The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers had one goal in mind entering the 2017-2018 season: get back to the WCCHA Championship Game and bring the Carla Berg Cup to Dinkytown just a year after suffering a big loss in the final and watching Minnesota State-Mankato skate off as champs. Minnesota returned key pieces, but in the highly competitive WCCHA nothing was guaranteed. It was certainly a long journey and it came down to an extra frame and a shootout, but the Gophers achieved their goal of earning their 5th WCCHA title and are moving on to the ACHA Central Regional Tournament this coming weekend.

Minnesota started this season with a unique opponent, who was making the rounds in the Midwest in Santa Rosa Junior College. After dispatching them handily, the Gophers entered conference play and won their first five WCCHA games until their cross-town rival St. Thomas handed them an overtime loss. A split the following weekend with North Dakota might have signaled the Gophers were floundering a bit, but they found their game and reeled off six straight conference wins, including a sweep over the Mavericks from Mankato who ended their season just a year ago. A trip to Ames, Iowa was in order in early December to take on the always competitive Iowa State Cyclones. The Gophers dropped the Friday night game by a single goal, but bounced back with a solid win the next night to preserve their rankings and get a weekend split to end the first semester.

The second semester started with back-to-back splits, with the Gophers taking one game apiece from Bethel and Wisconsin. Then came the conference tournament, where the Gophers outscored the St. Thomas Tommies in a high-flying quarterfinal game. In the semifinal, the Gophers met the Mavericks, themselves trying to repeat as WCCHA Champions and make it back to Regionals. Minnesota exorcised the demons from a year ago with a convincing 6-1 win. In the final, the Gophers matched up against the #2 seed Wisconsin Badgers - a game pitting this season's division champions. A shootout followed a tight-checking, fast paced game that officially ended 2-2. Connor Freeman scored the final goal in the sixth round of the shootout to cap the redemption tour from a year ago and stand alone as WCCHA Champions.

Coming into Regionals, the Gophers are led in scoring by forward Brandon Thompson. Thompson has racked up the accolades over his career, including in the past year. He was a member of the 2017 WCCHA All Star Team, was named to the 2nd Team All-Conference Team, and earned a spot as one of the three forwards on the 2018 WCCHA Tournament All-Tournament Team. Thompson finished with 43 points in 24 games. Not far behind Thompson in scoring is Nick Anderson. Anderson, himself a 3rd Team All-Conference selection for the ‘17-18 season, racked up the most goals on his team with 25. He chipped in 13 assists for a total of 38 points in 21 games played. Dylan Ross is one more forward who finished north of 30 points for Minnesota. Ross tallied 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points. The Gophers also feature some forwards who can hurt you who haven’t filled the scoresheet as much as the top three. James Scanlan (14-10=24) and Kellen Campbell (8-13=21) were both excellent all season and in the WCCHA Tournament. Those two, along with Michael Pettijohn (12-6=18), Dylan Klehr (6-12=18), and Peyton Phillips (8-7=15) round out the top eight scorers, with three more players tied at 14 points to give the Gophers multiple lines with scoring.

Along the blue line, Evan Dahlseide and Andrew Krug led the way for a steady group of defenseman. Krug finished with one goal and 13 assists, while Dahlseide finished with three goals and nine assists. Dahlseide, who had an exceptional WCCHA Tournament, was named to the All-Tournament Team. While not counted on to score a whole lot, the largely veteran group of Gopher defenders does a good job limiting shots and winning battles in the defensive zone to get the puck on their forwards’ sticks. Luke Hefferman, Connor Freeman (he of the shootout winner in the championship game), Jacob Radenbaugh, and Cam Knutsen are all blue line regulars, play hard minutes, and throw their fair share of hits as well.

In net, the Gophers have a true difference maker. Clay Knutsen, 1st Team All-Conference this season, provides leadership and rarely makes mistakes. Knutsen also was named to the 2017 WCCHA All Star Team. He took home 2018 WCCHA Tournament All-Tournament Team honors as well as the Carla Berg Cup. The team president boasts a .927 save percentage, playing in 20 of the 26 games this season. Knutsen is a steady, calm influence in net for this tight-knit Gophers squad.

Awaiting the Gophers in Missouri are the #11 ranked University of Michigan Wolverines. At last year's Regionals, the Wolverines took on the WCCHA Champions Minnesota State-Mankato, winning in comeback fashion 5-4 in overtime. Coming into this postseason with a 12-10-1 record, Michigan is certainly battle-tested, having played numerous teams in the top 10. The only common opponent Michigan and Minnesota have this season is the University of Wisconsin. The Wolverines took on the Badgers in Madison in December, squeaking out two overtime wins. Michigan is led in scoring by Ben Mansky, who put up 45 points in 23 games played. 

If the Gophers advance, they will meet either #3 McKendree University or #4 Lindenwood on Saturday. A win in that game would likely mean a matchup with the highest remaining seed on Sunday with the chance to advance to the 2018 ACHA D2 National Tournament in March.

The two traditional Big Ten rivals square off at the 2018 ACHA D2 Central Region Tournament in Wentzville, Missouri on February 23rd at 7:00pm. The game will be live streamed on host Lindenwood's YouTube channel, with twitter updates provided at @LU_D2_Lions.

Here is the full schedule for the 2018 ACHA DII Central Region Tournament:

Session 1 - Friday, February 23rd :

4:00pm   - #9 St. Louis University vs. #12 Michigan State University

6:00pm   - #10 University of Minnesota vs. #11 University of Michigan

Session 2 - Saturday, February 24th :

10:00am  - #6 Grand Valley State University vs. #7 Adrian College

1:00pm    - #3 McKendree vs. < Lowest Remaining >

Session 3 - Saturday, February 24th :

5:45pm  - #4 Lindenwood University vs. < 2nd Lowest Remaining >

8:45pm  -  #5 Marian University vs. #8 Iowa State University

Session 4 - Sunday, February 25th :

1:30pm  -   < Highest Remaining > vs. < Lowest Remaining >

4:30pm      < 2nd Highest Remaining > vs. <2nd Lowest Remaining >