Once the puck drops this weekend as the No. 8/10 Gophers men’s hockey team battles against Michigan State, their lineup that started to look the same, night in and night out, will look slightly different over the next few weeks.
When Minnesota (15-11) hits the ice Friday night, they will be without their top two forwards production-wise, junior co-captain Ben Meyers and freshman Matthew Knies, and one of their best defensemen in sophomore Brock Faber.
The three Gophers left the country to soon represent and compete for Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics, as the games officially begin on Friday, Feb. 4.
With Meyers and Knies out of the lineup, the Gophers will only have 12 forwards until junior Jaxon Nelson recovers from injury, meaning every forward on their roster will be in the lineup for the foreseeable future.
The absence of Faber brings lots of opportunity for sophomore Carl Fish, who has skated in 15 games and has two points this season.
“There are a lot of minutes now that are going to be divvied up. There are guys who are excited to take those minutes,” Gophers head coach Bob Motzko said. “It is a dynamic change.”
While there will be many opportunities for players to see the ice during even-strength play, players will also have opportunities during penalty kills and power plays for Minnesota.
Meyers, Knies and Faber received a lot of minutes on these special team’s units. These minutes are up for grabs for players who have not seen much ice time on these units.
“It might be a little trial and error because we end up having to juggle a few things,” Motzko said of the lines. “There’s more excitement. Every forward is going to play right now. There are shoes to fill.”
The one line that will stay together, at least for this weekend, is senior co-captain Sammy Walker’s line. He plays alongside wingers in senior Blake McLaughlin and junior Bryce Brodzinski.
Before last weekend’s series against Notre Dame, Motzko mentioned that the Walker line “needs to amp it up.” And they did just that.
The veteran forward line for the Gophers combined for four goals and two assists in the series split against the Fighting Irish.
Moving forward, Minnesota will need this line to continue to build on their production from last weekend.
“They got three goals Friday night at Notre Dame. Blake got two, Sammy got one. That’s stepping up. We’ve watched those two do it their whole careers,” Motzko said. “We need them to continue what they’ve done their whole careers, be impactful in the games and be spirited.”
Senior Grant Cruikshank will shift back to center as junior Jack Perbix and freshman Aaron Huglen will likely center the remaining two lines for Minnesota.
It will be interesting to see how the Gophers’ lines shake out, especially for freshman Chaz Lucius, who was on the star-studded “nine-line” with Meyers and Knies.
As Michigan State (11-14-1) comes to Dinkytown, Minnesota will look for similar results against the Spartans as they swept them in a series less than a month ago.
“They are a big, strong team. They like to play physical. They like to play a strong transition game,” Fish said. “I think what we’re focusing on is minimizing turnovers, getting the puck quick, getting it up to our forwards quick, and letting them do the job. Then, I think we’ll see a lot of success from there.”
The second series between the Gophers and Michigan State begins on Friday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m., while the series closes with game two on Saturday, Feb. 5, at 5 p.m.
