'U' Wraps Up Home Stand Against PSU

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 7 Gopher men's hockey program closes out a four-game Big Ten home stand this weekend when Penn State comes to 3M Arena at Mariucci. The conference competition is set to begin on Friday, Nov. 19 at 7:05 p.m. CT (TV: Bally Sports North; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM; Stream: B1G+/Bally Sports App) before the weekend finale on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 8:05 p.m. CT (TV: Bally Sports North; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM; Stream: B1G+/Bally Sports App).

AGAINST PENN STATE
This weekend, Minnesota and Penn State will meet for the first time in exactly one year as the Gophers swept the Nittany Lions at 3M Arena at Mariucci to open the 2020-21 campaign (starting the U's 10-0-0 start to the year). A return trip to University Park wasn't in the cards at the end of the season due to health concerns with the Penn State program. The Maroon & Gold own a 17-15-1 record against this weekend's opponent in a series that began in 2014 with the start of the Big Ten Conference.

GRESETH TO WORK 1,000TH REGULAR-SEASON GAME
Saturday's game at 3M Arena at Mariucci will stand as Minnesota equipment manager Lee Greseth's 1,000th career regular-season game as a full-time employee. A 'U' letter winner as an student manager under Doug Woog, Greseth has spent 29 seasons in college hockey between Minnesota, Denver, North Dakota, Alaska Anchorage and Colorado College.

LAFFER, GOPHERS BLANK THE BUCKEYES
First Team All-American and Mike Richter Award winner Jack LaFontaine is coming off his first shutout of the year and sixth career clean sheet in last Saturday's 2-0 win over Ohio State. Minnesota allowed just 13 shots on goal in the series finale -- the lowest total allowed by the Maroon & Gold since a 3-0 win over St. Lawrence on Nov. 17, 2018.

WALKER WATCH
Minnesota's active leading scorer with 93 career points (39 goals, 54 assists) in 117 games, senior captain Sammy Walker needs seven points to become the 85th and newest member of Minnesota's 100-Point Club (first since Rem Pitlick in 2018-19).

NHL UPDATE: FASCHING MAKES SEASON DEBUT/PITLICK'S HAT TRICK
Hudson Fasching made his NHL season debut on Tuesday with the Arizona Coyotes, giving Minnesota 21 NHL alumni already this season. The Gophers boasted an NCAA-best 22 NHL alums during the 2020-21 campaign. Meanwhile, Rem Pitlick scored his first career NHL goal with the Minnesota Wild on Saturday and decided to add two more to complete the hat trick.

GOPHER HOCKEY SNAPSHOTS
Minnesota was 7-for-7 on the penalty kill in last weekend's series with Ohio State...Colin Schmidt appeared in both games against the Buckeyes -- his first two career games with the Maroon & Gold...Rhett Pitlick notched a pair assists on Friday night for his first career multi-point game.

GOPHERS EXTEND MOTZKO THROUGH 2025-26
The University of Minnesota has agreed to a three-year contract extension with Gopher men's hockey head coach Bob Motzko that will keep Motzko with the Maroon & Gold through the 2025-26 season. A native of Austin, Minn., Motzko is in his fourth season with the Gophers and holds a 65-42-11 record since taking over the program in 2018. In 17 seasons as a Division I head coach, the 2020 Big Ten Coach of the Year and five-time conference coach of the year owns a 341-234-60 record.

PRESEASON BIG TEN PROSPECTUS
The Gophers landed on the top spot of the 2021-22 Big Ten Hockey Coaches' Poll earlier this season ahead of Michigan, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan State and Ohio State. In the eight-year history of the Big Ten Conference, the Gophers have claimed a league-high four regular-season conference championships as well as two Big Ten tournament titles including last year's thrilling playoff run by the Maroon & Gold. Minnesota also led the Big Ten with six individuals on the 2021-22 Preseason All-Big Ten Hockey Teams, headlined by four players earning First Team honors. The Gophers were represented in the preseason honor roll by Jackson LaCombe (First Team), Jack LaFontaine (First Team), Ben Meyers (First Team), Sammy Walker (First Team), Brock Faber (Second Team) and Ryan Johnson (Second Team). Mike Koster also earned honorable mention honors on behalf of the Maroon & Gold.

WEARING THE 'C'
The 101st season of Gopher Hockey will see three familiar faces and college hockey veterans leading the 'U' as Sammy Walker, Jack LaFontaine and Ben Meyers have been named team captains for the 2021-22 season. Walker will enter his senior season wearing a "C" for the third-straight season for the Maroon & Gold while LaFontaine and Meyers have been elevated to share the honors after serving as alternate captains during the 2020-21 campaign. With all three players returning to the Minnesota leadership group, Gopher Hockey has now featured 175 captains dating back to the school's first season of play in 1921-22 when Chet Bros led the Maroon & Gold as team captain.

JACK IS BACK
Mike Richter Award winner and Hobey Baker Award finalist Jack LaFontaine returns to the Gophers for his fifth season of college hockey in 2021-22. A First Team All-American and First Team All-Big Ten selection, LaFontaine was also named the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year. The Carolina Hurricane prospect set new school records and was among the NCAA leaders with a .934 save percentage and a 1.79 GAA while he led the nation with 22 wins. Off the ice, LaFontaine was named a recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor and was the only Division I men's hockey player to earn CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America honors.

IN THE NHL DRAFT
Fifteen of Minnesota's 26 players on the 2021-22 roster have been selected in the NHL Entry Draft including five newcomers -- Chaz Lucius (2021), Matthew Knies (2021), Tristan Broz (2021), Aaron Huglen (2019) and Rhett Pitlick (2019). Lucius is the 22nd Gopher Hockey prospect selected in the first round (18th overall by Winnipeg), joining 2019 first rounder Ryan Johnson on this year's roster for Minnesota. Meanwhile, Knies and Broz were selected with back-to-back picks in the second round this year.

GOPHER HOCKEY NOTES
Gopher Hockey alum Paul Holmgren will be enshrined into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021. Holmgren is the 18th U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame honoree with ties to Gopher men's hockey...Four Gophers (Brock Faber, Matthew Knies, Chaz Lucius, Tristan Broz) will look to represent the University of Minnesota and the United States at the IIHF World Junior Championships this year. Faber is a return invite to the team after helping the U.S. to a gold medal last year along with fellow Gopher defensemen Jackson LaCombe and Ryan Johnson.

LOOKING BACK AT LAST YEAR
The 100th season of Gopher Hockey certainly was a memorable one as Minnesota won an NCAA-best 24 games in 2020-21. The Gophers won three thrilling games to capture the Big Ten tournament title and returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017 before picking up the program's first NCAA tournament win since 2014 at the NCAA West Regional. Minnesota started the year on a 10-0-0 run for the first time since 1939-40 and earned nine sweeps in 13 series during the regular-season. Nationally ranked all season long, the Gophers kept themselves in the top-five of both national polls since the beginning of December including the team's first No. 1 ranking in both polls since Nov. 11, 2014. Along with LaFontaine's national awards, the Gophers boasted a trio of All-Americans in LaFontaine (First Team), Sampo Ranta (First Team) and Jackson LaCombe (Second Team).

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Players Mentioned

Tristan Broz

Brock Faber

Aaron Huglen

Ryan Johnson

Matthew Knies

Mike Koster

Jackson LaCombe

Jack LaFontaine

Chaz Lucius

Ben Meyers

Rhett Pitlick

Sampo Ranta

Colin Schmidt

Sammy Walker