A week after handing Michigan Tech its first losses of the season, the No. 15 Badgers men's hockey team (2-1-1 WCHA, 5-2-1 overall) goes on the road to Minneapolis for a date with their border rivals, the No. 17 Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-3-0, 3-3-0).
Any time Wisconsin and Minnesota get together it is a momentous occasion. The Badgers and Gophers have one of the most storied rivalries in all of college sports, and when these two teams meet, players on both sides take their game to a new level.
The rivalry takes on an even greater significance for Minnesota natives like junior forward Jordy Murray. ""This rivalry means a ton to me. Especially being from Minnesota, it's a big deal for me, it's a big deal for everyone. There is a lot of history and these are two teams that don't like each other, in any sport. There is a little hatred but that is the way hockey should be played.""
""This is a huge rivalry,"" senior forward and St. Louis native Sean Dolan added. ""You look at all the guys on our team from Minnesota, and being the border state for the guys from Wisconsin it is definitely a huge rivalry. I'm not from either state but I don't really like the Gophers so it's definitely a big deal.""
Senior forward Patrick Johnson cautioned the team against going into the first game of the series on Friday too amped up, however.
""You're always a little more jacked up to play Minnesota but you don't want to get too excited, if you do that you'll start running around and that's what can get you off your game,"" Johnson said. ""They are a great offensive team. They'll make you pay if you do that.""
November will be one of the toughest months of the season for the Badgers, starting Friday with the Gophers. Following this weekend's series, Wisconsin will play North Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth at home, ranked No. 2 and No. 9, respectively. The Badgers will look to use this weekend as a good way to build momentum for the rest of the month.
""You feel really good when you leave Mariucci with four points,"" Dolan said. ""It would be huge for our team. These weekends that we have this month are going to be big series, definitely the strongest month of our season. So if we can start it off with a sweep right here it would be huge.""
""We're looking at it like four points we need to have on the road, and we won't be satisfied unless we get all four.""
