Minnesota (4-7-1) at Michigan (5-7-0) and Michigan State (9-3-2)
Date: Friday, Nov. 27 (at Michigan) and Saturday, Nov. 28 (at Michigan State)
Time: 6 p.m. (Fri.) / 6:30 p.m. (Sat.)
Location: Yost Arena (6,637) - Fri. / Munn Ice Arena (6,470) - Sat.
UM Series: Minnesota 127-116-14
MSU Series: Minnesota 100-41-11
Radio: KYCR 1570 AM (Fri.) / WCCO 830 AM (Sat.) - Wally Shaver and Glen Sonmor
Television: Fox Sports North (Fri.) - Anthony LaPanta and Doug Woog / Bigtennetwork.com (Sat.)
With the most wins in the 16-year history of the College Hockey Showcase, Minnesota looks to snap a current three-game losing streak this weekend when the Gophers travel to Michigan and Michigan State. Minnesota is 7-2-3 in the event over the past six years and plays its only road non-conference games of the season this weekend.
Last Time Out
Minnesota Duluth rallied from 2-0 deficits and scored late goals in each game to hand Minnesota a pair of heartbreaking defeats last weekend. The Bulldogs scored with 12 seconds left in overtime for a 4-3 victory on Friday and finished off a 3-2 win Saturday on a goal with 2:02 left in regulation.
Series History
Minnesota leads the all-time series over Michigan 127-116-14 and beat the Wolverines six straight times before Michigan's showcase victories the past two years. Michigan posted a 6-3 win last year at Mariucci Arena and a 5-1 win in the Gophers' last trip to Ann Arbor in 2008.
The Gophers hold a 100-41-11 advantage over Michigan State in the all-time series and are undefeated in the past eight meetings, which have included five ties. The teams played to a 4-4 tie last year in Minneapolis. Minnesota's last defeat in East Lansing was a 6-2 setback on Nov. 27, 1999.
About the Wolverines
Michigan snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over Bowling Green on Saturday in Toledo, Ohio. The five straight losses were the Wolverines' most since a six-game skid in 1988-89. Bowling Green's 4-2 win on Friday was Michigan's fourth straight home loss as the Wolverines were swept by Michigan State and Miami the previous two weekends. Freshman Chris Brown is the team's leading scorer with six goals and four assists for 10 points. The Wolverines rank sixth in the country on the penalty kill at 89.6 percent.
About the Spartans
Michigan State has already nearly matched last year's win total with its 9-3-2 record after finishing 10-23-5 last year. The Spartans had an eight-game unbeaten snapped on Sunday in a 4-1 loss at Notre Dame. Michigan State has been strong defensively behind sophomore goaltender Drew Palmisano, who ranks seventh nationally with a 1.79 goals against average and eighth with a .932 save percentage. Junior Cory Tropp is the team's leading scorer with nine goals and eight assists for 17 points.
Showcase Success
Minnesota has enjoyed plenty of success in the College Hockey Showcase, sharing the best record of any of the four participating teams along with Michigan. The Gophers are 16-11-5 in the 16-year history of the event and 7-2-3 in the last 12 showcase games. Minnesota's .578 winning percentage matches Michigan, which is 18-13-1 in the showcase. Michigan State is 13-13-6 and Wisconsin is 10-20-2. The event has a history of close games with 29 of the 64 games being tied or decided by one goal.
Quality Coaching
This weekend's games will feature three of college hockey's winningest coaches as the trio has combined for 1,975 victories. Michigan State's Rick Comley ranks third among active coaches with 758 wins, while Michigan's Red Berendson is fourth with 678 wins and Minnesota's Don Lucia is fifth with 539 victories. Each coach has also led his teams to two national championships.
Powering Up
Minnesota's power play had a slow start to the 2009-10 season, but has been red hot over the past seven games. The Gophers are 8-for-29 on the power play over the past seven games (27.6 percent) after opening the year 0-for-25 through the first five games. Minnesota has scored power play goals in six of the last seven games.
Killing Them Off
Like the Gophers' power play, the penalty kill has also made significant strides in recent weeks as Minnesota's opponents have scored just four times in their last 39 power play chances after opening the year 7-for-22. Minnesota Duluth was 2-for-11 on the power play in last weekend's series.
Shooting Gallery
Minnesota's 38 shots on goal in Saturday's game with Minnesota Duluth were a season high and the Gophers' 18 shots in the first period marked their most in any period this season. The Gophers have outshot their opponents by a combined 45-28 in the first period over the past four games.
Working Overtime
Junior Alex Kangas allowed a rare overtime goal on Friday against Minnesota Duluth as it was only the fourth time he's lost in 22 career overtime games. His last overtime goal allowed was Minnesota State's shorthanded goal in double overtime in the first game of the 2008 WCHA Playoffs. Since then, he had a streak of 85 minutes and 45 seconds of overtime hockey played without allowing a goal. Kangas entered the game with a 1.09 goals against average and .966 save percentage in overtime during his first two seasons.
Holding On
The Gophers' two losses after holding 2-0 leads last weekend were rarities as Minnesota hadn't lost when holding a two-goal lead since Nov. 30, 2007 when Michigan Tech came back for a 3-2 overtime victory. That game also marked the last time Minnesota lost when leading after two periods as the Gophers were 29-0-5 the last 34 times they took a lead into the final period.
Being Seen
Through 12 games, Minnesota has had the highest average attendance of any team in college hockey. The Gophers' home and away games have averaged 10,777 fans. All of Minnesota's games have been played at the sites of the three teams that traditionally lead the nation in attendance. The Gophers have played eight games at home and two each at Wisconsin and North Dakota. Even the Gophers' next game continues the trend as Michigan ranks fourth in the country in home attendance.
Similar Start
Minnesota fans may recall the 2003-04 season when the Gophers were also 4-7-1 entering the College Hockey Showcase. In fact, they were 2-7-1 to start the season, having also played North Dakota, Denver, Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth, before reeling off 16-2-2 record over their next 20 games and eventually winning the WCHA Final Five title. Minnesota won at both Michigan State and Michigan during the College Hockey Showcase that season.
The only time I would consider rooting for the rodents is if they were playing BC or BU in the ncaa tourney. I'd be torn as I dislike BC and BU just about as much as the rodents. Of course I won't have to worry about this quandry this year, will I? 
