Gophers men's hockey gameday: Two top three teams collide in Michigan

The Gophers are No. 2 and Michigan No. 3 in the latest USCHO.com poll. This will be their first matchup since last season's Big Ten tournament championship game.

November 17, 2022 at 3:26AM
Gophers forward Jimmy Snuggerud (81) celebrated a goal with defenseman Jackson LaCombe in a Nov. 4 home victory vs. Notre Dame. (Renée Jones Schneider, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

GOPHERS MEN'S HOCKEY GAMEDAY

Thursday (5:30 p.m.) and Friday (5 p.m.) at Michigan

TV: BTN (both games), Radio: 102.5 FM Thursday, 103.5 FM and 1130-AM Friday

Gophers update: The Gophers (8-4, 4-2 Big Ten) fell from No. 1 to No. 2 in the USCHO poll this week after a split with Penn State at home last week. The Gophers, who are No. 13 in the current PairWise rankings, lost the series opener to Penn State 4-2 on Nov. 10 before rallying for a 3-1 victory the next night. ... Freshman Jimmy Snuggerud leads the Gophers with eight goals and 12 points. ... The Gophers and Michigan split four regular-season games last season, with a series split at each venue. ... The Wolverines defeated the Gophers 4-3 in the Big Ten tournament championship game at 3M Arena at Mariucci on March 19.

Michigan update: The Wolverines (9-3, 2-2) are ranked No. 3 in the USCHO poll and the PairWise rankings. ... Last weekend, the Wolverines split at Notre Dame, winning 5-1 on Friday before Notre Dame rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 OT victory on Saturday. ... Sophomore forward Mackie Samoskevich, a 2021 first-round pick of the NHL's Florida Panthers, leads the Wolverines with 10 goals. ... Freshman Adam Fantilli, who spent the past two seasons with Chicago of the USHL, leads the nation with 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists). Fantilli is a projected top five pick in the 2023 NHL draft. ... Defenseman Keaton Pehrson, a senior from Lakeville, has two assists in 12 games, while forward Jackson Hallum, a freshman from Eagan, has three goals and three assists.

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about the writer

Joel Rippel

News Assistant

Joel Rippel writes about sports for the Star Tribune.

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