Just listened to Gophers associate head coach Mike Guentzel being interviewed by FSN's Kevin Gorg on KFAN.

Jotted a few notes down on the back of my bank statement.

"I do think we have talent," he said "and some of the talent is showing itself. We are starting games well."

The Gophers were picked to finish sixth in the WCHA in the coaches' and media's preseason conference polls. But Guentzel said people underestimated the skill on this team. The Gophers are 7-1-0, in first in the the WCHA at 4-0-0 and rated No. 5 nationally going into a home series with North Dakota this weekend.

Guentzel is high on senior goalie Kent Patterson. Called him a strong, sturdy, athletic, confident player who is a great story. "He didn't play a lot his first two years," Guentzel said.

He said teams will start marking Erik Haula harder, but the Gophers also have other scorers like Kyle Rau and Nick Bjugstad. Guentzel called Haula, who leads the nation with 17 points, one of the team's hardest workers. He said coaches like to see that work ethic in their best players, it encourages others to follow.

Rau, Guentzel said, is a small player who nobody has ever been able to tell he can't do something: "He has won five or six state championships from pee wees on up. He is a winner. He gets it," Guentzel said. "He is a coaches' dream. He competes. Here is a player who has been a center all his life and you put him at left wing and he doesn't say a peep about it."

The Gophers were already set at center on their top two lines with Bjugstad and Haula.

He said the key to keeping players in college longer is to keep them motivated. "Our kids have to feel great about what is going on," Guentzel said.

MORE GUENTZEL

On coming back to U: "This is home. I have been at Minnesota for 18 years as a player and coach."

On the North Dakota rivalry: It has increased with the new building, he said, adding "North Dakota has had a lot of success and they are certainly a strong rival of ours. The guys know when we play North Dakota, when we play Wisconsin."

On game day routine: He said the players will have a short 15-20 minute skate at 11:30 a.m., then watch some video, have a pregame meal and then go home to rest.

WHY RECORDS VARY

The Gophers hockey public relations staff says Minnesota is 140-128-14 against North Dakota in their all-time series which dates to 1929.

Not so fast. North Dakota's PR staff says the Gophers' advantage is slimmer. They lead the series 133-128-14. Why the difference? Did someone miscount? Nope.

UND says its hockey program officially began with the 1946-47 season. So these games don't count in the record book:

Jan. 7, 1929: Gophers 12, North Dakota Aggies 0

Feb. 3, 1930: Gophers 11, North Dakota 2

Feb. 4, 1930: Gophers 6, North Dakota 1

Jan. 13, 1933: Gophers 4, North Dakota 0

Jan. 14, 1933: Gophers 9, North Dakota 0

Feb. 17, 1933: Gophers 10, North Dakota 2

Feb. 18, 1933: Gophers 3, North Dakota 0

There were actually four games before that, according to the 2011-12 Gophers media guide which nobody is counting:

Jan. 4, 1926: Gophers 5, North Dakota Aggies 2

Jan. 5, 1926: Gophers 6, North Dakota 2

Jan. 4, 1928: Gophers 9, North Dakota 2

Jan. 6, 1928: Gophers 11, North Dakota 0

* The University of Minnesota policy to not play nonconference teams with offensive American Indian nicknames stems from a decision made by the U of M advisory committee in 2003. The committee reaffirmed the rule in 2006 when athletic director Joel Maturi asked if it could be relaxed. ... So as long as North Dakota retains its nickname, the Gophers won't play the Fighting Sioux after the 2012-13 season when both drop out of the WCHA..