The Minnesota Gophers claimed the inaugural Big Ten Title this past Friday with their 3-2 overtime win against the Michigan Wolverines. The Gophers' three goals came from Brady Skjei (@BradySkjei), Justin Kloos (@jkloos15), and Kyle Rau @KyleRau). The Gophers fell to the Wolverines 6-2 on Saturday night with two goals from Skjei.
Ohio State
The Ohio State Buckeyes are 16-13-5 this season and they finished 6-9-5 in the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes are seeded No. 4 in the Big Ten Tournament this upcoming weekend. Earlier this season Minnesota swept Ohio State at home with a 1-0 win at TCF Bank Stadium and a 4-2 win at Mariucci. The Gophers faced the Buckeyes again in Columbus and came away with a 5-1 win and a 2-2 tie (shootout loss).
Michigan State
The Michigan State Spartans are 11-17-7 this season and they finished 5-9-6 in the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans are seeded No. 5 in the Big Ten Tournament. Earlier this season the Gophers fell in a 2-2 tie (shootout loss) in East Lansing, Michigan. They prevailed the next night with a 3-2 win over the Spartans. It was almost an identical story as the Spartans traveled to Mariucci. Minnesota fell in a 2-2 tie (shootout loss) on Friday night but came out with a 1-0 win the next night.
Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Badgers are 22-10-2 this season and they finished 13-6-1 in the Big Ten Conference. The Badgers are seeded No. 2 in the Big Ten Tournament. Earlier this season the Gophers swept Wisconsin at home with a 4-1 win Friday night and a 4-3 win Saturday night. The Gophers then fell to the Badgers 2-1 on both nights at the Kohl Center later in the season.
Michigan
The Michigan Wolverines are 18-12-4 this season and they finished 10-8-2 in the Big Ten Conference. The Wolverines are seeded No. 3 in the Big Ten Tournament. Earlier this season Minnesota swept Michigan at Mariucci with a 5-3 win on Friday night and a 4-1 win on Saturday night. This past weekend the Gophers pulled out the 3-2 overtime win on Saturday but fell to the Wolverines 6-2 on Saturday night.
Penn State
The Penn State Nittany Lions are 7-25-2 this season and they finished 3-16-1 in the Big Ten Conference. The Nittany Lions are seeded No. 6 in the Big Ten Tournament. Earlier this season the Gophers came out with a 3-2 win on Friday night and a 5-2 win on Saturday night in Pennsylvania. Minnesota then swept the Nittany Lions at Mariucci with 5-1 and 2-1 wins.
Captain Condon
The senior forward, Nate Condon (@Condo16), is 7-13--20 this season and 38-60--98 in his career with the Gophers. With his assist on Kloos's goal Friday night, the captain is a mere 2 points away from reaching the milestone of 100 career points. Condon has skated in 153 consecutive games as a Minnesota Gopher and 154 games in his career.
Skjeiserrr
Brady Skjei had a big weekend for Minnesota as the sophomore defenseman scored 3 goals against Michigan which earned him the Big Ten weekly honor of Third Star of the Week. Skjei had the first goal on Friday night, unassisted. He followed that up with the two lone goals for the Gophers on Saturday night, the first assisted by Seth Ambroz (@Ambroz17) and Travis Boyd (@Tboyd93) and the second assisted by his defensive partner Justin Holl (@12JHoll). Skjei is 6-5--11 this season.
Freshmen
The Minnesota Gophers freshmen are combined for 119 points so far this season. They lead the Big Ten Conference in goals, assists, and points at 51-68--119. The Gophers continue to lead all NCAA teams for most goals scored by a rookie class this year. Boston College follows with 45 goals scored by their freshmen class. The Gophers are ranked No. 5 nationally for points scored by a freshman class.
The Gophers cleaned house when it came to the Big Ten postseason honors.
Coach Don Lucia was honored with the Coach of the Year award after leading the Gophers to a 25-5-6 season and a 14-3-3 record in the Big Ten.
Adam Wilcox was named the Big Ten's Goaltender of the year and the Big Ten's Player of the Year.
Wilcox led the conference in every goaltending category which ultimately led to the Big Ten Title. Wilcox was the Gophers backbone this season and was able to keep the Gophers in many of their games. The sophomore goaltender allowed just 30 goals in 18 conference games. Wilcox finished with a 13-2-3 conference record.
Mikey Reilly (@mreilly93) was named the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year. Reilly leads all B1G Defensemen in goals, assists, and points at 8-21--29 this season.
Wilcox and Reilly were both named to the All-Big Ten First Team. Kyle Rau was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team. Hudson Fasching (@Hfasching22), Sam Warning, Ben Marshall, and Brady Skjei were Honorable Mention. Fasching was also named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. Nate Condon was a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honoree.
Minnesota came away with the inaugural season Big Ten Title on Friday night against Michigan. The B1G Title was their third straight regular season conference championship, a first in program history. The Gophers won the WCHA title the last two years and were able to clinch the B1G Title outright this year. The seniors have been able to capture a conference title their last three years with the Gophers while the junior class has captured a title every year they have worn the 'M'.
B1G Tournament
The Gophers will return to the Xcel Energy Center this weekend to play in the Big Ten Tournament. Minnesota is seeded No. 1 and will play Friday, March 21, at 7:00pm. The Gophers will face the winner of the Ohio State/Michigan State game. Wisconsin also earned a first round bye and will play the winner of the Michigan/Penn State game. The championship game will be played on Saturday, March 22, at 7:00pm. You can find B1G Tournament single game tickets and five event package tickets here.
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