Gophers captain Brock Faber aiming to return from injury Friday vs. Ohio State

GOPHERS MEN'S HOCKEY SERIES PREVIEW

Friday: 8 p.m. vs. Ohio State • ESPNU, 103.5-FM, 1130-AM

Saturday: 4:30 p.m. vs. Ohio State • BTN, 103.5-FM, 1130-AM

Gophers update: No. 1 Minnesota (23-8-1, 17-4-1 Big Ten) clinched its second consecutive Big Ten regular-season championship last week and will have a bye into the conference tournament semifinals. The Gophers are coming off a 7-2 regulation win and 3-2 overtime win at Penn State and have won five of their past six games. Defenseman and captain Brock Faber missed the Penn State series because of an upper-body injury and is likely to return, awaiting medical clearance, coach Bob Motzko said. The top line of Matthew Knies (20 goals, 16 assists, 36 points), Logan Cooley (15-29-44) and Jimmy Snuggerud (19-24-43) is the top-scoring trio in the nation. The trio of Bryce Brodzinski (14-9-23), Jaxon Nelson (7-14-21) and Mason Nevers (9-11-20) has supplied scoring depth.

Buckeyes update: No. 8 Ohio State (18-11-3, 11-9-2) is tied for second place in the Big Ten with Michigan after posting a 3-3 tie (and shootout win) and 4-2 win over the Wolverines last week. The Buckeyes have the tiebreaker over Michigan. Ohio State is 4-4-2 in its past 10 games. The Buckeyes and Gophers split an October series in Columbus, with OSU winning 6-4 in the opener and Minnesota taking the finale 4-2. The Buckeyes have seven players with 18 or more points, led by Stephen Halliday (8-25-33), Jake Wise (11-17-28) and Tate Singleton (10-15-25). Sophomore Jakub Dobes is the reigning Big Ten Goalie of the Year and Freshman of the Year. He's 18-11-3 with a 2.24 GAA and .918 save percentage.