Gabe Guertler will make his college debut tonight at Notre Dame. The Gophers freshman forward missed the first month of the season after he was indefinitely suspended for violating team rules in August.

Coach Don Lucia announced the freshman would travel with the team this weekend, but wasn't sure if he would play. Lucia said Guertler would have to earn his way back.

The freshman must have been impressive during Thursday and Friday practices. He's listed at left wing for the Gophers' third line in the series opener at Notre Dame.

Defenseman Jake Parenteau is back in the lineup after missing the Boston College finale two weeks ago. He suffered an upper-body injury early in the series opener with the Eagles.

• Unfortunately, I did not make the trip to Notre Dame this weekend. Local reporter Steve Lowe will cover the game for us. Follow him on Twitter for updates. I'll do pre-game blogs with lines prior to each game.

Tonight's 7:05 p.m. game is on NBC Sports Network and 1500-AM.

Full preview of the Gophers and Notre Dame series. Feature on the father-son relationship of Gophers coach Don Lucia and his son, Mario, a Notre Dame hockey standout.

Gophers lines

Forwards (left wing, center, right wing)
Sam Warning, Kyle Rau, Hudson Fasching
Nate Condon, Justin Kloos, Taylor Cammarata
Gabe Guertler, Travis Boyd, Vinni Lettieri
Tom Serratore, Christian Isackson, Seth Ambroz

Defensemen (left, right)
Brady Skjei, Justin Holl
Mike Reilly, Jake Parenteau
Ben Marshall, Michael Brodzinski

Goaltenders
Adam Wilcox
Michael Shibrowski

Gophers coach Don Lucia: