Gophers men's hockey ready for top-four clash against old rival, St. Cloud State

There's no shortage of history when it comes to matchups between the Gophers and St. Cloud State, with the teams having faced each other more than 100 times as in-state rivals and former conference foes.

So when the two battle once again this Saturday and Sunday in a home-and-home series, familiarity will abound. The two teams square up in a top-five matchup, with the Gophers ranked No. 3 and the Huskies' No. 4. Gophers coach Bob Motzko returns once more to Herb Brooks National Hockey Center — where he coached the Huskies from 2005-18 — sporting a 2-1 record against his old team.

But at least one aspect of this well-worn connection has changed.

"It's going to be my first time playing without a brother on the other team, so it's obviously going to be a little bit different," Gophers forward Bryce Brodzinski said. "… Definitely easier for my mom. My dad might still be wearing St. Cloud red. He might have to adopt a kid just so he can send him to St. Cloud one more time."

Mike Brodzinski played with Motzko at St. Cloud State before sending two of his sons, Jonny and Easton, to play there under his college teammate. Bryce and Michael, another son, chose to play for the Gophers. But Bryce, a senior forward, is now the final Brodzinski in the college ranks. Unless that adoption comes to fruition.

The Gophers-St. Cloud rivalry will live on beyond the Brodzinskis, though. Motzko said the Gophers are in the process of drawing up new four-year contracts with various old WCHA flames, including North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth. There is already an agreement with new Division I team St. Thomas, which Motzko likes for a "road trip," since the Tommies' arena just 20 minutes away in Mendota Heights.

"We have a problem here. We have a lot of teams that want to play us. We don't have a lot of dates," Motzko said. "… And I said since I got here ... I'm going to do the best I can to play all the teams around the state. … And I said behind the scenes, St. Cloud would be the first team I was going to take care of, for obvious reasons."

As for this series, both teams are coming off a lengthy month-long break for the holidays, minus a few exhibitions last week. And while it's a nonconference meeting, the games could impact the PairWise rankings, used for at-large NCAA tournament bids at the end of the season.

The Gophers might be a bit shorthanded as well, as they had four players away with Team USA for the world junior tournament. Forwards Logan Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud as well as defensemen Ryan Chesley and Luke Mittelstadt only returned from Halifax, Nova Scotia — with a bronze medal in tow — on Friday.

"We're preparing like they're not going to play," Motzko said. "A lot of times they do play, and sometimes they don't. After we have conversation, we'll see where it goes."

The rest of the team, though, should be ready to fill in any gaps if needed. Motzko stressed the need for his players to have a physical and mental break from the game this past month, which hopefully refreshed them for the final push.

Defenseman Jackson LaCombe, for instance, put on his skates a few times in the past few weeks but didn't overdo it.

"For sure, finding a balance is important," LaCombe said. "Spending time back home … is important time, just to rest your bodies and prepare for the second half. A big couple of games coming up here. So just staying in shape, but also being able to spend that special time with your family."