The 100th season of Gopher Hockey continues this weekend with a two-game, Big Ten series at Notre Dame for the Maroon & Gold.

The action gets underway on Friday, Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. CT (TV: NBC Sports; Stream: NBC Sports Digital Platforms; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM) with the series finale at Compton Family Ice Arena set for Saturday, Feb. 13 at 4:30 p.m. CT (Stream: NBC Sports Digital Platforms; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM). 

AGAINST THE IRISH 
Minnesota holds a 33-24-5 all-time record against Notre Dame in a series that began in 1925. Since the start of the 2018-19 season, the two Big Ten rivals have played 14 times with 13 of those contests ending in either a tie, a one-goal deficit or an empty-net goal including a pair of Notre Dame wins earlier this season at 3M Arena at Mariucci. 

MCLAUGHLIN MAGIC IN INDIANA 
Blake McLaughlin has certainly taken a liking to the host of this year's Big Ten Tournament as the junior forward has recorded a goal in every regular-season game he has ever played at Compton Family Ice Arena (four goals and six points in four career regular-season games at the venue). Additionally, the Anaheim Ducks prospect has recorded the game-winning goal in three of those four games. The only time McLaughlin has been held without a point at Compton Family Ice Arena was a 2-1 overtime loss in the 2019 Big Ten Tournament semifinals. 

LAFONTAINE UP FOR MAJOR AWARDS
Last week, Jack LaFontaine was named as a candidate for both the Hobey Baker Award and the Mike Richter Award. The alternate captain leads all NCAA goalies with 13 wins this season (13-5-0), ranks sixth nationally in goals against average at 1.74, ranks fifth nationally in save percentage at .936 and is tied for third nationally with the first three shutouts of his career. Details for the next steps in each awards process are available on GopherSports.com. 

TWO OF THE BEST ON THE BLUE LINE
The top two scoring defensemen in the Big Ten will face off this weekend as Minnesota's Jackson LaCombe and Notre Dame's Nick Leivermann line up against each other. Each defenseman has 13 points this season with LaCombe already matching his freshman point total with three goals and 10 assists this season. 

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE 
The spring semester at the University of Minnesota is underway after the Gophers celebrated one of their best semesters in the (virtual) classroom during the fall. As a program, the Maroon & Gold set a new program record with a 3.35 cumulative grade point average as a team while men's hockey recorded a team term grade point average of 3.46 -- second in program history after last spring's 3.64. As a department, the University of Minnesota set a new school record with a 3.41 cumulative grade point average as the Gophers increased the statistic for the sixth-straight semester. Additionally, Cullen Munson, Mason Nevers, Sampo Ranta and Sam Rossini were named to the Dean's List for the fall semester. 

GOPHERS HELP U.S. NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM TO GOLD
Brock Faber, Ryan Johnson and Jackson LaCombe helped the U.S. National Junior Team earn a gold medal at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton on Tuesday night. USA Hockey has now earned 13 medals at the World Junior Championship while this year's performance stands as the fifth gold medal in U.S. history (2004, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2021). This year's Maroon & Gold trio join Jordan Schroeder (2010), Mike Reilly (2013) and Ryan Lindgren (2017) as University of Minnesota products to win gold at the event as players. Gopher Hockey, which tied for the most representatives of any NCAA program on this year's U.S. squad, has a proud history at the IIHF World Junior Championship with the University of Minnesota being represented at 42 of the 45 events dating back to the inaugural tournament in 1977.

CELEBRATING 100 SEASONS OF PRIDE ON ICE
The 2020-21 campaign marks the 100th season of play for the University of Minnesota, dating back to the 1921-22 season. Since that first season, the Gophers have hoisted five national championship trophies (1974, 1976, 1979, 2002, 2003), celebrated four Hobey Baker Award winners (Neal Broten in 1981, Robb Stauber in 1988, Brian Bonin in 1996, Jordan Leopold in 2002) and earned a total of 65 All-America honors. The Maroon & Gold have produced over a hundred NHL players with 11 alums having their names engraved on the Stanley Cup while other Pride on Ice products have been part of some of the most iconic international hockey events in history including U.S. Olympic gold medals in 1960 and 1980. Throughout the season, the University of Minnesota will honor the people, the moments and the memories that define "Pride on Ice". 

GOPHERS ANNOUNCE CENTURY SEASON CAPTAINS
Junior Sammy Walker will return to the Gophers lineup as team captain in 2020-21 while senior Brannon McManus, senior Jack LaFontaine and sophomore Ben Meyers will serve as alternate captains for the Maroon & Gold. The three newcomers to the leadership group are the 173rd, 174th and 175th players in University of Minnesota history to wear letters, dating back to the first season of play in 1921-22 when Chet Bros led the Gophers. 

BOB IS BACK AS BIG TEN COACH OF THE YEAR
Bob Motzko was named the 2020 Big Ten Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award (national coach of the year) in his second year leading the Gophers. The honor was Motzko's fifth career conference coaching honor after winning the accolade in the WCHA in 2006 and 2007 and in the NCHC in 2014 and 2018. While Motzko headlined Minnesota's postseason Big Ten honors, Ben Meyers, Jackson LaCombe and Jared Moe were all named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team (Meyers was a finalist for Big Ten Freshman of the Year). 

GOPHER HOCKEY SEASON NOTES 
Fourteen members of the 2020-21 Gopher Hockey squad have been drafted by NHL teams including 2019 first round pick Ryan Johnson (31st overall to Buffalo)..senior Jack LaFontaine posted a .919 save percentage for the Gophers last year in his first season with the Maroon & Gold -- the statistic ranks seventh all-time in program history...the University of Minnesota will host the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four at Xcel Energy Center -- marking the ninth time the school has hosted the event and the fourth time the event was hosted at Xcel Energy Center (a Minnesota team has won the national championship every time the venue has played host)...Todd Richards became the 11th Gopher Hockey alum to win the Stanley Cup after guiding the Tampa Bay Lightning to the 2020 title as an assistant coach...Gopher Hockey alum Dean Blais is among the inductees for the Class of 2020 to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame...the Big Ten Conference enters its eighth season sponsoring men's hockey in 2020-21 with Minnesota claiming more regular-season titles (four) than every other conference opponent combined (three). The Gophers won the first four league titles in Big Ten history as part of an NCAA record six-straight regular-season conference championships.  

MARTIN JOINS 'U' COACHING STAFF
All-American alum and 14-year NHL veteran Paul Martin will serve as an undergraduate assistant for the Gophers this year while completing his degree. The defenseman, who helped Minnesota to back-to-back national championships, went on to play in over 800 NHL games with the New Jersey Devils, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks and led his teams to the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of his 14 seasons.

MINNESOTA TABBED PRESEASON BIG TEN FAVORITES 
The Gophers enter the season as the favorite to win the Big Ten this year ahead of Michigan in second, Notre Dame and Ohio State tied for third, Wisconsin in fifth, Michigan State in sixth and Penn State in seventh, as selected by conference coaches. Additionally, Sammy Walker was named Preseason All-Big Ten First Team while Brannon McManus and Jackson LaCombe were named Preseason All-Big Ten Second Team. Ben Meyers received honorable mention on the list.