Sioux-Gopher Series Always A Touchdown

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Few rivalries in all of sports involve much hatred as Minnesota-North Dakota. At the end of their matchup this fall, a Sioux fan found himself in a coma after being knocked out by a Gopher fan.

On the ice, this series features teams that, although their seasons have seemed to gone in much different directions, are actually a lot closer in the standings than one might think. The Sioux sit 5 points in front of the Gophers in the WCHA standings, and the Gophers have 2 games in hand. With a sweep, the Gophers will be just one point back.

Numbers wise, it seems the Gophers are doing it with smoke and mirrors a bit more than the Sioux are. Minnesota is just 40th in scoring, and tied for 22nd in scoring. North Dakota, meanwhile, is a pedestrian 20th in scoring offense, but they are 4th nationally in scoring defense, giving up just over 2 goals per game. Naturally, this means Minnesota will put up a snowman one of the two nights.

Surprisingly about the Sioux defense is they haven’t gotten great goaltending. Brad Eidsness has, in truth, probably regressed from his Freshman year. Eidsness is 8th in the WCHA in save percentage with a .912 mark, with Alex Kangas just below him with a .910 mark.

Minnesota wins games apparently by staying out of the box (just 12.6 PIMS a game, 42nd nationally). They need some of their big stars, like Jordan Schroeder who had a great WJC, to step up in the 2nd half of the season in order to make a return to the NCAA tournament.

The Sioux meanwhile, are gearing up for their usual 2nd half run. However, it appears their 2nd half schedule this year is a bit tougher than in years past. In addition to the Minnesota series, the Sioux have tough ones coming up at Cornell, at home vs. Denver, at home vs. Minnesota-Duluth and at Colorado College.

At least the Sioux ducked Bemidji State this year.