The Minnesota Gophers are Frozen Four bound! After a great weekend from the top team in the nation, the Gophers are heading to Philadelphia. Fourteen Gophers managed to get on the score sheet this weekend as Minnesota topped Robert Morris 7-3 and shutout St. Cloud State University 4-0. Congratulations to all of the college hockey programs that had tremendous seasons and the four that are moving on to the NCAA Frozen Four.
Robert Morris
Minnesota topped Robert Morris on Saturday night 7-3. Nate Condon (@Condo16) had two goals on the night while Michael Brodzinski (@Mbrodzinski20), Kyle Rau (@KyleRau), Justin Kloos (@jkloos15), Hudson Fasching (@Hfasching22), and Mikey Reilly (@mreilly93) also got on the board. Brodzinski had a beautiful one-timer from the blue line that put the Gophers up 2-0 in the second period and the goals kept coming from there. Minnesota fans at the Xcel applauded Robert Morris as they left the ice Saturday night as a sign to congratulate them on a great season.
Michael Brodzinski (20)
Notre Dame/SCSU
The hopes for a Lucia vs. Lucia West Regional final was ended on Saturday night as St. Cloud State University defeated Notre Dame 4-3 in overtime. The second game on Saturday night proved to be action packed as the two teams continued to tradeoff goals. An eventual overtime goal from SCSU's Hobey Baker finalist, Nic Dowd (@JimmyDowder26), put the Huskies in the West Regional final against Minnesota. Although Coach Don Lucia didn't get to face his son Mario (@MLucia2293), there was still a family story to be told in the Minnesota and SCSU matchup.
Brodzinski vs. Brodzinski
Earlier this season in the North Star College Cup, Michael and Jonny Brodzinski (@Brodzyy) faced off for the first time in their collegiate hockey careers. Michael earned the bragging rights as the Gophers topped the Huskies 4-1 in the North Star College Cup. There was a lot of family love going around on Twitter as Michael received the following text from his brother, Jonny, after SCSU's win over Notre Dame.
Even Mike Brodzinski (@DadBrodzy2220), father of the two, got involved.
Michael earned the bragging rights again this past Sunday as the Gophers shutout the Huskies 4-0. However, the Brodzinski's were able to give us all a friendly reminder: Family > Everything.
Jonny Brodzinski's tweet to brother Michael after Sunday's game
The Gophers topped the Huskies once again this season. Adam Wilcox earned his 50th career win in a 4-0 shutout against SCSU. Justin Kloos had two goals on the night as Seth Ambroz (@Ambroz17) and Kyle Rau netted the other two goals. Coach Lucia also earned his 650th career win on Sunday night. In the second period, the Gopher's second line of Kloos, Cammarata (@Cammy12Scores) and Condon had a beautiful tic-tac-toe goal that can be seen here (GIF). With the Gopher's win over SCSU, the Gophers are the West Regional Champs.
Captain Condon
Nate Condon, the senior captain, had two goals on Saturday night followed up by two assists on Sunday night. Condon, who has skated in 156 consecutive games for the Gophers and 157 games total in his career, reached 100 career points on Saturday night after his second goal. The captain is now 40-62--102.
The Kloos is Loose
Justin Kloos was named the Most Outstanding Player of the West Region after he led the Gophers to victory against the SCSU Huskies. Kloos had three goals this weekend and had a huge impact on his team's play. The freshman now leads the Gophers in scoring with 15 goals passing both Rau and fellow freshman Fasching. The Lakeville native is 15-15--30 in his freshman season.
Justin Kloos (25)
Iron Man
Minnesota goaltender Adam Wilcox earned his 50th career win on Sunday, in a shutout no less. The B1G Goaltender and Player of the Year is a Hobey Baker award finalist and a Mike Richter award finalist. Wilcox finished with a 13-2-3 conference record and allowed just 30 goals in 18 conference games. Wilcox is 25-5-6 so far this season and is one of the primary reasons the Gophers have had such a successful season. The Hobey Baker Hat Trick will be announced soon, and the award will be presented Friday April 11th.
Multi-Point Night
As fourteen Gophers made it on the score sheet this weekend, eight of them had multi-point nights either Saturday or Sunday. Condon had two goals on Saturday followed by two assists on Sunday. Brodzinski, Rau, and M. Reilly went 1-1--2 on Saturday while Cammarata and Skjei (@BradySkjei) went 0-2--2. Marshall, Warning, Holl (@12JHoll), Ambroz, and Boyd (@Tboyd93) all tallied an assist in Saturday night's win against Robert Morris University. Kloos went 2-0--2 on Sunday while Boyd went 0-2--2. Rau and Ambroz both netted a goal on Sunday night's win against SCSU while Cammarata, Holl, M. Reilly, and Parenteau (@jacobjames6) tallied an assist.
West Region All-Tournament Team
The West Region All-Tournament Team (selected by the media) was made up of all but one Minnesota Gopher. SCSU forward Nic Dowd is the lone non-Gopher on the team. The other All-Tournament Team selections were Justin Kloos, Nate Condon, Brady Skjei, Mikey Reilly, and Adam Wilcox. Kloos was named the Most Outstanding Player.
Rivalry Renewed
As the Gophers punched their ticket to the Frozen Four, they also punched their ticket straight to an old WCHA rivalry. Earlier this season Minnesota and North Dakota announced the renewed rivalry starting in the 2016-2017 season. However, you can't stop the inevitable from happening. The Gophers will face North Dakota in the first round of the Frozen Four. Only one former WCHA team can move on.
The Battle Continues
Frozen Four
The Minnesota Gophers are heading to Philadelphia to compete in the Frozen Four. Information on the Frozen Four can be found here. Union and Boston College will faceoff on ESPN2 on Thursday, April 10, at 4:00pm CT. Minnesota and North Dakota will follow on ESPN2 at 7:30pm CT. The game will also be streamed (listen) on 1500ESPN. The NCAA Championship game will be broadcast on ESPN Saturday, April 12, at 6:30pm CT.
If the Minnesota team that played St. Cloud State this past weekend shows up in Philadelphia, they will be a tough team to beat. Good luck to the Gopher Men's Hockey Team as they compete against their former WCHA rival in the Frozen Four.
No comments:
Post a Comment