West Regional

Big Ten Tournament
The Minnesota Gophers suffered an upset by Ohio State last weekend losing 3-1 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Gophers had a first round bye and faced Ohio State after the Buckeye's 2-1 overtime win against Michigan State. The Gophers lone goal of the night came from Captain Kyle Rau (@KyleRau) assisted by Taylor Cammarata (@Cammy12Scores) and Travis Boyd (@Tboyd93). The Wisconsin Badgers went on to win the Big Ten Tournament defeating Ohio State 5-4 in overtime.

NCAA Tournament
The Gophers are the overall No. 1 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament. They face Robert Morris in the first round of the West Regional this Saturday. The tournament starts tomorrow, March 28, starting with Union and Vermont playing at 2:00pm. There will not be a repeat of last year seeing that Yale did not make the tournament. The tournament finishes up April 12 with the championship game being played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

West Regional
There are four teams in the West Region including the Minnesota Gophers. The No. 2 seed is Notre Dame, the No. 3 seed is St. Cloud State, and the No. 4 seed is Robert Morris. The West Regional is being played at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. If you're still looking to purchase tickets, there are single session tickets and two day event tickets for sale here. They are also offering a deal to students - tickets are $26 (plus TicketFast fee) and Gopher Sports is providing a free bus from Mariucci to the Xcel for students. If you're interested in purchasing student tickets, they are available here.

Open Practice
Tomorrow, March 28, each of the four teams competing in the West Regional will be holding an hour-long, free open practice at the Xcel. Robert Morris kicks it off at 11:30am followed by Minnesota at 12:45pm, St. Cloud State at 2:00pm, and Notre Dame at 3:15pm.

Robert Morris
Robert Morris is 19-17-5 overall this season and are 13-9-5 in their conference. Robert Morris won the Atlantic Hockey tournament to claim their spot in the regional. This Pennsylvania based team has never faced the Gophers. This will also be Robert Morris's first tournament berth.

Saint Cloud State
After the conference switch, Minnesota and SCSU did not play a series against each other this season. The Gophers faced SCSU once this season in the Northstar College Cup. The Gophers topped SCSU 4-1 and went on to win the inaugural Northstar Cup. This was the first time brothers Michael Brodzinski (@Mbrodzinski20) and Jonny Brodzinski (@Brodzyy) faced each other in collegiate play. The Huskies are 21-10-5 overall this season and are 15-6-3 in the NCHC conference. Similar to the Gophers, SCSU claimed the inaugural regular season title in their new conference.

Notre Dame
The Notre Dame Irish are 23-14-2 overall this season and are 9-9-2 in Hockey East conference play. The Gophers faced the Irish earlier this season and split the series. The Gophers lost 4-1 the first night but came back to win 5-4 the next night. Coach Don Lucia will not only be facing off against his alma mater, but his son, Mario Lucia (@MLucia2293) is also currently on the team.

Iron Man
Goaltender Adam Wilcox continues to be the backbone of the Minnesota Gophers. He was recently named the B1G Ten's Goaltender of the Year and the B1G Ten's Player of the year. Wilcox leads the Big Ten Conference in wins at 23 and shutouts at 3 for goaltenders.Wilcox finished with a 13-2-3 conference record and allowed just 30 goals in 18 conference games. Wilcox is one of the primary reasons that the Gophers have been successful this season.

Wilcox is a finalist for the Mike Richter award that will be presented at the 2014 Frozen Four. He is also a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. If you haven't already, vote for him here! You can vote every 24 hours.

Captain Condon
Nate Condon (@Condo16), the senior captain, is nearing the end of his collegiate career. Condon is 7-13--20 this season and 38-60--98 in his career. He remains a mere 2 points away from reaching the milestone of 100 career points. He has skated in 154 consecutive games and 155 games total in his career with the Minnesota Gophers.

Mikey Reilly
Mikey Reilly (@mreilly93) leads all B1G Ten defensemen in goals, assists, and overall points this season. He is 8-21--29 going into this weekend's play. The sophomore defenseman is tied for 6th nationally in points at this point in the season. M. Reilly was recently named the B1G Ten's Defensive Player of the year which is open to both offensive and defensive players in the conference.

Academic All-Big Ten Team
The Minnesota Gophers had 14 student athletes on the Academic All-Big Ten Team this year. To be eligible for this, student athletes must be letterwinners who are in at least their second academic year and carry a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. The 14 Gophers that made the cut included 4 repeat winners. Seniors Nate Condon, Justin Holl (@12JHoll), Tommy Serratore (@Serratore1489), and Michael Shibrowski (@shibby_01) are all repeat winners. In fact, all four of them are three-time Academic All-Big Ten selections. The other Gophers that were selected to the Academic All-Big Ten Team were Seth Ambroz (@Ambroz17), Travis Boyd (two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection), Christian Isackson (@ChristianIsacks), Jake Parenteau (@jacobjames6), Kyle Rau (two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection), Connor Reilly (@CReilly81), Ryan Reilly (@rreilly08), Brady Skjei (@BradySkjei), Sam Warning, and Adam Wilcox.

Good luck to the Gopher Men's Hockey Team as they compete in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament this weekend. They play at 4:30pm on Saturday against Robert Morris. If the Gophers win, they will play the winner of the Notre Dame and SCSU matchup at 6:30pm on Sunday. Both games will be at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. All of the NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast by the ESPN networks. The Gophers will be on ESPN2 Saturday night. The winners of Minnesota/Robert Morris and Notre Dame/SCSU will faceoff on ESPNU Sunday night. Saturday night's game will be streamed (listen) on 1500 ESPN. 

B1G Ten Champs

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.

Big Ten Postseason Honors
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. 

B1G Ten Regular Season Title
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.

Good luck to the Gopher Men's Hockey team who will play in the Big Ten Tournament this weekend. The Gophers will play at 7:00pm on Friday March 21. All five games will be broadcast live by BTN.

Minnesota vs. Michigan Weekend Preview

As the regular season comes to an end, just remember what your favorite season is.

The Minnesota Gophers remain ranked No. 1 in both the USCHO poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. The Gophers were in Columbus last weekend facing the Ohio State Buckeyes. They defeated Ohio on Friday night 5-1 with goals from Justin Kloos (@jkloos15), Kyle Rau (@kylerau), Taylor Cammarata (@Cammy12Scores), Connor Reilly (@CReilly81), and Vinni Lettieri (@19Lettieri95). The Gophers lost 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday night with goals from Kyle Rau and Gabe Guertler (@gabeguerts8). The Gophers will face the No. 13 ranked Michigan Wolverines this weekend for the final regular-season series of the season.

Michigan
Minnesota faced Michigan exactly a month ago at Mariucci Arena. They came out on top with 5-3 and 4-1 victories. The Gophers are 24-4-6 this season and 13-2-3 in conference play while the Wolverines are 17-11-4 this season and 9-7-2 in B1G conference play. The Gophers overall record against Michigan is 130-117-14 and they have the most wins over Michigan than any other team in college hockey. Minnesota is Michigan's second oldest rivalry. Both teams were a part of the WCHA from 1951-1981 before Michigan moved to the CCHA before the 1981-82 season. A month ago, the Gophers were awarded the Mariucci-Renfrew Trophy for their sweep over Michigan.

ESPN
ESPN will be doing the play-by-play for the game on Friday night between Minnesota and Michigan, you can catch the game on ESPNews. John Buccigross (@Buccigross) himself will be at Yost Arena on Friday. #cawlidgehawkey

Mikey Reilly
It seems as if Mikey Reilly (@mreilly93) comes up on a weekly basis. The sophomore defenseman earned his first B1G Weekly Honor as the Third Star of the Week. He had four assists this weekend, three coming during Friday night's game and another on Saturday. M. Reilly has proved he can be a versatile player and is a key asset to the Gophers defensive unit. He leads all B1G defenseman in goals, points, and assists so far this season and is 8-20--28.

Hudson Fasching
Hudson Fasching (@Hfasching22) leads all Big Ten freshman in goals at 12 and is ranked second in points at 27 behind Michigan's JT Compher who has 29 points. Fasching is 12-15--27 so far this season. He has certainly made an impact to the team his rookie year after coming from the USA National Development Team in Ann Arbor, Michigan. If you haven't yet, take a minute to read this article about Hudson Fasching and his family. They are truly an inspiration both at and away from the rink.

Captain Condon
The senior captain, Nate Condon (@Condo16), is 7-12--19 this season and is 38-59--97 overall. He is just 3 points away from reaching the milestone of 100 career points. Condon has skated in 151 consecutive games for the Gophers and 152 games in his career.

Multi-Point Night
The Minnesota vs. Ohio State University game on Friday night was a big multi-point game for four different Gophers. Mikey Reilly tallied four assists that night while his older brother, Connor Reilly, had a goal and an assist. Kyle Rau also had a goal and an assist in Friday night's game. Taylor Cammarata had a big night as well as he tallied a goal and two assists. The Gophers typically have a wide spread of scoring and it speaks volumes that they are able to successfully score goals from all four lines.

Fourth Line Spark
Ever since the Gophers last series against Michigan, the fourth line Gophers have broke out of their rut. Before that series, the fourth line had not been tallying the goals or assists that they would have liked. C. Reilly, Guertler, and Lettieri all had a multi-point weekend the last time they played Michigan. In fact, Guertler had his first career goal against Michigan. This past weekend against the Buckeyes, C. Reilly tallied a goal and an assist on Friday. Lettieri scored a goal on Friday and had an assist on Saturday. Lastly, Guertler notched an assist on Friday and topped it off with a goal on Saturday. This weekend against the Wolverines will be another test for these players to see if their hot streak continues.

Sam Warning
Junior forward Sam Warning was sidelined with an upper-body injury on Saturday night's game against Ohio. He practiced today, Wednesday, with the Gophers, but his status for this weekend is still undetermined. With the first line forward out, C. Reilly is up practicing with the first line. Everyone else on the roster is healthy.

B1G Tournament
The Gophers series against Penn State was the final series played at Mariucci this season as the B1G Tournament is taking place at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Gophers are practicing at Ridder Arena to adjust to the smaller rink size. Minnesota is seeded #1 and will play Friday, March 21, at 7:00PM. You can find B1G Tournament single-game tickets for sale here.

B1G Title
The Gophers will play for the B1G Ten Title this weekend. The B1G Title would be their third straight regular season conference championship which would be a first in program history. Minnesota and Wisconsin are the only two teams in the conference that can claim the title. The Gophers' magic number is 2, whether that is 2 points won this weekend or 2 points dropped from Wisconsin. They can claim the title as early as Friday night.

Good luck to the Gopher Men's Hockey team as they face the Michigan Wolverines this weekend. They play Friday night at 5:30pm and Saturday night at 6:00pm. Friday night's game will be broadcasted (watch) on ESPNews and Saturday night's game will be on BTN. Both games will be streamed (listen) on 1500 ESPN.

Minnesota vs. Ohio State Weekend Preview

Congratulations to the Minnesota Gophers on their sweep of the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Gophers defeated the Nittany Lions 5-1 on Friday night with goals from Sam Warning, Hudson Fasching (@Hfasching22), Kyle Rau (@KyleRau), Taylor Cammarata (@Cammy12Scores), and Nate Condon (@Condo16). They completed the sweep on Saturday night with goals from Travis Boyd (@Tboyd93) and the senior night hero, Tom Serratore (@Serratore1489). Michael Shibrowski (@shibby_01) was also the hero on senior night as he made 25 saves to keep the Gophers in the game. A huge congratulations also goes out to the five seniors on the team for a phenomenal career at Mariucci Arena. These five seniors will be greatly missed as they pursue other goals and dreams.

The Gophers are back on top of the USCHO Poll and the USA Hockey Magazine Poll. This was the result of the sweep over Penn State and Boston College's overtime loss to Notre Dame. The No. 1 ranked Gophers will face the Ohio State Buckeyes this weekend for the second to last series of the regular season. The Gophers are 23-4-5 overall and 12-2-2 in conference play. The Buckeyes are 15-11-4 overall and 5-7-4 in B1G conference play.

Captain Condon
With Nate Condon's goal on Friday night, the senior is now 38-59--97, just 3 points away from reaching the milestone of 100 career points. The Wisconsin native has learned to overcome adversity this season as captain. Along with Kyle Rau, and the other veterans on the team, Condon has led this team through a great season. Hopefully the season continues on after the B1G Tournament and the Gophers are able to contend for the NCAA title.

Mikey Reilly
Mikey Reilly (@mreilly93) leads all B1G defensemen in both goals and points so far this season. He is 8-16--24 in his 32 games played this season. M. Reilly has been getting some good looks after his play this season, especially after Friday night's game - specifically from ESPN's John Buccigross (@Buccigross), BTN's Rick Pizzo (@BTNRickPizzo), and former Minnesota Gopher Tom Chorske (@hockeylogic).

If you missed Star Tribune's, Jason Gonzalez's (@JGonStrib) article about the Reilly brothers, be sure to take a look at it here. Personally, I'm still waiting for my Reilly to Reilly to Reilly goal too. In Friday's game against Penn State, M. Reilly had an assist on both Warning's goal and Cammarata's goal. 

Senior Night Hero
Tommy Serratore scored the game winning goal against Penn State for the Gophers 2-1 win on Saturday night. The assists went to Travis Boyd and Ben Marshall. Towards the end of the period, Mariucci was getting loud and hyped up. Serratore added fuel to the fire by scoring the game winner. Very exciting moment for him and his teammates.

Michael Shibrowski
Gophers goaltender, Michael Shibrowski, stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced on Saturday night and was named the number two star of the game. Shibby has been dedicated to the program and his teammates over his years here, and it could not have been a better game for him on senior night. He deserved the starting position that night, and it's great to see him get the win and how supportive his teammates are of him.

Freshmen

Minnesota's freshmen class continues to lead all NCAA teams for most goals scored by a rookie class with a combined 45 goals this season. Boston College's freshmen class follows closely with 44 goals. The Gophers freshmen also lead all B1G teams in goals and assists this season with a combined 45 goals and 62 assists. Michigan follows with 28 goals and 41 assists from their rookie class. Freshman Hudson Fasching leads the B1G Conference in goals scored by a freshman with 12 goals on the season. Fasching is 12-15--27 so far this season, including his goal and assist in Friday night's win over Penn State.

Oh Boyd!
Junior Travis Boyd had a big impact in this weekend's sweep over Penn State which earned him B1G's First Star of the Week. Boyd had an assist on Fasching's goal and on Cammarata's goal on Friday night. He went on to score the first goal of the night on Saturday and had an assist on Serratore's game winning goal. Boyd is one of six juniors on the team. If no one opts to leave early at the end of the season, the Gophers will have six seniors to look forward to next year.

Iron Man

Sophomore Goalie Adam Wilcox earned B1G Weekly Honors as well this week as the Third Star of the Week. This is Wilcox's fifth Big Ten Weekly award. Wilcox stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced in Friday night's win over Penn State. He leads the B1G Conference in wins this season at 21, and is ranked third nationally in wins. In Wilcox's last 19 starts, he has only lost twice and is 13-2-4 during that time.

B1G Tournament
The Gophers series against Penn State was the final series played at Mariucci this season as the B1G Tournament is taking place at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Gophers will be practicing at Ridder Arena from here on out to adjust to the smaller rink size. You can find B1G Tournament single-game tickets for sale here.

Gopher Hockey Commits

The Minnesota Gophers have picked up two Swedish players. NAHL Janesville Jet's, Robin Höglund (@Hoogi19), recently committed at the end of February and Leon Bristedt (@Leonbristedt) committed in November. Nick Lehr (@LehrBear) of the NAHL Austin Bruins will replace graduating goalie Michael Shibrowski. Tyler Sheehy (@t_sheehy22) of the Waterloo Black Hawk's committed with the Gophers in February. Jack Ramsey (@Ramsey_16), was recently named the Penticton Vees Rookie of the Year. 

Good luck to the Gopher Men's Hockey team as they face the Ohio State Buckeyes this weekend. They play Friday at 6:30pm and Saturday at 6:00pm. Friday night's game will be broadcasted (watch) on FSN and Saturday night's game will be on ESPNews. Both games will be streamed (listen) on 1500 ESPN.

Minnesota vs. Penn State Weekend Preview

The No. 2 ranked Minnesota Gophers return to Mariucci this weekend to face Penn State after a bye week. The Gophers are 21-4-5 overall and 10-2-2 in conference play. Penn State is 6-20-2 overall and 2-11-1 in the B1G Conference. Saturday night the Gophers are honoring our five seniors. The seniors this year have won the inaugural North Star College Cup that was played in January and also were a part of the Hockey City Classic at TCF Bank Stadium. In 2012, these players were able to compete in the NCAA Frozen Four. Along with that, they won back-to-back MacNaughton Cups as the WCHA champions.

Justin Holl (12) Michael Shibrowski (1) Tom Serratore (14) Jake Parenteau (6) Nate Condon (16)

Justin Holl (@12JHoll)
Defenseman Justin Holl was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He was drafted in the 2nd round, 54th overall. He played high school hockey at Minnetonka and junior hockey with the Omaha Lancers (USHL). As a Golden Gopher, Holl has played in 131 games and is 7-26--33.

Michael Shibrowski (@shibby_01)
Michael Shibrowski goal-tended for the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights in high school. He played junior hockey for the Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL). As a Gopher, Shibby has played in 6 games. His career SV% is .927 and his GAA is 1.81. Earlier this season, Shibrowski notched a shutout against Mankato on his birthday.

Tom Serratore (@Serratore1489)
Forward Tom Serratore went to Pine Creek High School in Colorado. He played junior hockey for the Youngstown Phantoms and the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL). While playing for Minnesota, Serratore has played in 129 games and is 14-7--21.

Jake Parenteau (@jacobjames6)
Defenseman Jake Parenteau went to Chisago Lakes High School. He played junior hockey for the Alaska Avalanche (NAHL). Parenteau has played in 102 games as a Gopher and is 4-15--19 during his time here. Parenteau and Serratore joked that they hope to be a 'package deal' if they go on to play in the NHL.

Nate Condon (@Condo16)
Captain Nate Condon was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He was drafted in the 7th round, 200th overall. Condon played high school hockey for Wausau West in his hometown in Wisconsin. He played junior hockey for Fargo Force (USHL). As a Gopher, Condon has played in 148 games and is 37-59--96, just four points away from reaching the milestone of 100 career points.

B1G Tournament
This will be the final series played at Mariucci this season as the B1G Tournament is taking place at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Gophers will be practicing at Ridder Arena from here on out to adjust to the smaller rink size. You can find B1G Tournament single-game tickets for sale here.

Fourth Line Spark
Connor Reilly (@CReilly81), Gabe Guertler (@gabeguerts8), and Vinni Lettieri (@19Lettieri95) chose a good weekend to break out. Reilly had an assist on Friday night against Michigan and scored a goal to help complete the sweep on Saturday night in Minnesota's 4-1 win. Guertler notched his first career goal on Friday night and followed that up with an assist on Saturday night. Lettieri had an assist in Friday night's game and notched his first career multi-point game on Saturday night with two assists.

Freshmen
The Gophers are ranked No. 2 for most goals scored by a freshman class in the NCAA. The Minnesota freshman have scored 43 out of the 106 goals so far this season. Boston College is the only team that has more goals scored by a rookie class with 44 goals. Michael Brodzinski (@Mbrodzinski20) hasn't played since January 24 against St. Cloud State. However, all Gophers are healthy and cleared to play in this weekend's series.

Good luck to the Gopher Men's Hockey team as they face the Penn State Nittany Lions this weekend. They play Friday at 8:00pm and Saturday at 6:00pm. Friday night's game will be broadcasted (watch) on BTN and Saturday night's game will be on NBC Sports Network. Friday night's game will be streamed (listen) on 1500 ESPN and Saturday night's game will be on MyTalk 107.1.

Family > Everything

Congratulations to the No. 2 ranked Minnesota Gophers who swept Michigan at home this past weekend. This was the first time they have swept Michigan since December 5/6, 1986. Gophers won 5-3 on Friday with goals from Justin Kloos (@jkloos15), Hudson Fasching (@Hfasching22), Taylor Cammarata (@Cammy12Scores), Seth Ambroz (@Ambroz17), and Gabe Guertler (@gabeguerts8). This was Guertler's first collegiate goal, very special for him.

Gabe Guertler (27)

They completed the sweep on Saturday with a 4-1 victory with goals from Sam Warning, Connor Reilly (@CReilly81), Nate Condon (@Condo16, who is now 37-59--96, four points away from 100 career points), and Hudson Fasching.

Adam Wilcox and Hudson Fasching earned B1G weekly honors as the Number One and Number Two Stars, respectively. 

The Gophers are off this week, they return next weekend for their last home series of the season. They play Penn State on Friday February 28 at 8:00 PM and Saturday March 1 at 6:00 PM. You can catch Friday night's game on BTN and Saturday night's game on NBCSN. You can also listen to both games on 1500 ESPN.

Gopher Hockey is often associated with the tradition it holds in the state of Minnesota. Gopher Hockey has provided a family and a community for coaches, players, and fans alike. Everyone says the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree and that is certainly true for some current Gopher Hockey players and coaches. 

The Lucia's

Although Don Lucia played college hockey for the University of Notre Dame, he became head coach of the Minnesota Gophers during the 1999-2000 season. He has two daughters and two sons. One of his sons, Tony (@tLUCCI_12), played college hockey for the University of Minnesota, while Mario (@MLucia2293) plays for Lucia's alma mater, Notre Dame. While Tony was at Minnesota during the 2007-2010 seasons, he played in 160 games. His overall record was 34-48--82 and he captained the Gophers during the 2009-2010 season.

The Potulny Brothers
Assistant Coach, Grant Potulny (@potulny), was a former Gopher Hockey player before becoming a coach at the University. Grant played during the 2001-2004 seasons at Minnesota while his younger brother Ryan followed suit and played during the 2004-2006 seasons. Grant played in 146 games and was 68-48--116, and his brother Ryan played in 100 games and was was 68-50--118.

The Parenteau's
Senior defenseman Jake Parenteau (@jacobjames6) is related to two former Gophers. His father, Tom Parenteau, played for Minnesota during the 1982-1985 seasons. His uncle, Mike Anderson, played for the Gophers during the 1982-1986 seasons. Tom played in 95 games as a Gopher and was 12-41--53 during his time here. His uncle Mike played in 110 games as a Gopher and was 18-28--46. As a senior, Jake has played in 102 career games so far and is 4-15--19 during those games.

The Reilly Family
Not only do the three Reilly brothers play for the Gophers, but their father, Michael Reilly, also did. Michael Reilly played for the Gophers during the 1980-1981 seasons. He played in 36 games and was 9-12--21 during that time. His three sons now play for the Golden Gophers. Connor and Ryan (@rreilly08), the twins, attend the University of Minnesota alongside their younger brother Mikey (@mreilly93). Connor missed last season due to an injury, but has played in 26 games and is 5-5--10 so far in his collegiate career. Ryan has played in 13 games and is 1-1--2 in his career. Mikey has played in 67 games so far in his collegiate career and is 11-25--36. As described by all three of them, it's an amazing experience playing on the same team as their brothers, and it's great that they're able to share this experience together.

The Reilly Brothers

The Bischoff's
Freshman Jake Bischoff (@jakebischoff22) followed in the footsteps of his father, Grant. Grant Bischoff played for the University of Minnesota during the 1988-1991 seasons. During his time at the U, he played in 180 games and was 80-81--161. Jake, in his first year, has played in 24 games and is 3-4--7 thus far in his collegiate career.

The Brodzinski's
Michael Brodzinski (@Mbrodzinski20), a freshman on the Gopher Hockey team, chose the University of Minnesota path. Mike, his dad, originally chose this path as well. Mike played for the Gophers during the 1984 season. He played in 1 game and had 1 assist during that game. He then transferred to St. Cloud State University, where Michael's brother, Jonny, currently attends college and plays hockey. Michael Brodzinski has played in 19 games and is 5-5--10 so far in his collegiate career.

Lettieri (And Nanne's)
Vinni Lettieri's father, Tino, is a former professional soccer player. Although Vinni (@19Lettieri95) played soccer and hockey growing up, he chose hockey as his focus before his junior year of high school. Lettieri is no stranger to the hockey world as his grandfather is the Minnesota hockey legend Lou Nanne (@lou_nanne). Lou Nanne played for the Gophers during the 1961-1963 seasons. He played in 81 games and was 22-52--74 with the Gophers. Nanne went on to compete in the 1968 Olympics. He also played, managed, and coached the NHL's Minnesota North Stars. Nanne's son and Lettieri's uncle, Marty, also played for the Gophers. Marty played for the Gophers during the 1986-1988 seasons. Marty was 9-12--21 during his time as a Gopher. Lettieri, a freshman on the team, has played in 26 games so far this season and is 1-5--6 in his collegiate career.

As kids grow up, they idolize their heroes. Oftentimes these heroes are someone in their family. Many of these players and coaches are at Minnesota continuing on their family name. The family ties that are currently present in the Gopher Hockey community alone is amazing. So many great players and coaches have been produced from this hockey family. The Minnesota Hockey culture has brought so many people together over the years between the coaches, players, and the fans. Whenever asked about Gopher Hockey, many people bring up the culture and atmosphere of the program. It's amazing to see how many families have experienced this and have kept the Gopher Hockey tradition alive.

Always remember,

Family > Everything 

Minnesota vs. Michigan Weekend Preview

The No. 2 ranked Minnesota Gophers will face the No. 10/11 ranked Michigan Wolverines this Valentine's Weekend. This will be the first meeting of these two teams this season, and the first since the 2010-11 season. They play again March 14-15, exactly a month from this weekend.

This past weekend, the Gophers were swept by the Wisconsin Badgers both with a score of 2-1. Taylor Cammarata (@Cammy12Scores) was able to put one past Rumpel on Thursday night and Seth Ambroz (@Ambroz17) scored the lone goal on Friday night. The Gophers had not been swept in nearly two years, the last time being February 10-11, 2012 at Denver. The Badgers haven't swept the Gophers at the Kohl Center since 1999, although they did sweep the Gophers in 2008-09 at Mariucci. Definitely a tough loss, and a hard fought game on both sides. Both Joel Rumpel and Adam Wilcox played phenomenal. Rumpel stopped 59 of the 61 shots he faced which ultimately led the Badgers to a sweep and the B1G's First Star weekly honor. 

Michigan Wolverines

The Wolverines are 14-7-3 overall this season, 6-3-1 in the B1G whereas the Gophers are 19-4-5 overall this season, and 8-2-2 in the conference. The Minnesota Gophers have the most wins over Michigan than any other team in college hockey with an overall record of 128-117-15. Minnesota is Michigan's second oldest rivalry. Both teams were a part of the WCHA from 1951-1981 before Michigan moved to the CCHA before the 1981-82 season.

In 1993 the Mariucci-Renfrew Trophy shown above was created for the winner of the annual Minnesota vs. Michigan hockey game. The trophy is named after legendary coaches John Mariucci (Minnesota) and Al Renfrew (Michigan). The trophy will be awarded to the team with the most points after the weekend's series.

John Mayasich
This Friday, February 14, Minnesota will honor U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer (inducted in 1976) John Mayasich during the game against Michigan. There will be a pre-game ceremony that Mayasich will be part of and he will also drop a ceremonial puck to start off the series. Mayasich is Gopher Hockey's all-time leading scorer, and he is the only Gopher to have his jersey - 8 - retired. Mayasich has an Olympic silver medal from the 1956 games along with a gold medal from the 1960 games.

Defense
The Gophers remain ranked No. 2 for most goals scored by a defensive unit. Altogether our defense has scored 22 of our 97 goals. Denver is the only team that has more goals scored by defensemen with 24 goals.

Freshman
The Gophers also remain ranked No. 2 for most goals scored by a freshman class in the NCAA. The Gophers freshman have scored 37 out of the 97 goals so far this season. Boston College is the only team that has more goals scored by a freshman class with 38 goals. Two out of the many outstanding freshman that decided to attend the University of Minnesota this year are Justin Kloos (@jkloos15) and Hudson Fasching (@Hfasching22). Fasching is familiar with Ann Arbor, MI, the home to the Michigan Wolverines, as he played two seasons with the USA National Team Development Program there. Both Kloos and Fasching are tied for most goals by freshman on the Gopher Hockey team and ranked 12th in the nation with 9 goals each. Kloos is 9-15--24 this season and Fasching is 9-13--22. Cammarata follows at 6-10--16 this season.

Junior Class
The Minnesota Gophers junior class has scored 41 of the 97 goals this season. Interestingly enough, every single junior on the team has tallied at least one goal this season. Ambroz leads the way with 12 goals, followed by Sam Warning with 10, Travis Boyd (@Tboyd93) with 8, Kyle Rau (@KyleRau) with 7, Ben Marshall with 3, and Christian Isackson (@ChristianIsacks) with 1. The three teams that are ranked above Minnesota with highest scoring junior class in the NCAA cannot say that all of their juniors have tallied a goal. Mercyhurst ranks No. 1 followed by Ohio State and Air Force, respectively.

Captain Condon
Nate Condon (@Condo16) remains 6 points away from reaching the milestone of 100 career points. His all-time career stats with the Minnesota Gophers are 36-58--94. So far this season, Condon is 5-11--16.

Mike Reilly

Mikey Reilly (@mreilly93) is 8-14--22 in the 28 games he has played this season. Reilly leads all B1G Ten defensemen in both goals and points this season, followed by Wisconsin's Jake McCabe (7-12--19). Reilly is tied for No. 4 nationally for defenseman with most goals this season. Out of our five sophomores on the team (one is Wilcox), Mikey has scored 8 out of the 12 goals by sophomores this season. Brady Skjei (@BradySkjei) has scored 3 goals this season and AJ Michaelson has one. Ryan Reilly is the other sophomore on the team, which means I'm still waiting for my Reilly from Reilly and Reilly goal.

Good luck to the Gopher Men's Hockey team as they face the Michigan Wolverines this weekend. They play Friday at 8:00pm and Saturday at 7:00pm. Friday night's game will be broadcasted (watch) on BTN and Saturday night's game will be on FSN. Both games will be streamed (listen) on 1500 ESPN.

Skate With The Gophers

Happy Birthday to A.J. Michaelson, a sophomore on the Gopher Hockey team, he's the big 2-0 today!

Kyle Rau (7)

The Gophers hosted the annual Skate With The Gophers event today, and as always it was a great opportunity and a fun time. It was fun meeting the players, skating with them, and also watching them interact with the kids and fans that were there. Hope Jake Bischoff (@jakebischoff22) feels better after taking a hit to the head against Wisconsin this weekend. He was the only Gopher player unable to be present at Skate With The Gophers.

Vinni Lettieri (19)

The players were great with the kids and were very willing to talk to the fans that came out for the event. It was fun watching the players play little chasing games with the kids on the ice and watching them just skate around with the kids. Vinni Lettieri (@19Lettieri95) had about four kids attached to him towards the end of the day.

Mike Reilly (@mreilly93) decided to provoke Goldy (@GoldytheGopher) by pulling his tail while they were on the ice, which then resulted in Mikey getting snow down the back of his jersey.

Goldy, Mikey Reilly (5)

One of my favorite parts of the day was watching the awe in the kids' eyes as they talked to the players and asked for their autographs. A lot of kids were shy to begin with, but once the players started asking about their day and if they skated yet the kids opened up and were a lot more talkative. While other kids had an endless amount of courage and had no problem approaching the Gophers.

Sometimes we forget what it's like to be a kid with big dreams. We still have dreams as we grow up, but our priorities change. So many of the kids that were there today hope and dream to become a Gopher someday, just like the current Gopher players did at some point in their lives. To the kids that look up to them and see them as role models, meeting the players is like meeting their heroes.

Along with forgetting what it's like to be a kid, I think we forget that even the Gopher Hockey players are just normal kids. Yes, someday a lot of them will make it in the NHL and be playing professional hockey. But for now, they're just kids taking classes at the University of Minnesota while playing their favorite sport. Being 'starstruck' is understandable, but at the same time, they're just like us. Having class with some of the players this semester has made me realize this a lot more, but it's still hard to not think of where they will be in the next 5 years.

There were other activities going on up on the concourse aside from the skating. They had a shooting skills competition, which even Ben Marshall and Tom Serratore (@Serratore1489) couldn't perfect. The kids were ecstatic to see the Gophers shoot at the targets in the net. Ben mentioned that he couldn't "shoot the pucks right" (they were plastic), but in the end, he completely knocked out a target.

Ben Marshall (10), Tom Serratore (14)

They also had a basketball game on the concourse and the opportunity to take pictures with the NCAA trophies and the North Star College Cup. There were cardboard cutouts of Kyle Rau (@KyleRau) and Adam Wilicox that kids could take pictures with too. 

Defending The Blue Line (@DefTheBlueLine) had a fundraiser going on where you could buy signed pucks by former Gopher Hockey players and current NHL players like Nick Bjugstad (@NBjugstad72) and Blake Wheeler. The Gopher Hockey cheerleaders (@GopherHkyCheer) were also raising money for the Polar Plunge that they are taking part in.

Gabe Guertler (27), Mike Reilly (5)

It was great meeting the players and being able to talk to them. I wanted a picture with Mikey, and Gabe (@gabeguerts8) felt left out so he decided to jump in the picture! It's interesting to see how the players act just because they all have such different personalities and interact with people differently.

It's amazing thinking that some, if not all, of these players will be playing in the NHL someday. One thing that the Gophers have been known for in the past are the players opting to leave the program early. One fan today struck up a conversation with me about the Gophers from last year that are playing in the NHL like Nick Bjugstad (he just had his 13th goal of the season Friday night), Erik Haula (@EHaula), Nate Schmidt (@nateschmidt29), and the other players in the minor leagues right now. He mentioned how tempting it can be when these organizations dangle money in front of these 20-year-old kids, and it definitely is a hard decision making process that they need to go through. These players play at such a high caliber that many of them have been drafted to the NHL already. It's great seeing these players move on to the next level, but it's also sad to see them go. They're class acts and phenomenal athletes. The Gopher Hockey players have so much potential that it'll be fun to continue to watch them grow into even greater athletes and role models than they are today. 

Hudson Fasching (22)

A huge thank you goes out to both the Gopher Hockey and Gopher Sports Marketing programs for taking the time and effort to put together this great event. It's definitely tough coming back from two losses and not getting back in to the cities until 3:30 in the morning, so a huge thanks also goes out to the players for taking the time out of their busy schedules to interact with their fans. It's awesome to see the little kids excited to skate on the ice at Mariucci, meet the Gopher Hockey players, and the Gopher Hockey cheerleaders. I'm sure there were a lot of the future Gophers there today!

Remember, always take the time to dream as if you were a kid again.