Gophers men's team adds throwback jersey as part of 100th season celebration

(Photo by Brad Rempel, University of Minnesota Athletics)

One good jersey reveal deserves another when it comes to hockey in Minnesota.

On the same day that the Wild announced its retro jersey, the Gophers men's hockey team on Monday revealed its throwback uniform that is part of the celebration of the program's 100^th season.

The alternate white jersey, inspired by the early modern era that included such standouts as Doug Woog and Lou Nanne in the 1960s, features "Gophers'' in gold diagonal block lettering across the chest, plus the 100-year patch on the left shoulder. The jerseys are accompanied by gold breezers with maroon and white striping down the outsides and along the bottom.

The uniforms will be worn occasionally during the season, which begins 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 3 p.m. Friday with a series against Penn State at 3M Arena at Mariucci. The Gophers' other home series of the first portion of the season is 7:30 p.m. next Monday and Tuesday against Ohio State. All four games are on Big Ten Network.

The throwback jerseys will be available in December on shop.gophersports.com and are available to purchase a Scheels in Eden Prairie.

Knies signs letter of intent

The Gophers on Monday received a national letter of intent from forward Matthew Knies, a Phoenix native who is playing for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL this season.

The 18-year-old Knies, 6-2 and 205 pounds, had 14 goals and 31 assists for Tri-City in 44 games in 2019-20. He played for the Phoenix Junior Coytoes Under-16 AAA team in 2018-19, collecting 24 goals and 13 assists in 25 games.

Knies' parents, Miroslav and Michaela Knies, moved their family from Slovakia to the United States before Matthew was born.

Knies is the fourth player to sign with the Gophers in the past week, joining Chaz Lucius, Tristan Broz and Rhett Pitlick.

A COVID-19 pause for St. Cloud women

St. Cloud State announced Sunday that it has paused all activities with its women's hockey program for at least this week and has postponed its season-opening series against Bemidji State set for Saturday and Sunday because of positive COVID-19 tests within the team. A makeup date of the Bemidji State has not been determined.

As of Sunday morning, eight individuals within the Huskies program had tested positive for COVID-19 over the previous days. The players who meet the criteria for mandatory quarantine based on contact tracing guidelines will remain in quarantine for 14 days.

St. Cloud State's next scheduled series is Nov. 27-28 vs. Minnesota State Mankato at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

No fans through December at Minnesota State games

Minnesota State announced that no fans will be admitted for men's and women's hockey games through December at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center because of COVID-19 concerns.

The announcement will impact two men's series, Nov. 27-28 vs. Bemidji State and Dec. 11-12 vs. Northern Michigan, and two women's series, Friday and Saturday against Minnesota Duluth and Dec. 17-18 vs. Bemidji State.

The policy will be re-evaluated before the teams resume play in January. All games for both the Minnesota State men's and women's programs are available on the FloHockey subscription service.

Tough situation in Alaska

Friday's announcement that Alaska Anchorage has canceled all winter sports, including hockey, for the 2020-21 season leaves the WCHA men's league with nine teams. The fate of the season for Alaska (Fairbanks) remains to be seen. The school's chancellor, Dan White, released a statement that the school is planning to play, safety permitting.

"What this means for UAF is that we are not closing the door on the possibility of competition if we deem it safe to do so after the holidays," White said. "Opting in does not obligate UAF to compete, but it preserves our right to do so when the time comes and we feel it can be done safely."

The Nanooks were scheduled to play Alaska Anchorage four times, Dec. 4-5 and 11-12, in the first portion of the WCHA season. Now, if they play, their season won't start until a Jan. 1-2 series at Lake Superior State.