The Gophers have been remarkably injury-free this season.
But tonight, Nick Bjugstad is out of the lineup because of an injury he suffered last Saturday against Nebraska Omaha. One of the Mavs big defenseman crushed him against the boards in the second period and got a two-minute boarding penalty.
The Gophers have been hush-hush about what the injury is. But as late as this morning, the Gophers still thought Bjugstad might play. Coach Don Lucia told fans at the Blue Line Club luncheon Bjugey's status depending on how Friday's morning skate went.
The good news for the Gophers is the return of two other injured players. Freshman Ben Marshall is back on defense, paired with Mark Alt as usual, after missing the Nebraska Omaha series.
Nick Larson is back in the lineup at forward, on the fourth line. He has been out since mid-January because of a broken wrist suffered at North Dakota.
The Gophers' lineup:
Forwards
1st line/ Kyle Rau-Travis Boyd-Zach Budish ... Boyd has big shoes to fill figuratively and literally. At 5-10, he is seven inches shorter than Bjugey. But biggest difference between two is he has zero goals and Bjugey has 23. So why is Boyd on first line? Lucia didn't want to break up his second and third lines, it seems.
