Cal Thomas isn’t just a defenseman for the Gophers; Bob Motzko calls him the ‘Eraser’

He’s scored two goals in 99 games with the Gophers men’s hockey team, yet when the subject of Cal Thomas is raised to coach Bob Motzko and his players, they immediately see the value in the junior defenseman that might not appear on the stat sheet.

“We’ve all heard that term ‘eraser’ by the announcers in the Four Nations tournament,” Motzko said. “That’s what he is. He’s a minute-muncher. He plays heavy minutes against teams’ top players.’ ”

Added defenseman Mike Koster: “When we’ve got to keep the puck out of our net, we go to him.”

And forward Brody Lamb describes what it’s like to battle Thomas: “If he hits you, it hurts a little bit.”

Thomas, a 6-1, 205-pound sixth-round draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes joins junior Ryan Chesley to form a shut-down pairing for the Gophers. Thomas has one goal and seven assists this season, while Chesley, a second-round pick of the Washington Capitals, brings more offensive upside with eight goals and 11 assists.

The duo faces a challenge in the final weekend of the regular season when the Gophers play Penn State on Friday and Saturday in State College, Pa.

Minnesota (23-7-4, 14-5-3 Big Ten) leads second-place Michigan State by two points in the conference standings, and the Gophers could clinch their seventh Big Ten regular season title if they stay at least a point ahead of the Spartans, who play last-place Notre Dame. A Gophers sweep, or regulation win plus a win in overtime or a shootout, would secure the title for Minnesota, regardless of Michigan State’s outcomes.

“It’s a super exciting time of year,” Thomas said. “Games start to mean more, and there’s big implications for the playoffs.”

Should the Gophers win the Big Ten title outright, they’d receive a first-round bye in the conference tournament and have home ice for the semifinals and final.

Thomas’ importance to the Gophers increases in March and April just like the stakes and intensity do with the NCAA tournament. Recent history shows that teams that can shut down their opponents — rather than win a track meet — are those who are hanging NCAA championship banners.

Last year, Denver allowed a total of three goals in four NCAA tournament games. That marked the third time in five years that the national champ had given up only three goals in the tournament, joining Minnesota Duluth in 2019 and Massachusetts in 2021. In the past six tournaments, the champ has allowed five or fewer goals.

If a fast-skating, shut-down defenseman from Maple Grove sounds familiar, it should. Thomas is following in the footsteps of Brock Faber, the former Gophers All-American who was runner-up for the Calder Trophy for the Wild last year and is coming off a standout performance in the Four Nation’s Face-Off. Thomas, 21, played with Faber, 22, as a Gophers freshman and goes to school off Faber’s example.

“Whenever I see him, I try to watch what he does,” Thomas said. “He’s such a good leader, and he’s such a good pro. He does everything the right way. … His game is structured on defense first, too, and then he’s adding offense as well, finding spaces to get up into the play. I try to learn that and add that to my game."

Koster sees how Thomas’ steady play, like Faber’s, can take high-end opponents out of their game.

“He’s a pretty quiet guy, but I feel like his play gets under their skin,” Koster said. “Playing usually against their top guys, he can frustrate them by shutting them down defensively.”

Said Thomas, “Just trying not to give them space to breathe. Make sure they’re feeling me every shift.”

Twice this season, the Gophers experienced life without Thomas when he was sidelined for a total of 13 games because of two lower-body injuries. They went 10-2-1 in those games, but a one-point weekend against Michigan State and a split at Ohio State showed where he was missed. He’s back healthy and polishing his game for tournament time.

“Our defensemen right now as a group are as dialed in as they’ve been all year,” Motzko said, “and Cal is that steady, heavy — I’ll steal it — eraser."

7:30 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday at Pegula Ice Arena

TV, radio: BTN, 103.5-FM both nights

The Nittany Lions (17-11-4, 8-10-4 Big Ten) are 7-1-2 in their past 10 games and are coming off a five-point weekend against Michigan State that helped drop the Spartans into second place in the Big Ten. Now, Penn State will try to bolster its NCAA tournament chances against the Gophers, who are No. 3 in the PairWise Ratings. … Aiden Fink (23 goals, 22 assists, 45 points) is tied for the national scoring lead. Russian goalie Arsenii Sergeev, a transfer from Connecticut, is 5-0-1 in his past six starts.