Big Ten hockey tournament championship preview: Gophers vs. Michigan
Minnesota is looking to defend the title it won last year against Wisconsin.

Gophers vs. Michigan
7 p.m. Saturday, 3M Arena at Mariucci * TV: BTN * Radio: 103.5-FM, 1130-AM
Gophers at a glance: Minnesota (24-11) will try to win its second consecutive Big Ten tournament title and follow up its regular-season championship. A win likely would secure one of the four No. 1 NCAA tournament regional seeds for the Gophers, while a loss might drop them to a No. 2 seed. They'll find out their NCAA destination during the selection show at 5:30 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU. C Ben Meyers (16 goals, 20 assists, 36 points) leads a balanced scoring attack that has seven players with 20 or more points. G Justen Close is 12-3 with a 1.74 goals-against average and .933 save percentage. F Chaz Lucius remains out because of a lower-body injury.
Michigan at a glance: The Wolverines (28-9-1) were in line to win the Big Ten regular-season title before being swept by Notre Dame, which helped the Gophers pass them on the final weekend. Michigan responded by edging the Fighting Irish 2-1 in last weekend's Big Ten tournament semifinals. F Matty Beniers (18-20-38) and defenseman Luke Hughes (17-19-36) are Michigan's top scorers, with F Brendan Brisson (17-16-33) and F Kent Johnson (7-26-33) close behind. G Erik Portillo (28-9-1, 2.03, .929) has started every game for the Wolverines.
Randy Johnson
The Gophers had lost their previous three games and their past seven meetings with the Hoosiers. Guard Amaya Battle helped change all that by scoring a game-high 16 points to surpass 1,000 in her career.