Gophers men's hockey looks for second sweep against Michigan State
Minnesota swept the Spartans in East Lansing in early January — and split the next three series.
Gophers vs. Michigan State • 7 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday at 3M Arena at Mariucci • TV: BSN • 1130-AM/103.5-FM
Preview: The No. 8 Gophers (15-11) take on Michigan State (11-14-1) this weekend after three consecutive split series against Alaska, Michigan and Notre Dame, where the Gophers won 5-1 before dropping a 3-2 game in overtime last weekend. Their last sweep was actually at the Spartans Jan. 7-8; Minnesota won 4-1 and 6-3. This will be the Gophers' first series without Olympians Ben Meyers, Mathew Knies and Brock Faber.
About the Spartans: Michigan State is on a six-game losing streak that started with that Gophers' sweep, most recently falling 4-1, 3-2 to No. 9 Ohio State. Forwards Jeremy Davidson and Erik Middendorf lead the team with nine goals each while forward Mitchell Lewandowski has a team-high 18 points despite missing the past month with an injury. Goaltender Drew DeRidder has started 18 games to backup Pierce Charleson's eight. DeRidder has a 2.37 goals-against average to Charleson's 3.52.
Notable: Michigan State's Kristof Papp has the best faceoff percentage in the conference, winning 61.6% of his matchups. Yet the team as a whole ranks at the bottom of the Big Ten, winning less than 50%.
The Gophers quarterback believed in himself, and his transfer to the U has led to a winning record this season.