By Brian Deutsch on April 16, 2013 3:06 PM
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Former Gophers All-American Ryan Stoa signed a one-year contract extension with the Washington Capitals, the organization announced on Monday through the team's American Hockey League affiliate -- the Hershey Bears.
Stoa, 26, has registered a total of 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) in 43 games in his first season with the Chocolate and White. After missing nearly two months of the regular season due to injury, Stoa's most productive month came when he racked up five goals in February, which included his second multiple-goal game of the campaign.
The 6-3, 228-pound native of Bloomington, MN came to the Bears as an off-season signing during the summer of 2012. Prior to joining Hershey, Stoa spent three seasons with the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters, racking up 55 goals and 54 assists in 177 games. Stoa also has 37 NHL games to his credit, all with the Colorado Avalanche, where he recorded seven points (four goals, three assists).
Prior to turning pro, Stoa played four years of collegiate hockey at the University of Minnesota (WCHA), putting up 97 points (47 goals, 50 assists) in 120 career games and picking up WCHA First Team All-Star honors in 2009. He also won the bronze medal in 2007 with the United States at the Under-20 World Junior Championships, and took the gold in 2005 with the Under-18 Team.
Stoa was originally selected by Colorado in the second round (34th overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
In a Gophers-centric contest, Stoa and Hershey (which also features former Gophers Ryan Potulny, Jeff Taffe, Mike Carman and Nate Schmidt) return to action this Friday against former Gophers defenseman Mark Alt and the Adirondack Phantoms. Taffe is tied for the AHL scoring lead with 70 points this season while Schmidt tallied his first professional goal over the weekend. Alt unofficially tallied for the Phantoms on Sunday, notching the game-winning goal in the 15th round of a shootout.
Kessel Named NHL's Second Star of the Week
Former Gopher forward Phil Kessel was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week after tallying five goals in three games last week as the Maple Leafs look to earn their first playoff berth since 2004.
Kessel leads Toronto with 27 assists and 42 points in 41 games this season.
By Brian Deutsch on April 12, 2013 2:25 PM
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Ten years ago today -- on April 12, 20013 -- the University of Minnesota celebrated its fifth national championship in men's hockey with the Gophers' 5-1 victory over New Hampshire in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Gophers ended a 23-year title drought in 2002 and added their second-straight national championship in 2003. Minnesota posted a 28-8-9 overall record in 2002-03 and for the second-straight season, the Gophers went the entire season without suffering consecutive losses. In addition to the national championship, Minnesota also captured the Broadmoor Trophy as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Five champions. Paul Martin captured Second Team All-America honors while Thomas Vanek was the nation's leading rookie scorer and finished one goal shy of John Mayasich's freshman goal record.
By Brian Deutsch on April 11, 2013 4:54 PM
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Jeff Taffe
Former Gopher and current Hershey Bears forward Jeff
Taffe was named an All-AHL Second Team member on Thursday after leading the
American Hockey League scoring race with 64 points this season. The center's 46
assists tie him for the league lead.
Taffe is in his first season with the Bears but is no stranger
to AHL competition. He has played part of 12 seasons in the top minor league in
the world. During his professional career, Taffe has also appeared in 180 NHL
games with six different teams. His most recent stint was with the Minnesota
Wild in last season.
Taffe appeared in 120 games for the Gophers over three
seasons. In his final season with the Maroon and Gold, he help led Minnesota to
the 2002 National Championship. Taffe was the second leading scorer on the team
behind John Pohl. Taffe and Pohl led the country in power-play goals that
season with 14 apiece. Taffe posted a total of 113 points for the Gophers.
Hershey, the top affiliate for the Washington Capitals, is
where five former Gophers now apply their trade. Ryan Potulny, Mike Carman,
Ryan Stoa, and Nate Schmidt join Taffe in wearing the Chocolate & White. Schmidt
arrived in Hershey last weekend after being named to the All-WCHA First Team and
leading the Gophers' blue line in points this season with 26. Three former
Gophers combined on a power-play goal in Sunday's game against the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, when Schmidt and Taffe set up Potulny.
With two weeks left in the regular season, Taffe and the
rest of the former Gopher teammates will look to help Hershey back to the
playoffs for the eighth consecutive season. The Bears are currently tied for
the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with two weeks remaining in
the regular season. Hershey has won 11 Calder Cup Championships, more than any
other league member has.
Three Former Gophers
Now in Albany
Seth Helgeson signed an entry-level contract with the
American Hockey League's Albany Devils of Friday. The arrival of Helgeson means
three former Gophers now play in Albany. Seth joins forward Mike Hoeffel and
goaltender Jeff Frazee. The three former Gophers have some important games
coming up. Albany, the top affiliate for the New Jersey Devils, sits four
points behind the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
By Sarah Turcotte on April 11, 2013 2:46 PM
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University of Minnesota women's basketball head coach Pam Borton is scheduled to speak at the TeamWomenMN Leadership Conference on Friday, April 12 at Golden Valley Country Club. The theme of the conference is "Empowering Leadership" and will feature a keynote address from Martha Nevanen, VP of the Pohlad Companies.
Borton, who is the President and co-founder of TeamWomenMN, will open the event at 10:00 a.m. with a "pregame talk", before participating in the remainder of the event schedule.
Also scheduled to participate in the event are Grayce Belvedere Young, Margaret Murphy, Cheryl Reeve, Joy Frestedt, Hannah Ubl, Tammie Follett, Colleen Needles Steward, Sara Beatty Ratner, Lindsey Bruber, Roshini Rajkumar and Janee Harteau.
Complete Schedule of Events 9:00 AM Registration 10:00 AM"Pre-Game Talk" Pam Borton & Keynote Speaker Martha
Nevanen, Vice President of Corporate Marketing & Communications, Pohlad
Companies 10:45 AM Networking "Time-Out" 11:00 AM "Charting Your Career Path" Grayce Belvedere Young, President
of the Prouty Project & Margaret Murphy, President and COO of Olson 12:30 PM "Half-Time Talk" Lunch with Cheryl Reeve, Head
Coach, Minnesota Lynx 1:30 PM TeamWomenMN Mentoring and Teaching Programs Moderated by Joy Frestedt,
President, Alimentix 2:15 PM Networking "Time-Out" 2:30 PM "Leading Across Generations" Workshop by Hannah Ubl,
Generations Expert & Millenial Speaker, BridgeWorks 3:20 PM Leadership Panel Moderated by Tammie Follett, Sr. Account
Manager & Business Development Specialist, Thomson Reuters Panelists: Colleen Needles Steward,
President & CEO, Tremendous Entertainment; Former WCCO Anchor Sara Beatty Ratner, President,
NeoPath Lindsey Bruber, President &
Owner, Simek's Roshini Rajkumar, Communication
Coach & Radio Host
4:00 PM "Post-Game Talk" Networking Happy Hour, Kickoff
remarks by Janeé Harteau, Chief of Police, Minneapolis
Two goals from Phil Kessel last night were not enough for Toronto as the Maple Leafs fell 3-2 to the New York Rangers in a shootout at Madison Square Garden.
Kessel, who leads Toronto with 26 assists and is tied for the team lead with 40 points this season, gave the visitors a 1-0 lead just 1:42 into the second period with his 13th tally of the season.
- Check back later today for a feature on AHL leading scorer Jeff Taffe.
By Brian Deutsch on April 10, 2013 12:41 PM
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On March 23, 2013, Minnesota head coach Don Lucia was named the head coach of the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team by USA Hockey. With Lucia behind the bench, the Red, White and Blue will compete at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship Dec. 26, 2013 - Jan. 5, 2014, in Malmo, Sweden. Next year, the U.S. program will seek its fourth medal in five years including a gold-medal performance in 2013 with Gophers defenseman Mike Reilly on the roster and assistant coach Grant Potulny on staff. As the tournament approaches, Gophersports.com will provide updates under using "Eyes on Sweden."
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- USA Hockey announced today the schedule for the 2013 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, N.Y. Approximately 45 U.S. players will convene at the Olympic Training Center Aug. 3-10 to audition for spots on the U.S. National Junior Team that will compete at the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, Dec. 26, 2013-Jan. 5, 2014, in Malmo, Sweden.
The camp includes daily practices and international games against Canada, Finland and Sweden. A full schedule is below.
USA Hockey expects to announce the list of invited players to its U.S. National Junior Team Evaluation Camp in June.
Ticket information for the event will be announced in the coming weeks.
2013 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp Schedule Aug. 3-10 | Lake Placid, N.Y. | Olympic Training Center | Olympic Rink
By Sarah Turcotte on April 10, 2013 11:34 AM
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The University of Minnesota women's basketball staff is set to attend the Fast Break Club Coach's Club Reception tonight at Jax Cafe in Northeast Minneapolis. The event will get underway at 6:30 p.m. and conclude at 8:30 p.m.
The reception is for members of the Fast Break Club who give at a level of $150 or higher, which includes the Coaches Club, Elite Eight and Final Four levels.
Special guest and former Gopher standout Lindsay Whalen and her husband Ben Greve are expected to attend the event.
Gopher basketball players, media, staff and fans got their first look at new head coach Richard Pitino this morning. University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler, Director of Athletics Norwood Teague and Pitino gave opening remarks before Pitino and Teague fielded questions from the media.
Richard Pitino
Teague said that Pitino has all the key characteristics that he looked for during the coaching search. These qualities included "relentless" recruiting, ability to develop student-athletes on and off the court and ability to "manage and build this program to the highest level."
"I'm extremely excited about this opportunity," Pitino said. "Minnesota basketball has got one of the best traditions in all of college basketball."
Members of the Gopher basketball team, who sat in the first few rows during the press conference, met their new mentor earlier in the morning. Both coach and players are eager to get to know each other better.
"He really gave us a positive vibe," Austin Hollins said. "He's coming in, and he has a solid plan that he really wants to enforce. He knows what he wants to do. I think all the guys are going to be on board with that."
Before the media even started asking questions, Pitino already talked about the style of play he would like to implement with his new team.
"He really wants that hard-nosed defense up the court," Hollins said. "Then on offense, we're just going to run them down--a lot of pick-and-rolls, getting up and down, getting a lot of shots up."
After about half an hour of answering questions, Pitino did one-on-one interviews with local TV stations, along with Mike Grimm and Spencer Tollackson. Watch Grimm's exclusive interview above and by clicking here.
Thank you so much Gopher fans for all the support!Today is a special day!!!
By Matt Slieter on April 4, 2013 2:14 PM
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The social media world was buzzing yesterday with the University of Minnesota's impending hire of Richard Pitino as the Gophers' new head men's basketball coach. We've collected some of the notable Tweets and Facebook posts from yesterday's eventful day:
By Michelle Traen on April 4, 2013 8:40 AM
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The University of Minnesota will once again be well represented within Major League Baseball and its affiliates. With opening days running across the United States, it's also the opening weeks throughout their farm systems.
Golden Gopher Baseball has three that are in Major League this season. Jack Hannahan went from the American League and the Cleveland Indians, to the National League and the Cincinnati Reds as their third baseman. Glen Perkins continues to become one of the best relievers in the game. After competing with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, Perkins is set to be the Minnesota Twins closer. Cole De Vries is also back with the Minnesota Twins after he made his MLB debut last summer.
Gopher alums are spreading through the minor leagues as well. Four former Gophers are in the Twins organization (Nate Hanson, Kyle Knudson, Mike Kvasnicka and AJ Petterson) all reported to their respective teams. After Seth Rosin was involved with the Hunter Pence trade from the San Francisco Giants, Rosin is with the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Justin Gominsky (Houston) and Nick O'Shea (Cincinnati) are both with their Class A teams, while TJ Oakes joined Ashville (Colorado) for his first full season.
Here's a list of all Gopher alums playing professionally:
Jack Hannahan, MLB, Cincinnati Reds Cole De Vries, MLB Minnesota Twins Glen Perkins, MLB Minnesota Twins Nate Hanson, Minnesota Twins-New Britian AA Seth Rosin, Philadelphia Phillies- Reading
Fightin Phils-AA Eastern Kyle Knudson, Minnesota Twins-Fort Myers Miracle Mike Kvasnicka, Minnesota Twins-Fort Myers Miracle A.J. Petterson, Minnesota Twins-Fort Myers Miracle Justin Gominsky, Houston Astros-Quad City River Bandits
Class A Nick O'Shea, Cincinnati Reds-Dayton Dragons Class A TJ Oakes, Colorado Rockies-Ashville Tourists Class A Dan Lyons-Independent, Long Island Ducks
