Gophers hockey faces huge setbacks, not to mention Michigan No. 3

Sorry Bob Motzko if he constantly looks over his shoulder and wonders where the next hit will come from. After his Gophers men’s hockey team swept the Michigan State on Jan. 8, Motzko has seen:

* Strikers Jaxon Nelson and Rhett Pitlick on the side of the injured, as well as defender Brock Faber and striker Aaron Hugle for COVID-19;

* Goalkeeper Jack LaFontaine leaves the team to sign NHL Carolina Hurricanes;

* And Alaska, an orphan under the age of 500 from the dead WCHA, waltzes to the 3M Arena in Mariucca and secures the division of the series, bringing Minnesota an embarrassing defeat in the final.

“Is more coming, except for Michigan?” Motzko asked.

The case is clear, but Big Ten’s leading and third-place Wolverines (18-6-1) will present a huge challenge to No. 11 Gophers (13-9) on Friday at 8pm (ESPNU) and 6.30pm on Saturday (BTN) in Mariucci. Just as Minnesota was attracted to East Lansing, it is now facing a decisive series against Michigan, a team with seven NHL first-round selections.

When Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Alaskan team, which arrived in Minneapolis with a record of 5-15-1, the Gophers dropped instead of 8th to 12th in PairWise Ratings, the mathematical formula used by the NCAA to determine the seed for its 16-team tournament field.

While the Gophers don’t yet have an NCAA tournament bubble, they can’t afford many mistakes. It becomes even more important given leading scorer Ben Meyers, distinctive freshman Matthew Knies and best defender Faber most of February as they join the U.S. Olympic team.

“Immediately after the game [Saturday] we had a little bad-wow, “said the younger captain Meyers.” It was like, “All right, that’s enough.” ”

Playing Michigan should get the Gophers ’attention. Wolverines has 29 points in Big Ten, four before Minnesota, which has played two fewer conference games than both Michigan and second-place Ohio State. When the Gophers and Wolverines met on 3-4. in Ann Arbor, Minnesota threw a 5-1 reading in the opening round before Michigan responded with a 6-2 win.

“They’re a very skilled team, just like us, and we just have to come out and play as best we can, and we feel like we’re getting the result we want,” Meyers said. “It’s who doesn’t. Don’t make mistakes and who wins the puck battles.”

Michigan has been good at winning puck battles all season since winning the Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State Mankato at the Ice Breaker Tournament in Duluth and continuing into an active four-game winning streak based on defending champions Massachusetts and Penn State. .

Forwards Brendon Brisson (15 goals, 15 assists) and Matty Beniers (14-16) share the team’s lead with 30 points, followed by strikers Kent Johnson (6-23-29) and defenders Owen Power (3-21-24). ) and Luke Hughes (9-13-22). Power was Buffalo’s number one choice in the 2021 NHL Draft, with Beniers picking up 2nd place to Seattle, Hughes 4th to New Jersey and Johnson 5th to Columbus.

“They hold the puck,” Motzko said. “They’re trying to squeeze every ounce out of the game.”

Gophers counter with Meyers’ hot line centering Knies and freshman Chaz Lucius. In the last six games, starting with the series in Michigan, the 39th Meyers, 89th Knies and 29th Lucius line of the Niners have scored a total of 10 goals and 12 assists.

The good news for the Gopheres is that Faber and Huglen are returning, so they only miss the injured Nelson and Pitlick.

“We just have to settle down to get the ship straight again,” Motzko said.