Gophers-MSU Mankato regional final preview

7 p.m. vs. MSU Mankato, Loveland, Colo., ESPN2, 103.5-FM, 1130-AM

Gophers at a glance: Top-seeded Minnesota (24-6) will try to advance to the Frozen Four for the 22nd time and the first time since 2014 when it faces No. 2 seed Minnesota State Mankato. With their 7-2 victory over Nebraska Omaha in the regional semifinals, the Gophers posted their 56th NCAA tournament victory in their 38th appearance, both records. The Gophers and Mavericks have met 59 times in their history, Minnesota holding a 37-16-6 series advantage. They last played on Nov. 2-3, 2018, when Minnesota State posted a 5-1 and 2-1 sweep at 3M Arena at Mariucci. … The Gophers have seven players with 20 or more points. Leading the way is junior F Sampo Ranta, who entering Saturday paced the team and ranked second nationally with 18 goals and had a team-high 29 points. Junior F's Sammy Walker (13-15-28) and Blake McLaughlin (12-15-27) carry much of the scoring load. … Jack LaFontaine, a Mike Richter Award top-three finalist for goalie of the year, was 21-6 with 1.74 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and five shutouts entering Saturday.

Mavericks at a glance: Minnesota State (21-4-1) defeated Quinnipiac 4-3 in overtime to post its first victory in the NCAA Division I tournament in seven tries, including six under coach Mike Hastings. The Mavericks won the WCHA regular-season title for the fourth consecutive year before falling to Northern Michigan 5-1 in the conference tournament semifinals. Junior G Dryden McKay, a top-three finalist for the Richter Award, is 20-3-1 with a 1.45 GAA, .928 save percentage and an NCAA-best nine shutouts. Junior F Julian Napravnik (10-15-25) leads the Mavericks in scoring, with sophomore F's Cade Borchardt (8-14-22) and Nathan Smith (5-16-21) close behind. Sophomore F Ryan Sandelin scored the overtime winner against Quinnipiac.