7 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday vs. Ohio State
TV, radio: FSN, 1130-AM and 103.5-FM both nights
Buckeyes tied for league lead
Preview: The Gophers (4-6-1, 2-2-0 Big Ten) are 11 games into the season and still haven't swept a series. Coach Bob Motzko had high praise for the Buckeyes (9-4-1, 4-2-0), including their special teams, defense and system: "They are a veteran, well-coached, dialed-in, good hockey team. They have no flaws."
Quotable: "I'm not going to use the word "concerned." … I don't like being 4-6. This team, we think we should be 6-4, but we're not. We're accepting at where it is because we've seen we can be a good team. We just haven't been consistent. … Why we're not staying consistent is the craziest question in the world. This is what's confusing to us. … We don't know when it's coming. They're not sending me a note in class saying, 'We're going to be bad tonight.' We'll go two good games in a row, and you think, 'Here we go.' And then you'll see a game that we've seen before." — Motzko on his turbulent team.
Sheehy streaking: Gophers captain Tyler Sheehy tallied four goals in last weekend's series split against Michigan State. Motzko said he spoke to former coach Don Lucia, who said Sheehy was reminiscent of his sophomore season when he was the conference player of the year and a first-team All-America with 53 points before injuries derailed his junior year. Motzko even went so far as to say it was like a spotlight followed the in-the-zone Sheehy on the ice. "Even going into this season, I felt a lot more healthy and a lot stronger," Sheehy said. "Just kind of felt a little snake-bit to start, wasn't getting bounces, and things weren't really going my way. But, yeah, this past weekend, just felt really good about my game. Felt confident."
Injuries: Sheehy, who took a hard hit Saturday, and D Ryan Zuhlsdorf practiced Tuesday in medical jerseys, but Motzko said both should be fine for this weekend's series.
MEGAN RYAN
