The Gophers host the Canisius College Golden Griffins in a rare matinee Sunday afternoon at Mariucci Arena. After a split at Michigan Tech last weekend, Minnesota dropped to No. 2 in national rankings behind Boston College.
This is the Gophers' last non-conference game until a Thanksgiving weekend trip to Vermont.
Homeless hockey: Canisius, from Buffalo, NY, is winless in four of its first five after a 1-1 tie at home against Air Force Thursday night. Without its own rink -- Canisius plays in Buffalo State's arena -- on Sunday the Griffs will play the fifth of their first six games on the road. Although without a home rink, I suppose every game is a road tilt.
The Griffins struggled early last season with a large freshman contingent. This year, they're sophomores with a lot of playing time to their credit. The eleven rookies doubled their per-game scoring performance during the course of the 2011-12 campaign and make up the backbone of the team.
Scoring returns: Overall, Canisius returns 93.6 percent of its scoring from last season. In practical terms, that means they lost only eight goals and four assists to graduation.
This is the Griffs' 33rd season of varsity hockey, their 15th as a Division I team.
Griffin goalie: Canisius is backstopped by junior goaltender Tony Capobianco, who posted a 2.99 goals-against average last year in 19 games. Then, he played behind Dan Morrison, who graduated with a school-record 2,829 career saves.
New series: The Gophers and Griffins have never played. Canisius is in its 33rd season of hockey, its 16th season as a Division I team. The Griffs play in the Atlantic Hockey Association along with teams like nationally-ranked Quinnipiac, Air Force, Army and others. The AHA became the sixth NCAA Division I hockey conference when it began play ten seasons ago.
Air Force was picked by pollsters to win the AHA title this season; Canisius was ninth.
The school is a private Jesuit college located in Buffalo, NY. It was founded in 1870 and today lists an enrollment of 3,196.
Bonin, Stauber in the house: The Gophers will celebrate Military Appreciation Night during Friday's exhibition contest. Minnesota has partnered with Defending the Blue Line for a number of promotions aimed at aiding members of the military and their families including ticket donations, an equipment drive, a silent auction and an autograph session with Hobey Baker Award winners Brian Bonin and Robb Stauber.
Military appreciation at Mariucci Arena continues all weekend as the University of Minnesota and Defending the Blue Line will also host a charity game on Sunday with numerous professional players and Gophers alumni participating in the game. That game is a separate ticket and will be played Sunday evening, apart from Minnesota's afternoon tilt against Canisius.
