Gophers get reacquainted with bulldogs in Duluth – Twin Cities

For the Minnesota Gophers, fall is apparently the perfect time to get reacquainted with old enemies.

For much of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth were the state's only college hockey programs competing at the highest level. As rivals of the old Western Collegiate Hockey Association, two games from the Gophers to Duluth and/or a visit from the Bulldogs to the Twin Cities were commonplace each season.

That concept disappeared more than a decade ago when UMD left the WCHA to go to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and the Gophers began competing in the Big Ten Hockey Conference. And with four newcomers — Bemidji State, Minnesota State Mankato, St. Cloud State and St. Thomas — now playing at the Division I level, the Bulldogs are far from the only in-state rival for Minnesota.

Still, the rivalry between the Bulldogs and Gophers continued, with the teams playing a home-versus-home series in six of the last ten seasons. That changes this weekend when the No. 6-ranked Gophers travel to the Twin Ports for two games for the first time since 2011 instead of playing one night at each team's building. It's a welcome schedule change for the Gophers, who are 1-1-0 overall after a win over Air Force and a loss to Omaha last weekend in Las Vegas.

“Here we can travel, get a hotel room and go to Canal Park,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko said at the team’s weekly media release. “We've heard so much that our fans miss this because we don't have many road series. That's one of the reasons why we didn't do the one-and-one series. From that point of view I hope this will be a great part of the weekend.”

With no classes in Minnesota public schools during the second half of this week due to the annual teacher conference, hotel prices in Duluth are high. But that doesn't seem to have stopped a large group of Gophers fans from making the trip and enjoying the fall colors on Lake Superior. At Amsoil Arena on the Duluth coast, they will face a Minnesota team that didn't bring home a tournament title from Nevada, but even after an unexpected 2-1 overtime loss in which it had 54 shots on goal Goal from Omaha scored, remains confident.

“I’m not going to analyze too much,” Motzko said. “It says, 'Turn the page, get back to work this week and hit the road.' We played very, very strong hockey out there.”

Perhaps most encouraging for the Gophers fans who traveled to Las Vegas was the play of junior forward Connor Kurth, who was one of the Big Ten's three stars of the week after a three-goal, one-assist performance in the season-opening 7-1 win about the air force. Motzko said the coaching staff expected Kurth to establish himself as an offensive force.

“This is the Connor we’ve been waiting for. He has the ability to be a great scorer because he is so good at the net and can concentrate on everything,” Motzko said. “We've seen him up close for two years and hopefully this is a game that really ignites him and gives him the confidence to do that consistently.”

After playing in front of a smaller neutral-site crowd last weekend, Kurth — who came to the U of M via Gentry Academy and the USHL — said he made it his mission to prepare the Gophers' rookies for the unfriendly reception , which they experience will likely be received by the Bulldogs' fan base.

“We have the best fans so we know they will travel well. But it's almost more fun to walk into a hostile environment, know they hate you, and try to calm them down immediately. It’s fun and that’s what college hockey is all about,” said Kurth, who scored seven goals in 37 games last season. “I’m excited for the new people to experience it. It's going to be loud in there, and we know that…I'm sure they're dying to get chirped and have the other student section say some not-so-nice things to you.”

The Bulldogs are 1-2-0 overall and unranked nationally after splitting a series at Massachusetts-Lowell last weekend. They were bolstered by a strong college hockey debut from Warroad 2023 Minnesota Mr. Hockey winner Jayson Shaugabay, who was named NCHC Rookie of the Week after a two-goal performance in his first game as a Bulldog.

“They have a lot more skill in their lineup…They're starting to resemble the Duluth we all know,” Motzko said. “They’ll still be a little young, but they know they’re getting better.”

The games will take place on Friday at 7pm and Saturday at 6pm, with Fox9+ televising both contests.

Originally published: October 17, 2024 at 5:42 p.m