Minus Olympians, Gophers men getting key contributions

Friday night, Bob Motzko reviewed his Gophers hockey team's 3-2 win at Ohio State and commented, "I think there is a better level for us to hit, but I thought we were strong all game long.''

A day later, the seventh-ranked Gophers found that next level, beating the No. 8 Buckeyes 5-1 for a series sweep and their fourth consecutive victory. With six wins in its past eight games, Minnesota (19-11, 14-6 Big Ten) has ascended to No. 5 in the latest U.S. College Hockey Online poll. They're also No. 5 in the PairWise Ratings, the mathematical formula that the NCAA uses to help fill and seed its tournament field. A month removed from a 3-2 home loss to sub-.500 Alaska, the Gophers are pointed in the right direction, sitting two points behind Michigan in the Big Ten title race and greatly improving their positioning for the NCAA tournament.

Moreover, they're doing without three of their best players – forwards Ben Meyers and Matthew Knies and defenseman Brock Faber, who are playing key roles for Team USA in the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

"We've known all along that we have depth,'' Motzko said after the Gophers improved to 4-0 without their Olympic trio. "The most important thing is the guys who are playing in new roles or different roles, they're doing a whale of a job."

Freshmen have been leading a scoring surge during the four-game win streak. Rhett Pitlick has three goals and four assists. Aaron Huglen has two goals and three assists. Chaz Lucius has a goal and two assists. Tristan Broz has a pair of goals. Veterans, too, have contributed, with captain Sammy Walker collecting three goals and an assist and linemates Blake McLaughlin (two goals, one assist) and Bryce Brodzinski (four assists) chipping in, too.

The Gophers finish the regular season with a trip to Penn State this weekend (5:30 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday, both on BTN) and a home series against Wisconsin on Feb. 25 and 26. Michigan finishes with a home series against Ohio State and a road set at Notre Dame, so the regular-season title and bye into the conference tournament semifinals still is up for grabs.

* The Big Ten announced that Gophers defenseman Ben Brinkman is suspended for Friday's game at Penn State after a review of a slew-footing incident that occurred near the 19:33 mark of the third period at Ohio State on Saturday. Brinkman received a major penalty and a game misconduct.

Down the stretch

Minnesota State Mankato (27-5) remained No. 1 in the U.S. College Hockey Online men's poll for the fourth consecutive week, getting 40 of 50 first-place votes. Michigan is No. 2, followed by Denver, Quinnipiac and the Gophers. The NCHC has five teams among the top 10, with No. 6 Western Michigan, No. 7 Minnesota Duluth, No. 8 St. Cloud State and No. 9 North Dakota joining the Pioneers.

Minnesota State, which has won 16 of its past 17, is host to Bemidji State on Friday and Saturday. The Mavericks can secure their fifth consecutive conference regular-season title with a sweep of the Beavers.

Both St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth had impressive moments against NCHC title contenders over the weekend. The Huskies took four of six points against Western Michigan in St. Cloud, capped by a 4-1 win on Saturday. The Bulldogs rebounded from a 5-3 loss at Denver on Friday to beat the Pioneers 3-2 on Saturday. UMD is host to North Dakota on Friday and Saturday in one of this weekend's marquee matchups. The other in the NCHC is Denver at Western Michigan.

Men's bracketology

Worcester (Mass.) Regional

1. Michigan vs. 16. American International *

8. St. Cloud State vs. 9. Massachusetts

Allentown (Pa.) Regional

2. Minnesota State vs. 15. Clarkson

Loveland (Colo.) Regional

3. Denver vs. 14. Northeastern

6. Quinnipiac vs. 12. Ohio State

Albany (N.Y.) Regional

4. Western Michigan vs. 13. Notre Dame

Notes: Denver is host of the Loveland Regional and must be placed there. … The PairWise called for a Gophers-Ohio State first-round matchup (No. 5 vs. No. 12), but North Dakota and Ohio State switch regionals in order to avoid an intraconference game in the opening round. … The NCAA Frozen Four is April 7 and 9 in Boston.

WCHA flexes muscles

The Gophers women's hockey team continues to sit atop the WCHA standings, the USCHO poll and the PairWise Ratings after its 5-3 and 5-1 sweep of St. Cloud State over the weekend. Minnesota (24-7-1, 19-6-1 WCHA) can secure the conference title with a sweep of eighth-place St. Thomas in a home-and-home series to close the regular season at 7 p.m. Thursday at St. Thomas Ice Arena and 4 p.m. Saturday at Ridder Arena.

The Gophers are in line to meet the Tommies again in the best-of-three WCHA first-round playoffs from Feb. 25-27. Second place in the WCHA could be determined this weekend when No. 3 Wisconsin visits No. 2 Ohio State. The Badgers and Buckeyes each have a .760 points percentage in league play, behind the Gophers' .795. Fifth-ranked Minnesota Duluth (.680) is fourth in the conference.

Gophers senior forward Taylor Heise continues to lead the nation in scoring with 55 points on 23 goals and 32 assists, just ahead of Wisconsin senior forward Darryl Watts (25-28-53). The WCHA boasts the nation's top six scorers, with Ohio State defender Sophie Jacques (17-35-52) third, followed by Minnesota Duluth forward Gabbie Hughes (16-33-49), Wisconsin forward Casey O'Brien (24-24-48), Minnesota Duluth forward Elizabeth Giguere (18-29-47) and Wisconsin forward Makenna Webster (21-26-47).

The announcement of the NCAA women's tournament field is less than three weeks away, and it's looking more and more like WCHA teams could secure three of the top four seeds with the Gophers, Ohio State and Wisconsin showing their dominance. Here's a projected look at the 11-team tournament field, with on-campus regional sites, through games of last weekend:

Minneapolis

First round: 8. Quinnipiac vs. 9. Colgate

Quarterfinal: Winner vs. 1. Gophers

Boston

Quarterfinal: 5. Yale vs. 4. Northeastern

Columbus, Ohio

First round: 10. Clarkson vs. 7. Harvard

Quarterfinal: Winner vs. 2. Ohio State

Madison, Wis.

Quarterfinal: Winner vs. 3 Wisconsin

NCAA Frozen Four: March 18, 20, State College, Pa.