University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Open B10 Play with OSU
11/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
| Gopher Hockey: Minnesota vs. Ohio State | |||||||||||
| Game 13 | Minnesota vs. Ohio State | ||||||||||
| Date | Friday, Dec. 2, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Location | Mariucci Arena | Minneapolis, Minn. | ||||||||||
| Puck Drop | 8 p.m. CT | ||||||||||
| Television | Big Ten Network | ||||||||||
| Stream | BTN2Go | ||||||||||
| Radio | 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network | ||||||||||
| Game Links | Gopher Hockey Live | | ||||||||||
| Game 14 | Minnesota vs. Ohio State | ||||||||||
| Date | Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Location | Mariucci Arena | Minneapolis, Minn. | ||||||||||
| Puck Drop | 7 p.m. CT | ||||||||||
| Television | FOX Sports North PLUS | ||||||||||
| Stream | BTN2Go, FOX Sports Go | ||||||||||
| Radio | MyTalk 107.1 FM, Gopher Radio Network | ||||||||||
| Game Links | Gopher Hockey Live | | ||||||||||
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Ohio State | Big Ten | ||||||||||
| Game Info | Tickets | Local Weather | Preferred Hotels | ||||||||||
| Social Media | @GopherHockey | Facebook | Instagram | ||||||||||
MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) -- The three-time defending Big Ten champion Gopher Hockey program kicks off the 2016-17 conference schedule this weekend with a two-game series against Ohio State at Mariucci Arena. Friday's series opener is slated for 8 p.m. CT while Saturday's finale is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Lucia Earns 700th Career Win
Minnesota head coach Don Lucia earned his 700th career win with Sunday's 4-2 victory at Boston College, making Lucia the eighth coach in NCAA history to reach the 700-win milestone. Now in his 30th year as a Division I head coach and his 18th year as head coach of the Maroon & Gold, Lucia holds the Minnesota record for coaching victories at 421.
Lettieri Earns Big Ten Second Star
Senior forward Vinni Lettieri was honored as the Big Ten Second Star of the Week after tying for the Big Ten point lead over the weekend with two goals and two assists. Lettieri notched a career-high three points in the win over Boston College, scoring the game-winning goal and adding two assists. He also tallied a goal on Friday against Northeastern, giving him goals in two-straight games.
Hat Trick Carries Kloos to 50-Goal Plateau
Senior captain Justin Kloos recorded his second career hat trick in Friday's 6-4 loss at Northeastern. Kloos ranks third among active NCAA skaters (and first among active Big Ten skaters) with 118 points (51 goals, 67 assists) in 129 career games. Kloos became the 59th Gopher to score 50 career goals over the weekend and currently ranks tied for 55th on the school's all-time goal scoring list with Jay Barriball and Tom Chorske.
Bischoff Picks Up the Offense
Senior defenseman Jake Bischoff has tallied a pair of assists in each of the last two games while Minnesota is 7-1-1 all-time when he notches a multi-point game. Bischoff needs two points to reach 50 points for his career (14 goals, 34 assists in 113 games).
Sophomore Milestones on Deck
Three Gophers sophomores will likely play in their 50th career games this weekend when the Gophers host Ohio State. Forwards Tyler Sheehy and Tommy Novak as well as goaltender Eric Schierhorn have all played in 49 career games entering the weekend, suiting up in every game since joining the Gophers.
Against the Buckeyes
Minnesota enters the weekend with a 24-3-1 all-time record against Ohio State after winning all five meetings during the 2015-16 season. Four of those meetings were decided by a goal and three went to overtime including both games at Mariucci Arena last year. Taylor Cammarata leads all active Gophers with 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 15 games against the Buckeyes followed by Justin Kloos with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 15 games. Minnesota's leading scorer for the year, Tyler Sheehy, has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in five games against OSU while Eric Schierhorn owns a 5-0-0 record against the Buckeyes.
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.
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. Eight of the last 10 games for the Gophers have come against nationally ranked foes while nationally ranked Ohio State comes to Mariucci Arena this weekend to open up the Big Ten schedule.
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.
