The top ranked Gophers hockey team will begin its quest for the programs sixth national title on Saturday when it plays Robert Morris at the Xcel Energy Center in the first round of the West Region. The game is televised on ESPN2 at 4:30pm, and according to Twin Cities-based Ticket King, lower level Gophers hockey tickets blue line seats are available for $70. This is the first ever meeting between the two schools and the winner will play the winner of Notre Dame and St. Cloud State on Sunday for a chance to advance to the Frozen Four!
Additional game notes courtesy of GopherSports:
In the NCAA Tournament
Minnesota is 53-35 (.598) all-time in the NCAA tournament, now with 35 all-time appearances and 20 Frozen Four berths. The Gophers have won five national titles including two under Don Lucia (1974, 1976, 1979, 2002, 2003).
Against the Field
The Gophers have only played one NCAA tournament game against the 2014 NCAA West Regional Field — a 5-2 win over Notre Dame in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Midwest Regional in Grand Rapids, Mich. Minnesota has never met Robert Morris while the Maroon & Gold are 24-13-3 all-time against Notre Dame and 53-28-12 all-time against St. Cloud State.
At Home at Xcel Energy Center
The Golden Gophers are 21-13-0 all-time at Xcel Energy Center heading into the weekend. This weekend’s regional marks the third time the venue has hosted the event (2010, 2012). The Gophers won the 2012 NCAA West Regional and advanced to the Frozen Four with wins over Boston University (7-3) and North Dakota (5-2). Xcel Energy Center will also host the 2016 NCAA West Regional as well as the 2018 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four.
Big Ten Champions
Kyle Rau scored 2:44 into overtime on Friday to give Minnesota a 3-2 victory and capture the inaugural Big Ten regular-season championship. Justin Kloos and Brady Skjei also tallied for Minnesota. For the first time in program history, the Gophers have now won three-straight conference regular-season titles while the Minnesota senior class is the first in program history to earn three conference titles. Minnesota won back-to-back MacNaughton Cups as WCHA regular-season champions in 2012 and 2013.
Big Ten Awards
The Big Ten handed out its annual awards earlier this week with the top-ranked Gophers taking home four major awards and four all-conference honors. Adam Wilcox was named the Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Goaltender of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten while Mike Reilly joined him as First Team All-Big Ten and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Kyle Rau was named Second Team All-Big Ten, and Hudson Fasching was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. Don Lucia was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year after guiding the team to the regular-season title. Sam Warning, Ben Marshall, Brady Skjei and Fasching also represented the Gophers with All-Big Ten Honorable Mention accolades while Nate Condon was honored as a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner.
Fasching Paces Big Ten Rookies
Hudson Fasching leads all Big Ten rookies with 12 goals this season and ranks second in points scored by conference newcomers with 28. Originally drafted by Los Angeles in the fourth round (118th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Fasching’s rights were traded to Buffalo at the NHL trade deadline this season.