Minnesota Faces Irish in Final Road Test

MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 8/7 Golden Gopher men's hockey team travels to South Bend, Ind., for their final road test of the regular season, facing Notre Dame Feb. 16-17 at Compton Family Ice Arena.

Both games of the away series will be streamed on Peacock starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CT) and continuing Saturday at 5 p.m. (CT). Fans also can tune into the Gopher Radio Network 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM for a free audio broadcast with Friday's contest also available on KFAN FM 100.3.

PLAYING IN FRONT
During their recent string of success, going unbeaten in 10 of the last 11 games, the Gophers have enjoyed playing with a lead. Minnesota only trailed for 2 minutes and 30 seconds in the first eight games of that span until falling behind for 28:39 in the series finale at No. 4 Wisconsin (Feb. 3). The Maroon and Gold needed 2:03 to erase an early deficit against Colorado College (Jan. 8) and faced another quick deficit versus Robert Morris (Jan. 12) that lasted just 23 seconds until Jaxon Nelson pulled the home side even in the first period. The Gophers never faced a deficit against Ohio State (Jan. 19-20) on the way to their first Big Ten Conference sweep of the season, trailed for only four seconds during a road split at Michigan State (Jan. 26-27), and never fell behind in game one versus the Badgers (Feb. 2). For the second-straight home series in league play, Minnesota did not trail at any point as it swept Penn State (Feb. 9-10).

DIGGING THE GOLD
Since debuting their new alternate jerseys at home Jan. 8 against Colorado College, the Gophers have won all four times they've taken the ice donning the gold uniform. Not only is Minnesota winning those games, it's also doing so in dominating fashion to the tune of 4.75 goals per game and just 1.50 goals allowed per game as it has outscored the opposition by a 19-6 margin. Goaltender Justen Close has stopped 98-of-104 shots put on target, while Jimmy Snuggerud and Aaron Huglen lead the offense with four goals in the four games wearing gold. Defenseman Sam Rinzel holds a plus-10 rating along with a team-high six assists.

BEST TO AVOID THE PENALTY BOX
The Gophers were called for double-digit penalty minutes in three-straight games during the season's first month but has drastically changed that narrative over the last three months. Minnesota now ranks third nationally, averaging 6.8 penalty minutes per game, sitting in the box for six minutes or less in 12 of the previous 14 outings. That includes not allowing a single power-play opportunity during a home win versus Robert Morris (Jan. 13) where the team's only penalty came on matching minors. The penalty kill has improved of late and only allowed one power-play goal over the past seven contests and just eight since the middle of November.

GETTING THE WINNER
In its 18 wins this season, the game-winning goal for Minnesota has come from nine different sources and it is one of two NCAA programs with multiple skaters that have four or more game winners. Brody Lamb and Jimmy Snuggerud are leading the way with four game-winning goals apiece, which tops the Big Ten Conference and ranks sixth in the NCAA. All four times Lamb has factored into the deciding goal, it has been when the Maroon and Gold have been on the road and three were against teams ranked inside the top 10; No. 5 North Dakota (Oct. 20), No. 8/9 Michigan (Nov. 10) and No. 4 Wisconsin (Feb. 2). On the flip side, three of Snuggerud's four game winners have come inside the friendly confines of 3M Arena at Mariucci. Aaron Huglen has caught fire of late, accounting for three of the team's last five game-winning goals since his first this season on Jan. 20. Bryce Brodzinski also has multiple game-winning goals with two, while Ryan Chesley, Jimmy Clark, Mike Koster and Oliver Moore have tallied the other four game winners for the Gophers in 2023-24.

CLOSE THE SHUTOUT STAR
Justen Close was recently named a Mike Richter Award semifinalist for the second-straight season. The graduate student has been nothing short of brilliant for the Gophers of late and has been named the Big Ten Conference First Star of the Week each of the last two weeks (Feb. 6 & 13). He did not allow a goal, stopping all 66 shots, against Penn State's 10th-ranked scoring offense during a weekend sweep and extended his current shutout streak to 179:06. Close posted consecutive shutouts for the third time in his career and second time this season, while the Nittany Lions were blanked in consecutive games for the first time in their history. In a split at No. 4 Wisconsin, he held the opposition to one goal each night on his way to weekly accolades, posting a 0.95 goals-against average and stopped 62-of-64 shots. He picked up the honor for the first time on Oct. 24 after turning away 57-of-59 shots faced against No. 5 North Dakota for a 1.01 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage. Close made 25 saves Oct. 20 in a road shutout and remains the only goalie this season to shutout UND. The Kindersley, Saskatchewan, native used the back-to-back shutouts of Penn State to tie the all-time shutouts record in Minnesota history with the 13th of his career Feb. 10, coming in just 84 career starts. Close has increased his career win total to 57, ranking seventh all-time at Minnesota, and owns a 4-0-1 record in his last five starts behind a staggering 0.59 goals-against average and a .981 save percentage.

HUGLEN COMING UP HUGE
Thanks to his first collegiate multi-goal outing against Penn State (Jan. 10), Aaron Huglen set a new career high with his eighth goal of the season, surpassing the seven he scored as both a freshman and sophomore. The junior added an assist in the series opener versus the Nittany Lions to finish with three points during the weekend and earned Big Ten Conference Third Star of the Week honors (Feb. 13), his first weekly award as a Gopher. He scored twice in a 3:22 span of the second period to break a scoreless tie and recorded his third game-winning goal in the last seven outings. Huglen is one of four players in the nation with three game-winning goals since Jan. 20 and has a goal in five of his last nine games played, with all five goals coming in the second game of a series. The Roseau, Minn., native is finding his stride over the last two months and has 10 points in his last 14 appearances.

GIVE US MOORE
Known for his blazing speed around the rink, the play-making ability of Oliver Moore also has been on full display for the Gophers in 2023-24. The freshman leads all Minnesota forwards with 22 assists and posted 15 points during a career-long, eight-game point streak from Jan. 8 to Feb. 2, the longest streak by a Minnesota skater all year. After his second-consecutive, four-point weekend, he was named the Big Ten Conference Second Star of the Week (Jan. 30) with three goals and an assist in a road split at league-leading Michigan State. Moore tallied the first multi-goal effort of his career Saturday (Jan. 27) along with his third three-point game of the year. He scored in back-to-back games for the first time as a Gopher following his first B1G goal in the series opener. The Mounds View, Minn., product tallied the first game-winning goal of his tenure against Robert Morris (Jan. 12) that snapped a 13-game goalless drought and started a run of five goals across a seven-game stretch. His two assists in a home win over Penn State (Feb. 9) was his eighth multi-point performance this season, the second-most of any Gopher.

HISTORY WITH THE FIGHTING IRISH
Minnesota continues to lead the all-time series with Notre Dame, owning a 43-27-6 (.605) record since they first met in 1925, including a 14-10-3 mark on the road. The Gophers and Irish split a league series back in November at 3M Arena at Mariucci with the visitors claiming the opener, 4-2, before the Maroon and Gold answered back, winning 4-1 Saturday. Minnesota is now 9-2-1 across the previous 12 meetings overall and holds a 7-2-2 record in games at Notre Dame over the past five seasons with both losses coming in overtime. Rhett Pitlick and Bryce Brodzinski each had multi-point outings both nights, pacing the Gophers offensively with four points against the Irish earlier this year as Pitlick scored three goals and Brodzinski recorded four assists.

INSIDE LOOK AT NOTRE DAME
The Fighting Irish enter their final home series of the regular season in fourth place in the Big Ten Conference standings, two points ahead of Michigan for the last host seed of the conference tournament quarterfinals. Notre Dame saw its four-game win streak snapped Feb. 3 in a home shutout by Michigan State before dropping both outings at Wisconsin last weekend. Senior Landon Slaggert remains an offensive force as he leads the team with 17 goals, second in the league, and 27 points. Goaltender Ryan Bischel was named a Richter Award semifinalist for the second-straight year, and he backstops the nation's 19th-best scoring defense as the Irish allow just 2.6 goals per game. Bischel's save percentage of .927 ranks fourth in the country, while his 2.46 goals-against average sits third in the B1G.

MILESTONE WATCH FOR BRODZINSKI
Fifth-year senior Bryce Brodzinski remains the NCAA's active leader in games played (176) and is third in goals (59), while sitting sixth among Division I players with 111 career points. The Blaine, Minn., native joined an elite company in Minnesota's historic program as the 61st player to reach the 50-goal milestone when he scored twice in a home win over Minnesota Duluth (Nov. 3). He is the first Gopher to hit the scoring mark since Tyler Sheehy did so on Dec. 8, 2018, and is one of five to score 50 goals since 2010. Brodzinski continues to chase the all-time games played record, which currently stands at 182 by Larry Olimb (1988-92) as he moved into a tie for third with 176. He reached 100 career points with the game-winning goal at Penn State (Dec. 1), the first Gopher to reach the milestone since Blake McLaughlin in 2022, and the 88th player to hit the century mark for career points with the Maroon and Gold.

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.

GOPHER PIPELINE TO THE NHL
After 33 players took part in National Hockey League training camps, 21 former Golden Gophers men's hockey players earned an opening-night roster spot for the 2023-24 season, while five more have been called up since the regular season started. Minnesota had an NCAA-best 26 former skaters in the NHL last season, increasing the all-time number of Gophers in the NHL to an NCAA-best 123 before Logan Cooley and Johnson made their debuts as No. 124 and 125, respectively. This year the Maroon and Gold has begun the campaign as one of two NCAA programs with 20 or more players with a lineup spot in the NHL.

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Players Mentioned

Bryce Brodzinski

Ryan Chesley

Jimmy Clark

Justen Close

Logan Cooley

Aaron Huglen

Mike Koster

Brody Lamb

Nick Michel

Oliver Moore

Jaxon Nelson

Rhett Pitlick

Sam Rinzel

Jimmy Snuggerud