular-season conference championships in program history -- seven of them under head coach Don Lucia.
No Easy Games
Minnesota once again boasts one of the nation's most difficult schedules and that slate continues this weekend. Seven of the last eight games for the Gophers have come against nationally ranked foes (Clarkson was receiving votes in the lone unranked game) while a similar path continues into December. After Friday's matchup with unranked Northeastern, Minnesota plays No. 4/3 Boston College before kicking off the Big Ten schedule with two games against No. 13 Ohio State.
Maroon & Gold Family Tree
Five members of the Gopher Hockey program are second-generation skaters while the team has a multitude of family connections. Jake Bischoff (Grant), Tyler Nanne (Marty), Rem Pitlick (Lance), Jack Ramsey (Mike) and Connor Reilly (Mike) all play for the same team as their fathers while Nanne is actually a third generation Gopher (grandfather, Lou Nanne). Additionally, Vinni Lettieri is also a grandson of Nanne, and Reilly is one of three Reilly brothers to play for the Gophers (Ryan, Mike) while his sister (Caitlin) plays for the Gopher women. Outside of hockey, Brent Gates Jr.'s father (also Brent) was a standout for the Gopher baseball team while Jack Sadek's father (Brett) and grandfather (Robert) played football at Minnesota (Sadek is also the cousin of Gopher alum Brady Skjei).
Gophers in the NHL Draft
Thirteen current Gophers have had their names called at the NHL Entry Draft including newcomers Ryan Lindgren (2016, 2nd Round, 49th Overall, Boston) Rem Pitlick (2016, 3rd Round, 76th Overall, Nashville), Ryan Zuhlsdorf (2015, 5th Round, 150th Overall, Tampa Bay) and Tyler Nanne (2015, 5th Round, 142nd Overall, New York Rangers). Ryan Collins is currently the highest draft pick for Minnesota (2014, 2nd Round, 47th Overall, Columbus). Ten NHL teams hold draft rights for Gophers, led by the Nashville Predators and New York Rangers with two each.
Big Ten's Best
In addition to the first three regular-season titles in Big Ten Conference history, Minnesota also boasts a conference-best record of 40-14-6-0 in 60 regular-season games since the inaugural year of Big Ten play in 2013-14. The Gophers also boast an impressive 24-4-2-0 mark in conference games on home ice and have set and matched a conference single-season record with 14 wins in 2013-14 and 2015-16.
Watch the Gophers on TV
Twenty-nine of Minnesota's 36 regular-season games will be broadcast on television including the entire 20-game Big Ten schedule. FOX Sports leads the way with 17 games, followed by the Big Ten Network with 10 games and ESPN with two -- once again giving the Gophers the best television schedule in nation. Of the seven regular-season games not on television, six are nonconference road games whose rights are not held by Minnesota and the Big Ten Conference.
Listen to the Gophers
1500 ESPN and the Gopher Radio Network will once again broadcast all Gopher Hockey games during the 2016-17 season. Listen to long-time Minnesota broadcasters Wally Shaver and Frank Mazzocco throughout the year while Gopher great Pat Micheletti will serve as a guest analyst for select games. 1500 ESPN and the Gopher Radio Network also host the Don Lucia Radio Show each Monday at 6 p.m.
