Gophers Open December in Road Series at Penn State

MINNEAPOLIS - It's the seventh-straight week facing a nationally-ranked opponent for the No. 7/6 Minnesota men's hockey team as it faces No. 18 Penn State in a Big Ten Conference road series Dec. 1-2 at Pegula Ice Arena.

Game one is set for 6 p.m. (CT) Friday night, streaming live on B1G+ before the series concludes Saturday at 5 p.m. (CT) on the Big Ten Network and Fox Sports app. Audio coverage of each contest is also available on the Gopher Radio Network 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM.

HOW TO WATCH ALL SEASON
Minnesota and FOX 9 have agreed to a local television broadcast partnership for 10 home games and four road games in 2023-24. This is in addition to the 11 games picked by the Big Ten Network, seven home and four away, along with one airing on FS1 during the campaign. As always, check the schedule page on GopherSports.com for all the latest information and viewing options for every contest. Other FOX affiliates around the area have added Gopher hockey to their coverage with select games available on KTTC (Rochester, Mason City, Austin, Albert Lea), KVRR (Fargo), KQDS (Duluth), and KCRG (Cedar Rapids).

STICK TAPS FOR ATHLETIC MEDICINE MILESTONE
It will be a milestone night Friday for Minnesota's Assistant Athletic Director/Head Athletic Trainer Jeff Winslow as he will work his 500th career NCAA hockey game since joining the program in 2009-10.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE EXTRA MAN
Special teams were pivotal in Minnesota's series sweep of the Tommies as it converted 50 percent of their power-play chances (3-of-6). The Gophers were then held scoreless across its next 15 opportunities with a man advantage, spanning six games until Aaron Huglen broke the streak with a tally at Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 4. That kick-started an improving trend where the team has a power-play goal in five of its last seven games, totaling seven goals in that span. A 3-for-5 effort on the man advantage against Michigan State Nov. 26 helped raise Minnesota's success rate five points to 23.8 percent, jumping up to 14th in the nation. Bryce Brodzinski and Jaxon Nelson lead the active Gophers with 11 career power-play goals, while Jimmy Snuggerud also has reached double figures with 10.

SAME SCRIPT FOR BRODZINSKI
Bryce Brodzinski is playing some of the best hockey of his career and thanks to a five-point weekend against Michigan State, was named the Big Ten Conference First Star of the Week Nov. 28. The team's leading scorer increased his point total to 16 over the weekend behind three power-play goals and two assists. The fifth-year senior matched his career high with four points Sunday versus the Spartans, recording his second multi-goal performance this season and ninth of his career. He has posted nine points during a four-game point streak, including three multi-point outings in that stretch, and is just one point away from 100 as a Gopher. The Blaine, Minn., product is following a similar script to a season ago when he registered 16 points from Oct. 28 to Dec. 10, whereas in 2023-24 he has 14 points in a span that's two weeks shorter.

PITLICK STAR POWER
Rhett Pitlick led the Gophers with a four-point weekend in another nationally-ranked rivalry series, registering multi-point efforts in both games against No. 14 Minnesota Duluth to earn Big Ten Conference Second Star of the Week honors Nov. 7. The junior had a goal and an assist in the home win Friday before adding a two-assist night Saturday in a tie on the road. After being held off the scoresheet at Michigan, the Plymouth, Minn., native went right back to work, recording multiple points in three of the next four games as he now has 12 points across his last nine contests. After scoring his first power-play goal of the year, second of his career, Sunday against Michigan State, Pitlick extended his goal-scoring streak to four games.

KEEPING UP WITH KURTH
Connor Kurth averaged a point per game during the month of November with eight points in eight outings, including multi-assist performances at Michigan (Nov. 10) and against Notre Dame (Nov. 18). The sophomore scored a goal in consecutive games versus Michigan State last weekend, the second time during his career with goals in back-to-back games and first since Oct. 2-7, 2022. Kurth is currently riding a career-long, three-game point streak as he continues to showcase his skillset on the ice and is just two points shy of his freshman total of 11.

CONSISTENTLY NELSON
Jaxon Nelson has been a consistent producer on the offensive end for the Gophers this season and has a point in 11 of 14 games played. Going back to the postseason a year ago, he has a point in 16 of 20 outings, including a stretch of nine-consecutive games. He set a career high by tallying three assists in his first multi-point effort this season, 10th of his career, in the series finale against Michigan State. The Magnolia, Minn., product has also won 53 percent of faceoffs taken and his 161 wins on the draw are ranked 11th nationally after he won 20-of-28 (71 percent) in Sunday's win over the Spartans.

HISTORY WITH THE NITTANY LIONS
Minnesota and Penn State share a short history as the two teams first met at the inception of the Big Ten Conference in 2014. The Gophers lead the all-time series with a record of 24-17-1 (.583), but are just 10-9-1 in road games, while all 42 meetings have come with at least one team ranked in the national polls. The Maroon and Gold won both meetings of a top-10 matchup at Pegula Ice Arena in February a season ago following an early November split at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

INSIDE LOOK AT PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions enter the weekend in sixth place (eight points) in the Big Ten Conference standings but have played two fewer games than three of the teams ahead of them. Penn State has won three straight and is coming off a lopsided home sweep over Lindenwood by a 16-4 scoring margin. The offensive outburst pushed the team to the NCAA's fifth-highest scoring average at 4.1 goals per game, while they remain 35th defensively, allowing 3.1 goals per game. Freshman Aiden Fink ranks eighth nationally with 1.4 points per game, pacing the Nittany Lions in goals (9) and assists (12), including 12 points over his last four outings to earn a Big Ten Conference weekly award in two-straight weeks. Goaltenders Liam Souliere and Noah Grannan have split the starts the previous five weeks and posted goals-against averages of 3.04 and 2.52, respectively.

PICKED FOR A THREE PEAT
The Gophers are trying to do something only they have done in the 10-year history of college hockey in the Big Ten Conference and that is to win three-straight regular season titles. The Maroon and Gold won a championship in each of the first four years during league play between 2013 and 2017 before a stretch where four different teams won the next four championships. Heading into 2023-24 following back-to-back titles, Minnesota was picked to finish atop the conference standings in the preseason poll as voted upon by the seven head coaches.

SHOWCASING THE STATE OF HOCKEY
With five of the six members of the Gophers freshman class hailing from the State of Hockey as well as graduate transfer Nick Michel, the 2023-24 roster now features nearly 90 percent homegrown talent. Of the 26 players on the team, 23 grew up and played youth hockey inside the state lines, including all 22 skaters. Even more impressive is the fact that 17 of the Minnesotans on the team are from within 40 miles of campus. In total, 233 student-athletes on NCAA rosters are from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, nearly 100 more than any other state in the country.

DRAFT SPOTLIGHT FOR 13
Thirteen of Minnesota's 25 rostered players have heard their names called in the NHL Entry Draft since 2019, including a pair of first-round selections that are part of this year's freshmen class. The Gophers have had the most all-time draft selections (239) by any NCAA men's hockey program after adding four over the summer. At least one Gopher has been drafted in 49 of the last 50 NHL Entry Drafts dating back to 1974, with 2001 being the only exception. Boston College and Boston University are the only teams in the nation that have more draft picks (14) on their NCAA rosters for the 2023-24 season than Minnesota.

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Players Mentioned

Bryce Brodzinski

Aaron Huglen

Connor Kurth

Nick Michel

Jaxon Nelson

Rhett Pitlick

Jimmy Snuggerud