Michigan Set for Saturday's Home Series Finale vs. Gophers

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After last night's (Friday, Dec. 11) 8-3 win over Minnesota, the No. 9-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team (9-2-3, 2-0-1-1 Big Ten) takes a six-game unbeaten streak (4-0-2) into the series finale against the Gophers (6-8-0, 2-1-0-0 Big Ten) on Saturday night (Dec. 12, 8:35 p.m.) at Yost Ice Arena.

• The Wolverines earned their most lopsided win against Minnesota since a 6-0 win on Nov. 27, 2009, in the College Hockey Showcase at Yost. The Wolverines pulled away with three third-period goals last night and are now outscoring teams 26-10 in the third period of games so far this season.

• There were several standout individual performances from last night's game:

» Freshman forward Kyle Connor registered his first career hat trick and had a career-best four points (3G, A). Connor is the first U-M freshman to record a hat trick in a since Michael Woodford scored three goals against Michigan Tech on Dec. 29, 2001. Connor (9G, 11A) now leads the Big Ten in scoring.

» Junior forward Tyler Motte matched a career high with four points (2G, 2A), including his first career shorthanded goal.

» Junior Max Shuart matched a career high with three points (G, 2A)

» Sophomore forward Niko Porikos recorded his first career point (assist).

• U-M has scored 20 goals in its last three games, the most in a three game span since scoring 23 goals last year (Jan. 16-23, 2015).

• Michigan is the top-scoring team in the nation with an average of 4.64 goals per game. U-M has topped the five goal mark in 9 of 14 games this season. Last season, the Wolverines topped five goals in 14 games, the most in one season since 2009-10 (15).

• The Michigan-Minnesota rivalry is a battle between the No. 1 (Minnesota) and No. 2 (Michigan) winningest programs in college hockey. Minnesota is Michigan's second oldest rival, with the first meeting taking place on Jan. 23, 1923 (L, 2-0) at Minnesota. The Gophers have the most wins against Michigan than any other team in college hockey, with a 134-121-15 record against the Wolverines, but Michigan owns a 68-48-7 record at home against the Gophers, including wins in each of the last four meetings at Yost Ice Arena (swept Big Ten home series on Jan 9-10, 2015 last season).

• Both teams were members of the WCHA from 1951-1981, before Michigan left for the CCHA before the start of the 1981-82 season. During that time period, Michigan and Minnesota met in the 1953 NCAA Championship Game, with Michigan earning a 7-3 win for its third straight national title and fourth overall.

• Michigan head coach Red Berenson played his first collegiate game at Minnesota on Feb. 5, 1960 (L, 6-3).

• Beginning in 1993, the Mariucci/Renfrew Trophy was created as an award for the winner of the annual Michigan-Minnesota game. The trophy is named after legendary coaches John Mariucci of Minnesota and Al Renfrew of Michigan. U-M has won the trophy nine out of the 20 times it has been awarded. Renfrew passed away on Nov. 10, 2014 at the age of 89.