Mariucci Classic Overview: Minnesota welcomes Niagara, Northeastern and Princeton this weekend for the 21st annual Mariucci Classic. The Gophers have won 12 tournament titles, with the last one coming in 2008 when they beat Northeastern 3-2 in overtime. Complete Mariucci Classic historical information can be found on pages 86-89 of the 2011-12 media guide. Northeastern and Princeton play the early game on Friday, while Minnesota and Niagara will face one another in the evening game. Friday’s winners will play one another on Saturday for the tournament title.
Minnesota Vs. Niagara: Minnesota and Niagara have not played each other outside of a two-game series on Jan. 6-7, 2006. The Gophers won 5-2 and 7-1 at Mariucci Arena, which took place before the Purple Eagles moved from now-defunct College Hockey America to the Atlantic Hockey Association. The Gophers swept Sacred Heart, the teams’ lone common opponent, to open the season, winning 9-0 and 6-0, while Niagara beat Sacred Heart 3-2 and also played to a 4-4 tie.
About The Purple Eagles: Like Minnesota, Niagara’s 2011-12 team is young. The Purple Eagles have just one senior forward and one senior defenseman. They entered the winter break with a record of 5-5-6, including a 4-2-5 mark in Atlantic Hockey. Niagara’s six ties are more than any team in the country and its 13 conference points put them in fifth place. The Purple Eagles have lost only two games since Halloween after winning only one game in October and head into the Mariucci Classic on a six-game unbeaten streak. Sophomore forward Scott Arnold leads the team with 12 points (7g-5a) and 24 penalty minutes, while fellow second-year forward Patrick Divjak leads with seven assists. Cody Campbell, Chris Noonan, Colby Drost, and Carsen Chubak have each made appearances in goal for Niagara. Campbell (2-1-3; 2.54 GAA; .918 save percentage) has logged the most minutes, but Noonan (2-1-2; 2.32 GAA; .928 save percentage) has started each of the Purple Eagles’ last three contests.
Minnesota Vs. Princeton: All-time, the Gophers have faced Princeton nine times, but Minnesota has only played the Tigers twice since it swept Princeton in a home series on Jan. 2-3, 1982. Princeton beat the Gophers in the first round of the 1998 Mariucci Classic before taking down Boston University to win the title. That loss marked the last time Minnesota lost to an Ivy League opponent (it is 8-0-0 since). Minnesota returned the favor in 2003 tournament by routing the Tigers 9-0 before taking the championship against New Hampshire. Princeton has a 14-26-0 all-time record against current members of the WCHA while the Gophers are 82-21-0 against current ECAC members.
About The Tigers: Off to a 4-9-2 start, the Tigers will look to finish out their 2011-12 non-conference schedule strong when they visit Mariucci Arena for the first time since losing an overtime heartbreaker to Minnesota-Duluth in the first round of the 2008-09 NCAA Tournament. Sitting in seventh place in the ECAC with a 3-7-1 conference record under first-year head coach Bob Prier, Princeton went 2-2-1 in its final five games before the break. Sophomore Jack Berger’s 11 points (6g-5a) lead a young team, which only has three seniors on its roster. Junior defenseman Michael Sdao (5g-4a) and sophomore forward Andrew Calof (4g-5a) each have nine points. Sean Bonar has posted a 4-6-3 record in goal with a 2.96 goals against average and a .897 save percentage.
Minnesota Vs. Northeastern: Dating back to Dec. 21, 1963, Minnesota has a 8-4-0 record against Northeastern. With the exception of the 1998-99 Mariucci Classic championship where the Huskies defeated Minnesota 4-1 in Minneapolis, the home team has won every meeting between the two schools. Since that game, the Gophers have only played Northeastern once. Minnesota won that game 3-2 in overtime to capture the 2008-09 Mariucci Classic on Jan. 3, 2009. Against Vermont, the team’s lone common opponent thus far in 2011-12, the Gophers won 6-0 on Oct. 21 and lost 5-4 on Oct. 23, while Northeastern won its only meeting with the Catamounts, a 4-1 decision on Nov. 19.
About The Huskies: After the preseason departures of head coach Greg Cronin and star defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, Northeastern struggled out of the gate in 2011-12, getting off to a 1-7-2 start through Nov. 12. However, under first-year bench boss Jim Madigan, the Huskies won six straight games to finish out the first half. With a 4-7-2 Hockey East record (7-7-2 overall), Northeastern currently has a seventh-place conference standing. Northeastern is led in scoring by senior forward Steve Quailer’s 16 points (6g-10a). Quailer is followed by freshman Ludwig Karlsson, who has 14 points (6g-8a). Cody Ferriero has eight points (4g-4a) in his last six games to pace the Huskies during their current winning streak. Between the pipes, junior Chris Rawlings has gone 7-6-2 with a 2.30 goals against average. His .933 save percentage is good for eighth in the nation.
Missing Bjugstad And Rau: Minnesota will be without sophomore Nick Bjugstad and freshman Kyle Rau for the Mariucci Classic, as both players are competing for the United States at the World Junior Championship in Canada. Bjugstad (16g-11a--27p) and Rau (12g-10a--22a) account for 28 of Minnesota’s 83 goals (33.7%). They also account for 21 of the team’s 136 assists (15.4%) and 49 of the team’s 219 points (22.3%). Bjugstad played for Team USA last year, while Rau is playing in the World Junior Championship for the first time.
They're cheap for these games as the scalpers will be dumping them.
