North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol says Gophers' forward Jake Hansen started the altercation that got UND's Ben Blood in trouble. Hakstol also says Minnesota's radio play-by-play guy Wally Shaver was out of line when he referred to Blood as a "lunkhead" and the UND hockey program as "hoseheads."

Next season will be the Gopher men's hockey team's last season in the WCHA, and their schedule is looking very glamorous. Minnesota plays 36 games, 20 at at Mariucci Arena. Two of the non-conference home games are against Notre Dame and defending national champion, Boston College.

The Golden Gophers chance at a season sweep of North Dakota went by the wayside Friday night as they lost, 2-1 at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks. Kyle Rau got the scoring started for the Gophers, but Minnesota failed to hang on to their lead en route to its third straight loss.

The No. 7-ranked Minnesota men's hockey team clinched home-ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Erik Haula netted two goals to help the Gophers beat the Beavers 4-1 at Mariucci Arena Saturday night. Minnesota is now two points ahead of Minnesota-Duluth for first place in the conference.