The Gophers are playing for more than a sweep and points in the conference race on Friday night. A victory against Michigan State would be veteran coach Don Lucia's 391st win leading the Gophers and make him the storied program's all-time winningest coach.
Lucia is in his 16th season with the Gophers and his 28th season as a college hockey head coach. His career record is 669-354-97 with a 390-199-68 record at Minnesota. Lucia tied longtime coach Doug Woog with his 390th win on Thursday night, a 5-3 comeback victory against the Spartans.
The players were aware of what was at stake this weekend.
"Definitely," motivation to win, Gophers senior Sam Warning said. "It's going to be hard game, Michigan State is a tough team, so obviously we want to go out there and get coach a milestone win."
Standout goaltender Adam Wilcox should be back in the net for what could be s special night at Mariucci Arena. Wilcox sat out of Thursday night's victory nursing a minor lower-body injury, but Lucia said his veteran goaltender would likely start Friday's game.
Lucia didn't spend much time thinking about the milestone after Thursday's victory, saying there won't be any nerves leading up to Friday's finale.
"It's all about trying to win [Friday] night," he said. "If we beat Michigan State, where we are in the standings at the end of the year, that's what it's all about."
• Four goaltenders from in-state college hockey programs picked up nominations for the Mike Richter Award honoring the nation's top goalie.
