GOPHERS MEN’S HOCKEY PREVIEW
Big Ten semifinal
8 p.m. Saturday vs. Michigan at 3M Arena at Mariucci
TV, radio: BTN, 103.5-FM
Randy Johnson’s preview:
Opening bell: The third-seeded Gophers (22-9-5) advanced to the semifinals with a sweep of Penn State by 5-1 and 3-2 scores, while fourth-seeded Michigan (20-13-3) swept Notre Dame 5-4 and 4-3. Minnesota and Michigan are facing each other in the Big Ten tournament for the fourth consecutive season, with the Wolverines beating the Gophers 4-3 in both the 2022 and ’23 conference championship games, and the Gophers winning 3-2 in overtime in a 2021 semifinal. They have played recently, too, as the Gophers won the opener of the final regular-season series 6-2 before the Wolverines won the finale 6-5 in overtime. Over the past three seasons, Minnesota is 7-6-1 vs. Michigan, with eight of the 14 games decided by one goal. The winner advances to the March 23 final against either No. 7 seed Ohio State or No. 1 seed Michigan State.
Watch them: Between the two teams, there likely will be 22 NHL players in the lineups, 13 for the Gophers and nine for Michigan. The Wolverines boast two players who are finalists for Big Ten individual awards: sophomore F Gavin Brindley (23 goals, 27 assists, 50 points), who is up for conference Player of the Year, and sophomore D Seamus Casey (7-36-43), who’s up for Defensive Player of the Year. Brindley teams with RW Rutger McGroarty (16-34-50) and LW Dylan Duke (21-21-42) on a line that has produced 60 goals and 82 assists. … The Gophers counter with a top line of Rhett Pitlick (19-16-35), Oliver Moore (9-24-33) and Jimmy Snuggerud (20-13-33), plus a second line led by C Jaxon Nelson, who has eight goals in his past five games.
