Golden Nugs: Weekend Preview Roundup Edition

In this edition of the Nugs I’ll take a look at the other events happening this weekend other that the football game that we will either all love or want to not acknowledge happened by 2:30 Saturday.

Gopher Men’s Basketball

It was Big Ten Media Days the last two days in Washington DC where the 2017 Big Ten Tournament will be held. Jordan Murphy and Nate Mason attended for the Gophers, and Marcus Fuller got some video of their remarks. Murphy and Mason also talked to the crew from BTN

Richard Pitino talked to BTN as well.

Gopher Soccer

The #15 ranked Gopher Women’s soccer team is taking Michigan by storm this weekend. The Gophers defeated Michigan State 2-1 on Thursday on goals by Kellie McGahn and Sydney Squires. The win brings the Gophers to 12-3-1 on the season and 6-1-1 in the Big Ten, tied for first place with Northwestern. The Gophers continue their Michigan trip on Sunday taking on #25 Michigan in Ann Arbor. The game is at 11:00 central and will air live on BTN.

Gopher Volleyball

As Rachelvan4 recapped, the #3 Gophers went into Madison and destroyed the #1 Badgers 3-0. If Minnesota can defeat #14 Michigan State in East Lansing on Saturday night, Minnesota should once again move back to the top spot in the rankings. The Gophers and Spartans face off at 7:00 Central Saturday night, and the match will air on BTN Plus.

Gopher Women’s Hockey

The Gopher women dropped to #3 in the nation after splitting a series with Bemidji State last weekend in Bemidji. The Gophers won on Friday 3-1 on the back of two goals by Dani Camaranesi. Unfortunately Beaver goalie Brittni Mowat was in fine form on Saturday and Minnesota could not seem to get the puck past her in a 2-0 loss.

The Gophers have a huge home series this weekend against #4 UMD. The Gophers and Bulldogs will face off at 6:00 Friday at Ridder, and return for game two at 4:00 Saturday.

In other women’s college hockey news, Fox Sports North announced a TV deal with the WCHA where nine women’s games will air live on FSN or FSN+ this season. The deal includes eight regular season games including Minnesota at Wisconsin on December 4th, and Minnesota at UMD on January 13th. The WCHA Final Faceoff Championship game from Ridder Arena on Sunday March 5th will also be televised. Its a great opportunity to get the game in more homes and hopefully get the women the extra attention they deserve.

Gopher Hockey

The Gopher Hockey team gets a pseudo week off after starting the season 2-0 with wins over Alaska-Anchorage and Alaska over the weekend. The Gophers were led by Big Ten #1 Star of the Week Tyler Sheehy. He scored two goals and added three assists to lead the Big Ten in scoring with five points after week one. Freshman defenseman Ryan Zhulsdorf added his first two collegiate goals over the weekend as well.

Minnesota will host the US Under-18 Team Friday night at Mariucci Arena. Its an exhibition game and it will allow Don Lucia the ability to play with some different line pairings and roster spots. it appears starting goaltender Eric Schierhorn will not play Friday night so that Lucia can get a better handle on who his backup goaltender would be. The battle is between Junior Nick Lehr and sophomore Brock Kautz. Fans will be able to see two future Gophers playing for the US team Friday night including forward Scott Reedy and defenseman Nate Knopke. You can watch the game live on BTN Plus tonight.

The Gopher alums are also representing well. As the NHL season starts this week 16 former Gophers are listed on opening NHL Rosters. They include:

Alex Goligoski – Arizona Coyotes

Hudson Fasching – Buffalo Sabres

Kyle Okposo – Buffalo Sabres

Paul Martin – San Jose Sharks

Nate Schmidt – Washington Capitals

Blake Wheeler – Winnipeg Jets

Phil Kessel – Pittsburgh Penguins

Erik Johnson – Colorado Avalanche

Thomas Vanek – Detroit Red Wings

Nick Bjugstad – Florida Panthers (Injured)

Mark Alt – Philadelphia Flyers (Injured)

Erik Haula – Minnesota Wild

Mike Reilly – Minnesota Wild

Seth Helgeson – New Jersey Devils

Nick Leddy – New York Islanders

Brady Skjei – New York Rangers

Gopher Swimming and Diving

The Gopher Swimming and Diving Team split a Border Battle Duel meet with Wisconsin this week. The men defeated the Badgers 185-115 and the women fell to Wisconsin 158-142. The Gophers take on their other border rival team next as the men host Iowa on October 28th, and the women host the Hawkeyes on October 29th.

Gopher Womens Tennis

Minnesota is currently hosting the USTA/ITA Central Regional Championships. at the Baseline Tennis Center this weekend. Minnesota started off 8-2 in singles play on Thursday including a win by the #9 overall seed Caroline Ryba. The Gophers start doubles play on Friday. Play continues through the championship matches on Sunday.