Gophers vs Michigan hockey rivalry renews in the B1G semifinals

Here we go again. Minnesota versus Michigan. Hopefully, this matchup in the Big Ten Tournament will be different than the last few seasons where the Gophers lost both in regulation 4-3 against the Wolverines at Mariucci in the championship game. This time there is a little less stakes with this game being a semifinal, but the bad blood has not been lost.

Jr. F Rhett Pitlick agreed with the Star Tribune’s Randy Johnson on Tuesday that this rivalry is now on the same level as Wisconsin and North Dakota, “In these types of games the crowd becomes very very loud.”

“We’ve both been at the top of the standings the past two years,” said Gophers head coach Bob Motzko on Tuesday responding to the question of Michigan and Minnesota developing a rivalry based on the amount of U.S. National Team Development Program players consistently on each roster annually. “We’ve both been to the last two frozen fours, weren’t able to meet each other in both but we’ve met in the last two league championships.”

While most fans are excited about the Gophers being at home again Motzko enjoys being on the road for what he calls “the breakup”. Yet, the golden gopher head honcho has noticed this week with kids being back at a normal class schedule and school overall being back in session that his team has had a positive “different look” this week.

“We always seem to find them in the playoffs,” said senior defenseman Carl Fish on Tuesday. “They’re always one of the top teams in the country, especially in the Big Ten, we’re always right there with them. “A lot of guys on their team are friends with guys on our team, off the ice they talk quite a bit but once they get on the ice it’s a completely different history.”

Fish added that Michigan is a team that leans in “heavily on their forecheck and how fast they can attack” and agreed with the RInk Live’s Jess Myers that last Saturday where Penn State fired off an enormous 92 shots and 48 shots on goal was great preparation.

While the Gophers haven’t been close to the same level of production as their season last year, the same or even more could be said for Michigan. The Wolverines have already passed their total loss mark from last year (including in the NCAA tournament) by one more defeat.

Yet, the high end talent has still been cooking, with Rutger McGroarty and Gavin Brindley each allocating exactly 50 points individually on the year. They also have four more players with higher point totals than Minnesota’s first (Pitlick). One of those four skaters is Seamus Casey who is tied with Boston’s Lane Hutson and Denver’s Zeev Buium as the top scoring defenseman in the country (43 points). Casey also has the third most assists behind Boston College’s Will Smith and Arizona State’s Lukas Sillinger.

So, there is zero issue scoring goals, where the real challenge comes is in the form of stopping them. Goalie Jake Barczewski has had a rough 9.08 save percentage and 2.84 GAA (47th in overall goaltending statistics according to CHN). Unluckily for Michigan, who is the only team in the nation with over a 30 percent clip on successful powerplays (35.6), Minnesota is the least penalized team in the nation (6.8 min/per game). The third highest scoring offense (4.3) for Michigan comes at a price with their dismal defense.

“It’s never going to be an easy place to play,” said Barczewski on Thursday about the atmosphere at Mariucci Arena. “If we just control the puck in the O zone and be strong defensively…we like our chances. They kind of give whatever we give them in the neutral zone and turnover game too.”

The most notable aspect of Saturday’s game will come from Gr. F Bryce Brodzinski’s record setting 183rd time taking the ice in the Maroon & Gold. He will surpass Larry Olimb who skated for the Gophers from 1988-1992. Brodzinski has not missed a single game since Jan. 30, 2021 and has played through 129 straight contests.