No. 17 Minnesota (17-14-0 overall, 12-4-0-0 Big Ten) at Michigan State (9-20-3 overall, 5-10-1-0 Big Ten)
Game 32: Minnesota at Michigan State
Location: Munn Ice Arena | East Lansing, Mich.
Date: Friday, March 4
Puck Drop: 6 p.m. CT
TV: FOX Sports North PLUS, FOX Sports Detroit
Stream: BTN2Go, FOX Sports GO
Radio: 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network
Game 33: Minnesota at Michigan State
Location: Munn Ice Arena | East Lansing, Mich.
Date: Saturday, March 5
Puck Drop: 6 p.m. CT
Stream: BTN PLUS
Radio: 1500 ESPN, Gopher Radio Network
Inside the Matchup
It’s the same story for the Gophers and many of the Big Ten opponents: the all-time series is not close. Minnesota is 109-44-15 against the Spartans, including 44-26-8 on the road.
In mid-January, Minnesota swept the Spartans in Minneapolis. The Maroon and Gold made it look easy with a 5-2 win to open the series. The series finale was more difficult as the Gophers had to score three goals in the third to win the game 3-1.
Since the sweep at Mariucci, the Spartans have been (somewhat) holding their own in the Big Ten. MSU split series each with Michigan and Ohio State, tied Penn State, and then swept Wisconsin last time out.
Although they look to be improving, it’s been a tough year for Michigan State. The Spartans rank last (yes, even behind Wisconsin) in goals scored and are a league-worst -33 on the season.
Storyline Central
As the Gophers battle for their fifth straight conference title, some fans continue to look back on the good ole WCHA days. Rachel Blount of the Strib has a biting story on Big Ten hockey being a buzzkill for fans.
Neil Koepke of MSUSpartans.com previews the series between Michigan State and the Gophers.
Chris Dilks of SBNation College Hockey previews the AA Minnesota Hockey State Tourney featuring two future Gophers, Casey Mittelstadt and Blake McLaughlin.
Notes and Quotes
Don Lucia
“We’ve improved a lot since the beginning of the season. We’ve done a good job in the Big Ten; especially on the road we’re six and two. That’s a big reason why we’re still sitting where we are. We’ve been pretty lucky a little bit; I think we’ve won four over time games in the Big Ten. That’s a lot of points right there. Now it comes down to our last four [games]. The big win Friday was important for us to stay two and two with Michigan. If they would have beaten us, the conference race was over at that time so we have a one-point lead with four games to go. We have to head to East Lansing and I think they are 2-0-1 in their last three games. They’re starting to play better. Goaltender is playing better so we’ll have a difficult weekend in East Lansing.
On what the regular-season Big Ten title means:
“It means you’re the best team in your conference over the course of the year. March is about trying to hang a banner. There’s always three opportunities every year; the regular season, the playoffs, and certainly the NCAA come the end of the year. The regular season is in some ways the most difficult because it’s over the course of the season not over one or two weekends. It is important. Every time you can look up into the rafters and hang another banner, that’s a good thing.”