Ambroz, Marshall keep mood light as Gophers' hockey leaders

Everybody knows when seniors Seth Ambroz and Ben Marshall are around. The concrete halls of Mariucci Arena amplify their heavy laughs, and the Gophers hockey locker room rarely stays quiet when the pair is working a routine.

Among Marshall's favorite gags is the hidden-cup-of-water trick. An unlucky teammate gets a well-placed cup in their locker, and when they pull out their gear, water spills everywhere.

Ambroz keeps the buzz going on the ice with his playful banter during practice. Some of last week's material included boasting about his playmaking skills. Once teammates are chirping back, Ambroz has done his job.

"I would say I'm goofier and funnier than Seth," Marshall said. "I like doing the pranks. But we're both kind of like that. We like having fun with everyone and keeping things chipper in the locker room. That's important, especially when it's a tough week.

Ambroz isn't ready to surrender his status as the team's top comic.

"Obviously, sometimes I look like a buffoon out there. I just get excited," Ambroz said. "We all like to bust each other's chops a lot. It's fun giving people a hard time and everyone knows it's in good fun. … You gotta be able to come to the rink and enjoy yourself."

The Gophers' alternate captains will have a couple extra hours to lighten the mood this weekend as the team travels to St. Cloud State on Friday night before heading home for the series finale at Mariucci Arena on Saturday.

Their boisterous personalities offer balance to the serious tone set by senior Kyle Rau. The second-year team captain is more mild-mannered and likes to observe more than interact off the ice.

Rau values the playful mood and moments his alternate captains create, but showed a side of his own humor with a jab: "They have their cricket-moments, too."

Marshall, the only senior defenseman, keeps order on the back end. The Mahtomedi product doesn't let his smaller build — 5-9, 179 pounds — keep him from providing a physical presence, and he regularly throws his body in front of shots.

Ambroz is a regular on the power play and penalty kill, and he'll be on the ice late in close games. The 6-3, 215-pound forward from New Prague adds muscle to the top three lines that are built around speed.

"Most of the time, when Kyle walks into the rink, there is a serious side to him," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "Whereas you see Ben laughing and you see guys giving it to Seth in the locker room. You see them in the middle of things more.

"Ben has been a very productive player for us throughout his career. … Seth has grown as a person as much as anybody I've seen in college all the years I've coached."

Ambroz and Marshall, late-round NHL draft selections, both have settled into supporting roles throughout their college careers. It's likely their biggest contributions this season will be filling a leadership void created by last season's departed seniors.

"A lot of people think captain is given out to your best players, and I think that is kind of a misunderstanding," senior forward Travis Boyd said. "I think having [Ambroz and Marshall] be in other roles shows that to be a leader you don't need to be the best guy out there. They fill roles on our team, and without those roles being filled we wouldn't be anywhere close to as good as where we are."