The Gophers men's hockey team will make its first trip to the state of New York in over a decade when it plays Clarkson at 6 p.m. Friday at Cheel Arena in Potsdam and St. Lawrence on Saturday night at Appleton Arena in Canton. It will be Minnesota's first-ever trip to those arenas.

"There's a lot of tradition in their programs," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "I thought it would be a good trip for our guys … going to a place most of them have never been."

The Gophers (2-2), No. 12 in the USCHO.com poll this week, are coming off being swept by No. 10 St. Cloud State. "This past weekend exposed the areas of our game that we have to work on," Lucia said.

The last time the Gophers were in New York was in 2003, when they won the NCAA title at HSBC Arena in Buffalo.

They are 3-0 all-time against Clarkson. The Golden Knights (3-2-1) are coming off a 3-3 tie with No. 14 Providence and a 4-3 upset of No. 5 UMass-Lowell. Freshman goalie Jake Kielly of Edina made 43 saves against the Friars and 28 against the River Hawks and was named ECAC netminder of the week. Senior forward A.J. Fossen of Maple Grove has two goals and an assist for Clarkson.

No. 18 St. Lawrence (3-3) lost to UMass-Lowell 5-2 and Providence 6-3 last weekend. Joe Sullivan leads the balanced Saints with three goals, and six teammates have two goals.

The Gophers are averaging 4.8 goals per game — led by Tyler Sheehy with three goals and five assists — while allowing 3.0 goals per game.

MIAC hockey favorites

Augsburg was picked to repeat as the MIAC men's hockey champion in a preseason coaches' poll. The Auggies return three all-conference players: goalie Jordyn Kaufer and forwards Corbin Chapman and Nate Flynn. St. Thomas was second in the poll and St. John's third. All nine conference teams will make their season debuts in the MIAC Showcase, a three-day event starting Friday at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine.

• St. Thomas was No. 1 in the MIAC women's hockey preseason coaches' poll. The Tommies, who return senior forward Kathryn Larson, the league's player of the year, tied for the conference title last season with Bethel. The Royals were picked to finish second, Concordia (Moorhead) third.

U track update

PCL Construction Services and DLR Group have been selected to design and construct the new University of Minnesota track and field stadium, the school announced. PCL/DLR will begin work on the facility immediately.