Gophers gameday

7 P.M. VS. Vermont • Mariucci ARENA • FSN Plus, 1500-AM

Gophers at a glance: Expect to see a whole new look from the No. 9 Gophers in Saturday's season opener, the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game. They graduated six seniors and lost three standout juniors — goalie Adam Wilcox, first-round NHL draft pick Brady Skjei, and two-time All-America defenseman Mike Reilly — to the pros. The 10 freshmen will be expected to contribute right away. Coach Don Lucia hinted he could have three lines centered by freshmen and possibly a rookie in the net. A large junior class, led by captain Justin Kloos and assistant captains Hudson Fasching, Connor Reilly and Jake Bischoff, should help ease the transition. They played a big role in the Gophers' run to the 2014 national title game. … The game will be streamed on BTN2Go.

Vermont at a glance: The Catamounts return most of their players from a team that finished in the middle of the Hockey East standings and advanced to the conference tournament semifinals. Vermont has a loaded nonconference schedule the first month. It travels to Minneapolis, then hosts a pair of Frozen Four qualifiers, Omaha and North Dakota, in back-to-back weekends. The Catamounts hosted the Gophers in 2012-13 and were swept. Vermont, however, won the teams' last meeting 5-4 at Mariucci Arena in October 2011. The Gophers lead the all-time series 3-1.

JASON GONZALEZ