Hudson Fasching Commits to Gophers

Recently Hudson Fasching tweeted the words Gophers coach Don Lucia wanted: "Committed to the Minnesota Golden Gophers."

Fasching, 16, plays for the under-17 U.S. national team in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is 6-3, 190 and was a highly coveted forward.

Fasching's team will represent the U.S. in the World under-17 Hockey Challenge opening Thursday and running through January 4. The U.S. team will play the Czechs in its first game.

Fasching is expected to be a high draft pick in the 2013 NHL draft.

Minnesota Golden Gophers Hot Basketball Games

Here are some of my best guesses for top selling Gopher Basketball games:

1/4 Gophers v Iowa
2/9 Gophers v Wisconsin
2/14 Gophers v Ohio
3/3 Gophers v Nebraska

If you want to go to these games (like I do) you should get your tickets quickly because I'm sure they will either skyrocket in price or sell out!

Gophers Hockey Fight to the Finish

Things really heated up near the end of Saturday's Minnesota-Michigan Tech game. The Gophers were comfortably ahead, 6-2, near the end of the game. Players and coaches were involved when Seth Helgeson (Minnesota) and Carl Nielsen (Michigan Tech) went at it in front of the Gopher's bench.

Both players' helmets were ripped off, and Nielson got many punches in - a major no-no in college hockey. Both players were sent off the ice with penalties and the teams continued to jaw at each other.

The coaches became involved when Tech assistant coach Bill Muckalt walked toward the Minnesota bench and began gesturing at the coaches.

Minnesota went on to win.

Gophers, 10-1, Remain Unranked in Top 25 Poll

The Minnesota Gophers remain unranked in the Associated Press Top 25, though the ranking does have a new No. 1.

The Syracuse Orangeman, 10-0, moved up from No. 3 and took over the Alpha position after the Kentucky Wildcats and Ohio State Buckeyes lost.

In the meantime, the Golden Gophers have won four straight since Trevor Mbakwe, the Gophers star, was lost for the season with a torn ACL. Minnesota is 10-1 overall, but failed to receive even a single vote in either the AP or ESPN/USA Today top 25 polls. In all, 97 voters are polled between the two polls.

Gopher Hockey Sweeps MSU

When the glass shattered behind the Gopher net during pre-game warm ups and then Minnesota moved the net to the corner to continue their prep, it seemed as though something was off at Mariucci Arena. Later in the game Travis Boyd lost the blade off his skate after a collision. The entire game was plagued by questionable calls.

Yet, the Gopher hockey team managed to complete the weekend series sweep of Minnesota State, with a 3-2 win at Mariucci Arena.

The sweep was very important because it keeps the No. 5 ranked Gophers in first place in the WCHA, standing atop the league with 18 points, one point ahead of the surging Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, currently ranked No. 4 in the nation.

Gophers Hold Three Game Win Streak

With only three games to go before the start of the Big Ten season, Minnesota has already had to endure the loss of Trevor Mbakwe, ankle injuries to Ralph Sampson III and Andre Hollins, and inconsistent play from just about every other 'regular'.

The nonconference season has been full of inferior opponents and the Gophers sit at 9-1. Having Sampson back and Rodney Williams as Mbakwe's replacement, the Gophers seem to be headed for a strong season, carrying a three-game winning streak into Saturday's game against St. Peter's. The Peacocks have yet to win a road game this season. The Gophers are undefeated at Williams Arena (7-0).

Mbakwe Out with ACL, Gophers Win

Some fans, myself included, were a bit nervous as the Gophers headed into the game against Virginia Tech with a makeshift roster. The emotionally drained Minnesota Gophers were expected to crumble. They did anything but.

The Gophers were fueled by players that hadn't seen a starting spot all season, some of which had remained entirely in the shadows until now. However, those same players were able to overcome a late three-point barrage from Virginia Tech and snuck past the Hokies in a big 58-55 victory in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Wednesday.

With Trevor Mbakwe out for the season, the Gophers will continue to need emotional showings like the V Tech game. Mbakwe is out with a torn ACL.

Longtime Underdogs Come to Town

The Minnesota State Mavericks, longtime underdogs in the hockey rivalry, will come to town to play the Gophers. Though the Mavericks have always come in as the underdogs, they have, as of late, left accomplishing the Cinderella story.

Since January 2009, the Mavericks are 5-1-0 against Minnesota. Before that time, the Gophers held a stunning 28-3-6 record against their south central Minnesota rivals.

Will this weekend's matchup be in the bag for the Gophers? Clearly we shouldn't assume so much.

In the five wins since '09, the Mavericks have outscored Minnesota a whopping 17-7, although their two most recent victories held a lesser margin of only one goal.

I look for the Gophers to make a rebound in the Mavericks Gophers series this weekend. The Gophers are atop the WCHA standings with an 8-2-0 record and facing a Mavericks team that is tied for 11th place at 2-7-1. It might not be easy, but it will be a series W.