College Hockey Game of the Week: No. 1 Minnesota vs No. 5 North Dakota

College Hockey is back and better than ever with a top-five matchup headed into this week. No. 1 Minnesota at No. 5 North Dakota is a matchup that should reveal how good both teams are and if they are as advertised.

On Friday night this will be the 294th all-time meeting between Minnesota and North Dakota. The Gophers lead the series slightly over the Fighting Hawks with a record of 142-135-16.

Last season both teams picked up overtime victories and were 1-1 during a very close season series.

In recent years, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks have been on the winning side of this series with a 6-2 record ever since 2017.

Last weekend the Fighting Hawks faced off in the Ice Breaker Tournament and ended up claiming the trophy for the second time in the program's history.

They had a dominant 7-2 victory over Army West Point and a close 2-0 victory over their longtime rival Wisconsin Badgers to jump them to No. 5 in the rankings.

Forwards Hunter Johannes and Jackson Blake were named to the Ice Breaker All-Tournament Team as well as their top defenseman Garrett Pyke.

Their goaltender Ludvig Persson was phenomenal and was also selected as the NCHC’s Goaltender of the Week after finishing with a 1.00 GAA and .952 save percentage, including a 29-save shutout against the Wisconsin Badgers.

They will lean on Persson heavily in this matchup against a very talented and explosive Gophers lineup. Perrson is draft-eligible for the 2024 NHL draft and should be on some team's radar as the backbone of this team.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are coming off an impressive weekend of their own after taking care of business on home ice against St. Thomas.

Their 23rd overall draft pick, Jimmy Snuggerud, led the way and netted a pair and their goaltender Justen Close turned away all 24 shots faced en route to a 3-0 victory on Saturday.

On the weekend Snuggerud had 4 goals and both of the game-winning goals in their victories over St. Thomas for the weekend sweep.

Goaltender Justen Close registered his first shutout of the season and the 10th of his career at Minnesota.

Coming into this matchup both goaltenders are going to be crucial for both squads because both teams are very good offensively.

Christian Holtzapple a fourth-year student majoring in journalism, To contact him, email cmh7064@psu.edu