'U' Closes Out Home Stand with OSU Series

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Gopher Hockey program closes out a six-game home stand this weekend with a two-game series against No. 5 Ohio State at 3M Arena at Mariucci. The Big Ten opponents open the weekend on Friday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. CT before an afternoon tilt on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 4 p.m. CT.

Sheehy Named Big Ten First Star
Senior captain Tyler Sheehy was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week after leading the nation with four goals over the weekend in Minnesota's series split with Michigan State. The forward picked up a pair of goals in both games last weekend -- just the second time in his career he's recorded multi-goal performances in back-to-back games. Sheehy entered the series with just one goal for the season while the senior is Minnesota's active leading scorer with 115 points (49 goals, 66 assists) in 115 career games with the Maroon & Gold.

Gates Gets It Done
Minnesota's other senior captain -- Brent Gates Jr. -- has now recorded a pair of three-point games in the last four contests after recording one three-point performance in his first 117 career games. Gates has recorded three assists in each of the last Friday night contests for the Maroon & Gold.

Against the Buckeyes
The University of Minnesota enters this weekend's Big Ten series against Ohio State with a 27-7-2 all-time record against the Buckeyes including a 15-2-1 mark on home ice. Senior captain Tyler Sheehy leads all active Gophers with 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 13 games against Ohio State -- the most points the senior forward has against any opponent he's faced.

Sadek Sets Sights on 100-Game Plateau
Senior defenseman Jack Sadek could potentially play in his 100th career game this weekend as the Minnesota Wild prospect enters the Ohio State series with 98 career appearances and 30 career points (seven goals, 23 assists). Sadek would be the seventh active Gopher to play in 100 career games, joining fellow seniors Brent Gates Jr., Tyler Sheehy, Tommy Novak, Darian Romanko, Eric Schierhorn and Jack Ramsey.

Gopher Hockey Notables
Minnesota's freshman class has been a spark for the Golden Gophers' offense, leading the team with 29 points and 20 assists and tied for the team lead with nine goals...sophomore defenseman Clayton Phillips scored his first career goal last Friday...freshman defenseman notched his first two collegiate points with a pair of assists last Friday...Minnesota has now outshot its opponent in five-straight games.

Schierhorn Nears School Record
Senior goaltender Eric Schierhorn (1-3-0) picked up his 12th career shutout earlier this month as the two-time Big Ten Goaltender of the Year claimed sole possession of third all-time at Minnesota (only Adam Wilcox and Kellen Briggs have more with 13 each). With a 56-44-4 career record, Schierhorn ranks tied for sixth in school history in wins and sixth in saves at 2,579.

Welcome Back, Bob!
After 13 years leading in-state rival St. Cloud State, Bob Motzko was named the head coach of the University of Minnesota on March 27, 2018. A native of Austin, Minn., Motzko built a 276-192-49 record as head coach of the Huskies (280-198-50 overall record) following a four-year stint as assistant coach at Minnesota that saw the Maroon & Gold claim back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003. Motzko has coached 17 All-Americans in his coaching career including Hobey Baker Award winners Jordan Leopold and Drew LeBlanc. In addition to his collegiate coaching, Motzko led the U.S. National Junior Team to back-to-back medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship -- capturing a gold medal in 2017 and a bronze medal in 2018.

Big Ten Preseason Information
Tyler Sheehy and Rem Pitlick represented the Maroon & Gold on the Big Ten Preseason Watch List while the Gophers were predicted to finish fourth in a competitive Big Ten during the 2018-19 campaign. The Big Ten's three Frozen Four participants last year landed poll rankings ahead of the Maroon & Gold with Ohio State projected to finish first, Michigan to finish second and Notre Dame to finish third. Behind the Gophers are Penn State in fifth, Wisconsin in sixth and Michigan State in seventh.

Minnesota Announces Captains for 2018-19
Four senior forwards will serve as leads for the University of Minnesota during the 2018-19 campaign with Tyler Sheehy and Brent Gates Jr. acting as captains for the Maroon & Gold while Jack Ramsey and Darian Romanko will act as assistant captains. Sheehy returns after serving as team captain as a junior last year while Gates, Ramsey and Romanko will wear letters for the first time as seniors. The four skaters continue a long tradition of Gopher Hockey captains dating back to the program's first season of play in 1921-22 when Chet Bros led the Maroon & Gold. Counting the new additions, 170 Gophers have worn a letter at the University of Minnesota in the program's 97-year history.

Gophers in the NHL Draft
Thirteen current Gophers have had their names called at the NHL Entry Draft including newcomers Robbie Stucker (2017, Columbus, Seventh Round, 210th), Sammy Walker (2017, Tampa Bay, Seventh Round, 200th), Blake McLaughlin (2018, Anaheim, Third Round, 79th) and Sampo Ranta (2018, Colorado, Third Round, 78th). Ranta and McLaughlin were selected with back-to-back picks in 2018 -- the sixth time in Gophers history that has happened. Ten NHL teams have prospects on the Gopher Hockey roster this year with Anaheim, Tampa Bay and Nashville each listing two draftees with Minnesota.

Mr. Hockey Goes to Minnesota
Incoming Gophers freshman Sammy Walker closed out his prep career by leading Edina High School to a third-place finish at the 2018 MSHSL Class AA State Tournament, earning all-tournament honors along with Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year accolades. Walker was also 34th recipient of the annual Mr. Hockey Award, given to the top senior high school boy's hockey player in the state of Minnesota. Of the 34 honorees in the award's history, 23 have gone on to play college hockey at the University of Minnesota.

Big Ten Announces Overtime Changes
The Big Ten Conference has announced changes to its overtime protocol and conference points system for the 2018-19 hockey season. Any regular-season conference game that remains tied after regulation will play the NCAA-mandated five-minute, 5-on-5 sudden-death overtime period. If the game remains tied, the two teams will then play a five-minute, 3-on-3 sudden-death overtime period. If the game is still tied following both overtime periods, then the game will move to a sudden-death shootout. Non-conference games other than certain in-season tournaments will conclude following the 5-on-5 overtime period. Postseason games will continue to feature 20-minute 5-on-5 overtime periods as in the past. Teams will be awarded three points in the conference standings for a win in regulation or the 5-on-5 overtime period. If the game is tied following the 5-on-5 overtime, both teams will receive one point, with a second point being awarded to the team that wins in either the 3-on-3 overtime period or the shootout.

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Players Mentioned

Brent Gates Jr.

Blake McLaughlin

Tommy Novak

Clayton Phillips

Rem Pitlick

Jack Ramsey

Sampo Ranta

Darian Romanko

Jack Sadek

Eric Schierhorn

Tyler Sheehy

Robbie Stucker

Sammy Walker