Michigan men's hockey team hosts No. 2 Minnesota this weekend (Nov. 10-11)

Wolverines face toughest test yet in Golden Gophers

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Mel Pearson's Michigan Wolverines will take on their toughest test yet of the season when they host the No. 2 Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday and Saturday in Ann Arbor. 

In his first season as the Michigan men's hockey coach, Pearson has the team trending in the right direction. They are 5-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten in their first season without legendary coach Red Berenson behind the bench since 1984.

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The Wolverines will be looking to bounce back from a tough 3-2 overtime loss to Ferris State this past Friday at home. A win or two over Minnesota would put the program back into the national conversation.

The Golden Gophers, meanwhile, are 7-3-0 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten. Sophomore forward Rem Pitlick (4G, 6A) is a point-per-game player right now, helping push his Minnesota team to conference wins over Penn State and Michigan State. The Gophers topped the Spartans, 4-0, on Saturday at home. That bumped them up from the No. 4 spot and into the No. 2 position behind St. Cloud State University in the latest college hockey rankings (view below).

The Wolverines are led on the score sheet by junior forward Cooper Marody (3G, 9A) who has 12 points in 8 games played. Sophomore goalies Jack LaFontaine (2.55 GAA, .927 SV%) and Hayden Lavigne (2.48 GAA, .914 SV%) have split time between the pipes for Michigan. 

Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday at Yost Arena. Saturday's game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network. 

Latest USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll

Rank

School

Last Week's Rank

2017-18 Record

Weeks in Top 15

1.

St. Cloud State University, 510 (34)

2

7-0-0

7

2.

University of Minnesota, 427

4

7-3-0

7

3.

University of Denver, 416

1

4-2-2

7

4.

University of North Dakota, 401

5

6-2-2

7

5.

Harvard University, 372

3

2-1-0

7

6.

University of Notre Dame, 264

10

6-3-1

7

7.

Providence College, 245

6

5-3-0

7

8.

University of New Hampshire, 235

13

6-1-1

3

9.

Clarkson University, 217

14

6-3-1

5

10.

University of Wisconsin, 194

7

6-4-1

7

11.

Minnesota State University, 187

9

6-3-0

6

12.

Cornell University, 166

-

4-0-0

1

13.

Northeastern University, 155

15

5-2-1

6

14.

University of Minnesota Duluth, 85

8

4-4-2

7

15.

Western Michigan University, 78

-

5-3-1

1

Others Receiving Votes:

Boston University, 75; Quinnipiac University, 18; Northern Michigan University, 9; Colorado College, 7; Ohio State University, 7; University of Michigan, 6; Bowling Green State University, 3; Army West Point, 1; Bemidji State University, 1; Penn State University, 1.

Notes:

St. Cloud State University ranks number one with 510 points and all 34 first-place votes ... The NCHC has five teams in the rankings, while ECAC Hockey, Hockey East Association and Big Ten are tied with with three, and the WCHA has one.