After a series split against in-state rival, St. Cloud State, the Gophers will face another tough foe as the Fighting Irish come to town for a two game series. Following a slow start to the season, the Irish have found their stride and will be ready to take on the top team in the country.
PREGAME NOTES
No. 14/15 Notre Dame (5-2-1 overall, 1-0-1 Hockey East) vs. No. 1 Minnesota (5-1-0 overall, 0-0-0 Big Ten)
Friday, 7:03 p.m. CT on BTN – Mariucci Arena (10,000)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. CT on ESPNU – Mariucci Arena (10,000)
Series History
The Gophers and Irish have met 41 times and, as in almost all their series, Minnesota holds the edge. The Maroon and Gold have a commanding 24-14-3 advantage while going 15-8-2 when playing in Minnesota. When the two teams met last season, these top programs split the series with the Irish winning 4-1 before Minnesota rallied to a 5-4 victory in the finale.
Season to Date
The matchup between the Fighting Irish and the Gophers was one that fans from both sides wanted to see on the opening weekend at the Icebreaker Championship. Instead, Notre Dame struggled, losing to both RPI and UMD while the Gophers started unbeaten. Since that time, the Irish have been rolling; winning five of their last six with one tie against Vermont. During that stretch, Notre Dame has averaged 4.66 goals per game. The Gophers have noticed Notre Dame’s current streak.
“I think they’re just getting more comfortable with their game,” said Don Lucia. “That opening weekend they had a lot of freshmen in their lineup. There were jitters the opening weekend. Their first eight games were at home. I think they’re getting comfortable playing at home. This will be the first road test for them this upcoming weekend.”
Family Affair
Notre Dame grad, Don Lucia, will be once again facing his son, Mario, this weekend. A Wild draft pick, Mario is off to a great start this season, recording eight goals and two assists in eight games for the Irish.
“He’s off to a good start,” said the elder Lucia. “The one thing when I’ve watched his games, he’s doing a better job of getting around the blue paint and he’s scored a lot of his goals there.”
Lucia will be encouraging his team to be physical with Mario in order to keep him off the score sheet.
“As far as I’m concerned, he’s No. 22,” said Lucia of coaching against his son. “We’ve got to do a good job of bodying him and preventing him from creating offense for them.”
Injury Bug
The Gophers are facing a couple key injuries to some of their top contributors. Defenseman, Brady Skjei, and center, Travis Boyd, will be out for this weekend against the Irish. The two upperclassmen will be tough to replace, but the Gophers have the talent to fill the holes.
“Early in the year, I almost look at it from a positive standpoint,” said Lucia of the two injuries. “Now we’re going to have to throw some guys into some different situations and we’ll see what they can do. It’s a chance for some of our freshmen defensemen to grow right now…throw them into the fire. Same thing up front. It’s a great opportunity for Vinni [Lettieri] to move into that third line center spot and see if he can add some offense and continue to improve.”
Irish to Watch
No. 26 Steven Fogarty – The 6-foot-3, 212-pound power forward captains the Irish this season. The former Edina standout is a talented two-way center that is defensively sound but can also produce in the offensive end. The junior is tied for seventh in Hockey East with seven points (3g, 4a). Earlier this season, Fogarty had a career-high four-point game in 5-3 win over Lake Superior State.
No 16 Connor Hurley – The former Edina Hornet is off to a solid freshman campaign. Hurly, a second-round draft choice by Buffalo in 2013, has tallied five points (1g, 4a) in seven games this season. The 6-foot-2, 178-pounder had back-to-back multiple-point games in sweep of Niagara; picking up two assists in a 6-3 win and then scoring his first career goal and adding an assist in a 7-0 victory.
Background
Location: South Bend, Indiana
Enrollment: 11,733
Conference: Hockey East
Mascot: Fighting Irish
Colors: Gold and Blue
Coach: Jeff Jackson (8th Season)