Gophers men's hockey opens second half against No. 4 St. Cloud State

GOPHERS MEN'S HOCKEY GAMEDAY

6 p.m. Saturday at St. Cloud State * CBS Sports, 103.5-FM, 1130-AM

3 p.m. Sunday at home vs. St. Cloud State * BSN, 103.5-FM, 1130-AM

Gophers update: This will be the Gophers' first official game since Dec. 10 after a long holiday break and two exhibitions last week against the U.S. Under-18 team (3-2 win) and Bemidji State (2-1 win). The team might be a bit short-staffed, depending on if the players who competed in the world juniors — forwards Logan Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud and defensemen Ryan Chesley and Luke Mittelstadt— are able to play after returning Friday from Halifax with a bronze medal. The No. 3 Gophers (15-5, 10-2 Big Ten) won't return to conference play until next weekend at Notre Dame but are in good position starting the second half of the season atop the Big Ten standings and the PairWise rankings.

St. Cloud update: The No. 4 Huskies also haven't seen competitive action since Dec. 10, minus an exhibition last week against Manitoba, which they won 5-2. The team had a strong first half, putting up a 14-4 record (7-3 NCHC). The Huskies rank second in the nation in save percentage at .920 thanks to the goalie tandem of Jaxon Castor and Dominic Basse. Zach Okabe and former Gophers forward Grant Cruikshank lead St. Cloud with 12 goals each while Jami Krannila tops the team with 23 points from 10 goals and 13 assists. The Huskies have the eighth-best offense in the nation averaging 3.67 goals per game, but the Gophers are No. 1 in that category averaging 4.30 goals per outing.