Gophers Hockey Looks Strong, Future Schedule

The St. Cloud State team deserves a bit of credit for upsetting the No. 1 rates Gophers, 4-3, on Friday. Lucia gave St. Cloud State some props as he highlighted the fact that the Huskies had not lost at their home this year, sitting at 3-0-2.

The Gophers won the second game 5-0 and sit at 11-3 overall.

In December, the Gophers will play six home games. January brings four home games, three road games. In February, the Gophers will have two home games and twice as many road games. March holds only two home games, for a total of 14 home games and seven road games.

Minnesota Picks up Win Over MSM

The Minnesota Gophers have had some close outcomes in their past three games, but the Gophers finally picked up a lopsided 85-56 win Monday over Mount St. Mary's. The win did quite a few things for the Gophers squad.

It gave Minnesota's bench players a chance to get in some extra minutes on the court as well as giving the Gophers a small boost of confidence as they head into the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, later this week.

The Gophers' first game of the upcoming tournament in Thanksgiving Day against DePaul. The squad will head to Orlando sitting at a perfect 4-0.

Gopher Football Travels to Northwestern

The Gophers can beat Northwestern, right?

Northwestern is coming off three straight wins with Ws over Indiana, Rice and Nebraska. Whoa... not so fast. The Huskers? Yes. Recall that Nebraska beat Minnesota 100-0. Well... the Wildcats beat the Huskers in Lincoln.

Still. The Gophers should win, right?

Trevor Mbakwe Exploding

Six NBA (6!) teams have already come in to watch Minnesota's Trevor Mbakwe. Mbakwe is seen as a player that could lead the U of M to a Cinderella-type story in the Big Ten to finish in the top four.

Mbakwe has only missed three shots in two games and leads the Gophers with 17 points and 10 rebounds a game.

I will obviously keep and eye on the big guy and keep you all posted! Congrats to Mbakwe for his outstanding performance so far - keep it up!

Minnesota Gophers 72, Augustana Vikings 60

The Minnesota Gophers picked up a win in an exhibition game against the Augustana Vikings. The Vikings gave the Gophers almost more than they could handle, led by Drae Murray and Cody Schilling.

Schilling graduated from Elsworth, Minnesota in 2008 and is Minnesota's all-time leading high school scorer.

Gopher guard Austin Hollins' spirited play to open the second propelled the Gophers to a 15-2 run. Junior forward Rodney Williams and senior forward Trevor Mbakwe carried the Gophers to the finish line.

Minnesota Gophers and Wisconsin Badgers Fight over Axe

The Minnesota Gophers haven't won Paul Bunyan's Axe since 2003. Jerry Kill, I'm sure, realizes the significance of the battle for the Axe. Kill has faced Wisconsin while coaching at Northern Illinois, but this will be the first meeting of the borders for Kill as a Gopher.

Minnesota has four trophy games against Big Ten foes, and the Gopher won one of them two weeks ago when they beat Iowa. The Gophers were able to keep Floyd of Rosedale in that game.

Michigan beat the Gophers earlier this year to lay claim to the Little Brown Jug - which has been out of Minnesota since 2005. Minnesota and Penn State also battle over a trophy, the Governor's Victory Bell. The Nittany lions hold an 8-4 lead in the Battle for the Bell.

Minnesota Gophers Keep Floyd of Rosedale

It's not surprising the Gopher football team isn't ranked as we head into Week 10. They are just 2-6 on the season and have been pounded hard in most of their games. The 21 points they gave up in the victory over the Hawkeyes was the lowest amount since their opening loss to Southern Cal, who scored just 19 points.

The Gophers won't be ranked, but at least they get to keep Floyd of Rosedale for another year. Also, it seems that Jerry Kill is the right man to get this team out of transition and back on track.

TCF Tailgating Pass

I have never been to a Gopher football game before, not even at the new TCF Bank stadium, but I have, as of this past weekend, gone tailgating in the Victory lot outside of the Bank.

Let me tell you, it was tons of fun. My friends and I rolled into the lot around 10:30am and pulled into a spot somewhere in the middle, unloaded our car and cracked a cold one. Eventually we branched out and met some Gopher and Hawkeyes fans, playing a few tailgating games here and there. It was a ton of fun.

I 100% recommend getting a parking pass if you are (or aren't!) heading to a Gopher game in the future. We were so close to TCF and the atmosphere is what you want on gameday. Seriously... get yourself a pass.