{"id":130084,"date":"2021-11-03T14:00:08","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T19:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=130084"},"modified":"2021-11-04T06:58:03","modified_gmt":"2021-11-04T11:58:03","slug":"this-week-in-big-ten-hockey-rivalry-weekend-on-tap-as-michigan-plays-michigan-state-minnesota-battles-wisconsin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2021\/11\/03\/this-week-in-big-ten-hockey-rivalry-weekend-on-tap-as-michigan-plays-michigan-state-minnesota-battles-wisconsin\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Rivalry weekend on tap as Michigan plays Michigan State, Minnesota battles Wisconsin"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Josh Nodler celebrates a goal for Michigan State last season against Michigan (photo: Michigan State Athletics).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Michigan State defeated Michigan in a \u2013 let\u2019s just keep things simple and say entertaining \u2013 football game last weekend.<\/p>\n

Spartans\u2019 head coach Danton Cole was asked if his team could possibly feed off that energy and keep things rolling when the two schools meet in a home-and-home series on the ice this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we weren\u2019t here,\u201d Cole said with a laugh, referring to MSU\u2019s road split at Ohio State last weekend. \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate. We\u2019ve got two groups of young men, our freshmen class and our sophomore class, and then some of the older guys that came in this year, that haven\u2019t really been around a football Saturday like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cole did say that he thinks having excitement from other teams on campus is helping his squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do see it from afar and, you know what, when football\u2019s playing well things are exciting around here,\u201d he said. \u201cSome of that has bled over to hockey, our student section has been outstanding and our crowds have been outstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forget not experiencing a football game with a crowd, a lot of Michigan State\u2019s players haven\u2019t experienced the in-state rivalry that they play in with people watching live. That\u2019ll change this weekend at both Munn Ice Arena and Yost Ice Arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we do get some of that and the guys know it\u2019ll be a big crowd,\u201d Cole said. \u201cThe newer guys, and even again the second-year guys that haven\u2019t been around a series with fans here at Munn or down at Yost, they should be looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll be looking forward to a heck of a challenge. Michigan has stumbled the past two weekends, splitting with Western Michigan and Wisconsin, but this will be a very tall task for the Spartans.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a team, you\u2019ve got to look forward to challenges,\u201d Cole said. \u201cPlaying Michigan is a special thing, as we know, for a lot of different reasons. They\u2019re one of the best teams in the country and we\u2019ve got a chance to match up and see where we\u2019re at fairly early in the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should look forward to that, we want guys that want to compete and want to go out there and battle. You just have to be ready with matchups up and down the lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cole alluded to the fact that he\u2019d probably be happy with a split this weekend, but not strictly because the opponent is Michigan. More so because it\u2019s a conference series.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Big Ten tends to be a conference in hockey that you get your splits as much as you can and try and sneak out some sweeps there, and make some ground that way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

**************<\/p>\n

After starting its season by hosting a nonconference series, playing home-and-homes with two in-state rivals and hosting a conference series, Minnesota will finally leave Minnesota for the first time this season.<\/p>\n

The Gophers won\u2019t have to travel far, though, as their first road test of the season will be a border battle at Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are fired up to get on the road, it couldn\u2019t come at a better time,\u201d Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said on his radio show earlier this week. \u201cTeam building, spending a handful of days in a hotel, getting on the road. \u2026 we\u2019re looking forward to this, especially with Wisconsin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Minnesota’s Scott Reedy and Wisconsin’s Tarek Baker face off during the 2020-21 season (photo: Tom Lynn).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Gophers are coming off sweeping Notre Dame at home and the Badgers will look to build on their most impressive result of the season \u2014 downing Michigan at Yost last Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo team has lost more production and what led them and drove their program a year ago than Wisconsin,\u201d Motzko said. \u201cThey\u2019ve kind of got to reinvent this season and how they play. I think that win for them (Friday), I think that was a season-saving win. That was a trademark win that they can really staple to their group.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Badgers went 3-1 against Minnesota last year during the regular season, a record that helped them capture the conference title. The two teams met again in the conference tournament championship game with the Gophers winning that one 6-4.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always a great rivalry,\u201d Motzko said. \u201cThe fans are there (and) we have fans that can get over to the building. We\u2019re looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michigan State defeated Michigan in a \u2013 let\u2019s just keep things simple and say entertaining \u2013 football game last weekend. Spartans\u2019 head coach Danton Cole was asked if his team could possibly feed off that energy and keep things rolling when the two schools meet in a home-and-home series on the ice this weekend. \u201cWell, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":130085,"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: Rivalry weekend on tap as Michigan plays Michigan State, Minnesota battles Wisconsin - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Michigan State defeated Michigan in a \u2013 let\u2019s just keep things simple and say entertaining \u2013 football game last weekend. 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