FELDY: Anyone have a spare ticket or two for the biggest sporting event in Minneapolis this weekend? I'd take tickets to either Friday or Saturday's UND-Minnesota hockey games. Honestly, I can't remember a time when the Sioux-Gophers series has been the second-biggest deal of a weekend to me. Between my favorite college hockey rivalry and the former Mr. Jessica Simpson guiding his club into Metrodome on Sunday, I'm going to once again be like the kid on the Disney World commercial -- "I'M TOO EXCITED TO SLEEP!!!"
And I think all of our Faceoff Faithful know I can't post about a Sioux-Gophers series without bringing up this . Sorry, Gophs fans. It just doesn't get old for us. And here's an article by Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald about a former cake-eater, who grew up 10 minutes from Mariucci Arena, but now plays for the Sioux .
Roman Augustoviz of the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes that Gophs freshman defenseman Nick Leddy wants to play "smarter" against the Sioux than he did in the first series this season, back in October in Grand Forks.
As for the Sioux-Gophers series, this is a crucial one for both teams, especially the Sioux. After this weekend, they go to Cornell for a non-conference series, but then comes the gauntlet: home for Denver, at St. Cloud, home for Duluth, and at CC before ending the season at home against Michigan Tech. UND is ranked No. 4 in the country (way too high if you ask me), but is tied for fifth in the WCHA. That means the Sioux need points at Mariucci this weekend, as they're battling for a home-ice spot in the playoffs. The top six teams in the WCHA are separated by six points.
Same goes for the Gophers. They're in seventh place, five points behind UND and Wisconsin, with two games in hand. Both teams are battling injuries; both have lost their best player for extensive periods of time (Minnesota's Jay Barriball is out for the season; UND's Chay Genoway has been out for the past two months because of post-concussion symptoms. He still can't do such simple tasks as look at a computer screen without having headaches.) The Gophs will also be without Taylor Matson, while UND will also miss agitator/top-line forward Brett Hextall and freshman forward Corban Knight, who had two goals against Phersy's Mavs last weekend before suffering a knee injury.
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Speaking of Phersy's Mavs, I held off from the trash talk when the Sioux swept Mankato out of Grand Forks. So, Phersy, this is for you . And this .
