The #2 seed Minnesota Gophers men’s hockey team opens the NCAA Tournament Friday night in the Worcester Region when they face #3 seed Massachusetts Minutemen. UMass is the defending NCAA Champion, and returns a lot of talent to the ice. Minnesota has plenty of talent of their own, but will it be enough to keep their season alive?
The Gophers enter the NCAA Tournament after their first loss in nine games. They dropped the Big Ten Tournament Championship game to Michigan 4-3 last Saturday. Minnesota scored just 32 seconds into the game, but the Wolverines answered right back and took a 2-1 lead late in the first period after a shot deflected into the net off of Minnesota defenseman Mike Koster’s stick.