The No. 3/6 Gopher Hockey program plays its final series of 2014 this weekend to kick off the Big Ten Conference schedule, traveling to Michigan State for a pair of league games. Minnesota (8-4-0 overall, 0-0-0-0 Big Ten) and Michigan State (5-8-0, 1-1-0-0 Big Ten) open the series on Friday night at 6 p.m. CT and close out the weekend on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.
Tight Fights with the Spartans
The Gophers averaged 3.49 goals per game last season, but the Maroon & Gold struggled to find the net in 2013-14 against Michigan State -- scoring just eight goals in four games. In fact, all four games between the two teams were incredibly close (2-2 ovetime tie at MSU, 3-2 win at MSU, 2-2 overtime tie at home, 1-0 win at home). Minnesota is 105-43-14 all-time against Michigan State (43-26-7 on the road) and 5-2-3 in the last 10 games. Seven of the last 10 games have been decided by a goal or less. Kyle Rau (3-2--5) and Christian Isackson (2-3--5) are the active leading scorers against the Spartans while Adam Wilcox owns a 3-0-2 record against this weekend’s opponent.