The Gopher Hockey team opens the 2017 portion of the schedule with the Michigan Wolverines making a trip to Mariucci Arena. DarkKnight5 previewed the Series with the Wolverines earlier in the week HERE. Michigan will be shorthanded for the weekend as their leading scorer, freshman Will Lockwood will miss the series against the Gophers with a shoulder injury. That will hurt an already desperate for scoring Wolverines squad on the big ice.
However Minnesota has potential lineup issues as well. Ryan Lindgren came back from the World Junior tournament with the flu bug that kept him out of the Gold Medal Game, and it apparently is now making the rounds through the locker room. Minnesota’s leading scorer Tyler Sheehy missed a day of practice this week with the bug, and several players are apparently game time decisions on whether or not they can play Friday.
This weekend’s games will also be the start of the quest for the Mariucci-Renfrew Trophy. The trophy is given to the team that wins the season series between the Gophers and Wolverines and honors former coaches John Mariucci of Minnesota and Al Renfrew of Michigan. The series also pits the two winningist programs in all of college hockey, with the Gophers holding the #1 spot, and Michigan the #2. Minnesota also holds the all-time series advantage with a 136-123-15 all time record against the Wolverines.
Gopher Associate Head Coach Mike Guentzel was named the 2017 recipient of the Terry Flanagan Award by the American Hockey Coaches Association on Thursday as well. The Flanagan award honors an outstanding Men’s college hockey assistant coach.
Minnesota will also honor the Military Friday night with its annual Military Appreciation Night.
How to Watch:
Michigan Wolverines vs #9 Minnesota Gophers
Where: Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
When: 8:00 Friday; 7:00 Saturday
TV: Friday- Big Ten Network; Saturday- Fox Sports North Plus
Streaming Video: Friday- BTN2GO ; Saturday BTN2GO, Fox Sports Go
Radio: Friday- 1500 ESPN ; Saturday- MyTalk 107.1 FM