NCAA men's Frozen Four Championship: Gophers vs. Quinnipiac
When: 7 p.m. Saturday | Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Fla.
TV: ESPN2 | Radio: 103.5-FM, 1130-AM
On Saturday night, the Gophers will try to win their first national championship since 2003, while their opponent, Quinnipiac, aims to win the crown for the first time in their third NCAA final. Here's a look at the Gophers and the Bobcats:
GOPHERS AT A GLANCE
Record, accomplishments: 29-9-1; Big Ten regular-season champions and conference tournament runner-up; top seed in the NCAA tournament as an at-large selection.
How they got here: Defeated Canisius 9-2 and St. Cloud State 4-1 to win Fargo Regional. Defeated Boston University 6-2 in Frozen Four semifinals.
Coach: Bob Motzko, fifth season.
The skinny: The Gophers, who've been No. 1 in the country in the polls and PairWise Ratings for most of the season, will try to complete their goal of returning to college hockey's mountaintop and securing the program's sixth NCAA title. They certainly have a roster primed to do it, with 14 NHL draft picks and role players who complement all that talent. Minnesota's top line of freshman Logan Cooley centering sophomore left winger Matthew Knies and freshman right winger Jimmy Snuggerud is largely regarded as the best in the nation. Cooley, second nationally in scoring with 60 points on 22 goals and 38 assists, and Knies (21-21-42, seven game-winning goals), were two of the three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award.. The Gophers get secondary scoring, too, with Bryce Brodzinski (19-12-31), Jaxon Nelson (9-17-26) and Mason Nevers (10-13-23) forming a strong second line. Motzko calls his defensive corps, led by Jackson LaCombe (9-26-35) and captain Brock Faber (4-22-26), the best he's ever had. Freshman Luke Mittelstadt (5-16-21) scored twice and junior Mike Koster (6-23-29) once against Boston U. on Thursday. In goal, senior Justen Close has been steady, going 26-9-1 with a 1.99 goals-against average, .928 save percentage and six shutouts.
