{"id":129729,"date":"2021-10-20T07:00:53","date_gmt":"2021-10-20T12:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?p=129729"},"modified":"2021-10-19T23:03:48","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T04:03:48","slug":"this-week-in-big-ten-hockey-upcoming-minnesota-minnesota-duluth-series-should-be-just-good-hockey-teams-going-against-each-other","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/10\/20\/this-week-in-big-ten-hockey-upcoming-minnesota-minnesota-duluth-series-should-be-just-good-hockey-teams-going-against-each-other\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Upcoming Minnesota series with NCHC’s Minnesota Duluth should be ‘just good hockey teams going against each other’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Minnesota captain Sammy Walker celebrates a goal during the 2019-20 season (photo: Brace Hemmelgarn).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Minnesota hasn\u2019t played an in-state rival for conference points since March of 2013, but in the middle of back-to-back series against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth, it feels like we\u2019ve been transported back a couple years.<\/p>\n

The Gophers and Bulldogs will face off in a home-and-home bout this weekend with Friday\u2019s game being played in Minneapolis before the two teams head north on Interstate 35 for Saturday\u2019s contest.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou dig into Duluth, they\u2019re an old wily group,\u201d Minnesota coach Bob Motzko said at the team\u2019s media availability on Tuesday. \u201cThey won\u2019t beat themselves and they\u2019re battle tested. They\u2019ve already had four tough games that they\u2019ve played.\u201d<\/p>\n

The series has a lot to live up to if it wants to surpass the one between Minnesota and St. Cloud State. After the Huskies won a close 2-1 game at Mariucci Arena, Saturday\u2019s tilt in St. Cloud was a back-and-forth affair that ended with a non-call that had the two fan bases going after each other on Twitter about the definitions of a hold and embellishment and produced a great radio call from Wally Shaver.<\/p>\n

Oh, and the Gophers won in overtime. However, with overtime victories only counting at 55 percent of a victory when it comes to the PairWise Rankings, the series with Duluth is an opportunity to add to their NCAA tournament resume.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got just good hockey teams going against each other,\u201d Motzko said. \u201cThat\u2019s the story, right now, is what great hockey it was and exciting hockey for the fans. We\u2019re all going to beat each other up and you\u2019ve got to stay healthy in the second half of the year, but I think there\u2019s a narrative there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Gophers have had a balanced offense through four contests with Bryce Brodzinski scoring four goals and Sammy Walker scoring three. Freshman Matthew Knies and sophomore Mason Nevers have also each chipped in a couple goals. Senior Blake McLaughlin leads the team in points with seven, six of those being assists.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlake is a tremendous passer and Sammy can pass and he can shoot and both of them can put the puck in the net,\u201d Minnesota senior forward Grant Cruikshank said. \u201cThem playing together for four years now, they\u2019ve definitely built this pretty strong chemistry. It\u2019s fun to watch, it sucks to play against in practice, but they\u2019re great players and they push each other every day and it pushes the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cruikshank, a Wisconsin native and transfer from Colorado College, has an interesting perspective on the in-state rivalries having played at places like St. Cloud and Duluth as a member of the Tigers but is now experiencing them differently as a member of the Gophers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been so much fun, definitely something I haven\u2019t experience before,\u201d he said. \u201cI can imagine that it\u2019ll pretty similar when we play Wisconsin, which is one that I have circled on my calendar, but it\u2019s been awesome. I think I\u2019ve gotten more of a look at just how many people are invested in in-state rivalries and how many people are watching and looking forward to every weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

As it does with all the in-state teams, Minnesota enjoys a healthy lead in the all-time record against the Bulldogs. Since both teams bolted from the WCHA, the pendulum has swung the other way with UMD having a 11-3-2 record against the Gophers.<\/p>\n

A high-quality opponent, no matter who it is, is now the expectation according to Motzko.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll five (Minnesota teams) made the NCAA tournament a year ago, (and) all five teams are pretty good,\u201d Motzko said of the current level of play within the state. \u201cIt\u2019s just going to be a dog fight in our state right now and it\u2019s good, it\u2019s good for college hockey, and it\u2019s sure great for our region. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s great for coaches, but it is great.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Minnesota hasn\u2019t played an in-state rival for conference points since March of 2013, but in the middle of back-to-back series against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth, it feels like we\u2019ve been transported back a couple years. The Gophers and Bulldogs will face off in a home-and-home bout this weekend with Friday\u2019s game being played […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":123401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5,4,1],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[855],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThis Week in Big Ten Hockey: Upcoming Minnesota series with NCHC's Minnesota Duluth should be 'just good hockey teams going against each other' - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Minnesota hasn\u2019t played an in-state rival for conference points since March of 2013, but in the middle of back-to-back series against St. Cloud State and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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