Gophers Host Minnesota-Duluth in Ranked In-state Rivalry

SB Nation

The Minnesota Golden Gophers men’s hockey team returns home for their second of three consecutive weekends of rivalry series when they host the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs at 3M Arena at Mariucci this weekend.

Minnesota sees the Bulldogs filling the sandwich between their series at North Dakota last weekend, and the Big Ten opening series at Wisconsin next weekend.

The Gophers come into the weekend after a weekend split in Grand Forks against North Dakota. The Gophers saw their streak of three consecutive Friday wins against the Fighting Hawks fall as North Dakota was aided by seven different powerplays to take advantage late in the game and earn a 5-2 win. The Gophers got their revenge on Saturday when they would score four third period goals to break open a 1-1 game after two periods and return home with a 5-1 win. Luca DiPasquo picked up his first win as a Gopher making 23 saves.

Offensively through the first three weekends of the season the Gophers have been led by their two Brody(ie)s, Senior Brody Lamb leads the team with seven points and four goals. Sophomore Brodie Ziemer is right behind with six points split evenly with three goals and assists.

In goal its been up and down for both Gopher goalies. Junior Nathan Airey has been good but not great the first three weekends of the season. He currently has a 1-2-1 record and is allowing 2.72 goals per game with a save percentage of .911. DiPasquo started the Saturday game against Michigan Tech where he gave up four goals in the loss. But he did play great last weekend allowing just a single goal in the win over North Dakota. With neither goalie fully taking over, don’t be surprised to see a split in net again this weekend for the Gophers.

The #18/19 ranked Bulldogs come to town after a fast 5-1 start to the season. UMD started the season with sweeps of Alaska and Bemidji State and a split with Augustana. They have been on fire offensively outscoring their opponents 25-11 so far this season. Their 4.2 goals per game rank fifth in the nation thus far. Minnesota will need to shut down the Bulldogs top line of Jayson Shaugabay and the Plante brothers, Max and Zam. Max Plante and Shaugabay both have 12 points on the season while Zam has 10. All three are ranked in the top 10 scorers in the nation. The Bulldogs are also hot on the power play. After scoring just one power play goal in their first four games, UMD erupted for six against the Beavers last weekend alone.

Besides shutting down the Bulldog’s top line, Minnesota is going to need to find a way to get some goals as well. It will not be easy with Adam Gajan in net for UMD. The sophomore who was a second round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks has played every minute this season for UMD, posting a 1.51 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage through six games. He has had help in front of him as Bulldogs are allowing just 19.5 shots a game — the second fewest in the NCAA. Not a great sign for a Minnesota team that has struggled to get their own shots on goal this season. Minnesota will also need to be good in the faceoff circle as the Bulldogs are. Zam Plante is tied for second in the NCAA in faceoff wins ahead of the weekend. Plante has 74 wins compared to 63 losses. As a team, UMD ranks eighth in the NCAA with a 54.1 winning percentage.

Minnesota does have history on their side. The Gophers lead the all-time series 138-85-19 including a 76-35-9 all time in Minneapolis. The Gophers have not lost to the Bulldogs in their last four games going 3-0-1 in the last four meetings, including a sweep at AMSOIL Arena last October with victories of 7-5 and 5-1.

Faceoff both nights is set for 7 PM with both games airing on Fox9+.