HOME-AND-HOME SERIES PREVIEW: NO. 1 GOPHERS VS. NO. 7 ST. CLOUD STATE
7:30 p.m. Friday at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud; 4 p.m. Saturday at Mariucci Arena.
TV/radio/live stream: FSN on Friday and Saturday; 1500-AM both nights; BTN2Go both nights.
Gophers at a glance: The Gophers (4-0) are too easy to play against, coach Don Lucia said leading up to his team's first true road test in St. Cloud on Friday night. They don't spend enough time in their offensive zone, he said, and the defense has to do a better job of shutting down plays. Junior defenseman Brady Skjei agreed and pointed out several big mistakes that allowed Bemidji State to keep pace last weekend. The No. 1 Gophers have lot more they can show, Skjei said. The offense appears to be in good shape after a big weekend with 10 goals, led by Travis Boyd's three.
Huskies at a glance: St. Cloud State (2-2) is coming off a split with defending national champion and No. 2-ranked Union. The Huskies' 3-2 victory on Saturday ended Union's 17-game home-winning streak and handed the program its first loss since Jan. 31. St. Cloud's first month started with No. 6 Colgate and it ends with a home-and-home series with the No. 1 Gophers. The inaugural NCHC regular-season champions last season lost their top player in Hobey Baker finalist Nic Dowd, but several standouts return in defenseman Andrew Prochno, forward Jonny Brodzinski and goalie Charlie Lindgren. Brodzinski is the older brother of Gophers sophomore Michael Brodzinski.
TV Note: FSN's Friday night broadcast will be produced in association with St. Cloud State's student-run Husky Productions team. Saturday's early 4 p.m. start kicks off a night of back-to-back Gophers and Wild hockey on FSN.
JASON GONZALEZ
