For the Minnesota Gophers, fall is apparently a perfect time to get reacquainted with old enemies.
For much of the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth were the state’s only college hockey programs competing at the game’s top level. As rivals in the old Western Collegiate Hockey Association, a two-game trip to Duluth by the Gophers and/or a two-game visit to the Twin Cities by the Bulldogs were an every-season occurrence.
That concept went away more than a decade ago, when UMD left the WCHA for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, and the Gophers began play in the Big Ten hockey conference. And with four newcomers – Bemidji State, Minnesota State Mankato, St. Cloud State and St. Thomas – now playing at the Division I level, the Bulldogs are far from the only in-state rival for Minnesota.
Still, the Bulldogs-Gophers rivalry has continued, with the teams playing a home-and-home series in six of the past 10 seasons. That changes this weekend, when the No. 6-ranked Gophers travel to the Twin Ports for a pair of games for the first time since 2011, rather than playing one night in each team’s building. For the Gophers, who are 1-1-0 overall after a win over Air Force and a loss to Omaha last weekend in Las Vegas, it is a welcome schedule change.
“Here we can go travel and get in a hotel room and get into Canal Park,” said Gophers coach Bob Motzko at the team’s weekly media availability. “We’ve heard so much that our fans miss that because we don’t have a lot of road series, so that’s one reason we went away from the one and one. From that standpoint, I hope that turns out to be a great part of the weekend.”
With no classes at Minnesota’s public schools in the latter half of this week due to the annual teachers’ convention, hotel prices in Duluth are high. But that doesn’t seem to have discouraged a large contingent of Gophers fans from making the trip and taking in the fall colors along Lake Superior. At Amsoil Arena on the Duluth waterfront, they will see a Minnesota team that did not bring a tournament title home from Nevada, but remains confident even after an unexpected 2-1 overtime defeat in which they pelted the Omaha net with 54 shots on goal.
“I’m not going to over-analyze,” Motzko said. “It’s ‘Turn the page, get back to work this week and get moving.’ We played very, very strong hockey out there.”
Perhaps most encouraging for Gophers fans who went to Las Vegas was the play of junior forward Connor Kurth, who was honored among the Big Ten’s three stars of the week following a three-goal, one-assist performance in the 7-1 season-opening win over Air Force. Motzko said that Kurth’s emergence as an offensive force is something the coaching staff has anticipated.
“That’s the Connor we’ve kind of been waiting for. He’s got the ability to be a rat goal-scorer, because he’s so good around the net and he zeros in on it,” Motzko said. “We’ve seen him so close for two years, and hopefully that’s a game that really ignites him, for confidence to consistently do that.”
After playing before smallish crowds in a neutral rink last weekend, Kurth – who came to the U of M by way of Gentry Academy and the USHL – said he has made it his mission to prepare the Gophers’ newcomers for the unfriendly reception they’re likely to receive from the Bulldogs’ fanbase.
“We’ve got the best fans, so we know they’ll travel well. But it’s almost more fun going into a hostile environment knowing that they hate you, and trying to quiet them down right away. It’s fun, and that’s what college hockey is all about,” said Kurth, who had seven goals in 37 games last season. “I’m looking forward to the new guys getting to experience it. It’s going to be rowdy in there, and we know that…I’m sure they’re fired up to finally get chirped and have the other student section saying some not-so-nice things to you.”
The Bulldogs are 1-2-0 overall and unranked nationally after splitting a series at Massachusetts-Lowell last weekend. They have been boosted by a strong college hockey debut from Jayson Shaugabay, the 2023 Minnesota Mr. Hockey winner from Warroad who was named the NCHC rookie of the week following a two-goal performance in his first game as a Bulldog.
“They’ve got much more added skill in their lineup…They’re starting to resemble the Duluth that we all know,” Motzko said. “They’re going to be a little young, but they know that they’re getting better.”
The games face off at 7 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday, with Fox9+ televising both contests.
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