The full slate of 34 games can be found below:
University of Minnesota 2019-20 Men's Hockey Schedule
All dates Friday and Saturday unless noted otherwise
Oct 6: Mount Royal (Exhibition) (Sunday)
Oct 11-12: at Colorado College (NC)
Oct 18-19: vs. Niagara (NC)
Oct 25: vs. Minnesota Duluth (NC)
Oct 26: at Minnesota Duluth (NC)
Nov 1-2: vs. Notre Dame
Nov 8-9: at Michigan
Nov 15-16: vs. Penn State
Nov 22-23: vs. Wisconsin
Nov 28-29: vs. North Dakota (Thursday-Friday) (NC)
Dec 6-7: at Ohio State
Dec 28: vs. Bemidji State (Mariucci Classic) (Saturday) (NC)
Dec 29: vs. Minnesota State/St. Cloud State (Mariucci Classic) (Sunday) (NC)
Jan 10-11: at Michigan State
Jan 17: vs USA U-18 (Exhibition)
Jan 24-25: vs. Ohio State
Jan 31-Feb 1: at Wisconsin
Feb 7-8: vs. Michigan State
Feb 14-15: at Notre Dame
Feb 21-22: at Penn State
Feb 28-29: vs. Michigan
Here are 10 initial thoughts coming to mind on Bob Motzko's second Minnesota schedule. TV and times come at a later date, usually in September.
1. North Dakota on Thanksgiving Night Could Be Awesome...Or Blow Up Spectacularly
This season marks the second of three home dates with North Dakota (2016-17 being the first and 2021-22 still to come) after the two rivals extended its non-conference series in July 2016.
Hosting the Fighting Hawks on paper should be the marquee series of the season. Minnesota does not take any neutral site trips or play in any outdoor games. With the teams playing a Thursday-Friday series, there's an opportunity to stand out in the college hockey world with a Thanksgiving night game.
It also could blow up spectacularly.
Playing on a holiday night and a day most college hockey fans aren't used could make it be an afterthought. The weekend also means students won't be around campus, taking away a key component of the college experience and Mariucci's atmosphere.
Minnesota was in a tough spot given the game comes the same weekend as Minnesota-Wisconsin football at TCF Bank Stadium. None of the choices (Friday-Sunday series, late Saturday game and hope the Axe is played at 11 AM) are much better. It's unfortunate this is the one overlap weekend between hockey and football. Due to it, the Fighting Hawks series will either be the marquee one or blow up spectacularly with no in-between.
Hopefully, between TV (whether it's national or, since Minnesota has the rights, on a channel with more eyes on it than Midco SN) and the rivalry, both fanbases are able to make the Thursday-Friday series work. Standing out in college hockey is beyond difficult. This should be a weekend that does regardless of when the games are played.
Honestly, as long as it's not a 4 pm Black Friday start against a rival with a tennis announcer calling the game, I'll be happy.
2. Enjoy November
While the final two months of the regular season sees Minnesota at home for a total of three series (more on this later), it comes at the expense of a loaded November. Four of five weekends at Mariucci, including three straight to end the month. Not only does it feature a series against North Dakota, but November sees the Gophers' two biggest rivals come to town on back-to-back weekends.
Throw in Notre Dame normally bringing a good crowd and Minnesota catching Penn State on its first trip all year outside Pegula Arena and it could be a good recipe to start the Big Ten season with a November to remember. More importantly, it's a good way to get fans in the building.
3. January Bye Weeks
Unlike last season, where the Gophers had played five regular-season games by the first week of November, Minnesota opens 2019-20 with nine consecutive weekends of hockey. There will not be a bye week until finals.
On the other side, the Gophers end up idle two of the first three weeks in January.
The first one makes sense. It's likely a few players will be missing due to the World Juniors that weekend. Being idle means they only miss two games rather than four. The second coming so soon after the first raises several questions, but the end result is that Minnesota plays a total of four regular-season games in a 47-day span.
4. This Could Shape Up to be a Rough Stretch Run
Having a pair of idle weeks in early January means the Gophers end the regular season with six straight weekends of playing. Barring a first-round bye, Minnesota could be up to nine in a row before the NCAA Tournament.
In a perfect world, it would be better to have that second bye come near the end of January or beginning of February. Doing so would give Minnesota a breather and break up the stretch of games towards the end of the season. Regardless, the Gophers face a tough pair of mid-February road series back-to-back in South Bend and State College. Both have proven to be difficult environments (although Minnesota swept the Fighting Irish during the regular season last year) and would be no matter the time.
5. Playing Bemidji State is the Right Call
Resurrecting the Mariucci Classic with an all-Minnesota lineup should be a highlight for Gopher fans everywhere. All agree it's important for the Minnesota schools to play one another. However, it's been difficult to get everyone to agree. (RIP North Star College Cup.) It's been especially disappointing given how well the state's teams have been. Last season saw Minnesota schools as the top three overall seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
It's been six seasons since Minnesota and the Beavers played a series against one another. The Gophers, in that time, faced each of the other Minnesota schools in at least three series. While non-conference games are limited, Bemidji needs to get back in the Gopher rotation just as much as the other MN schools.
The game also makes sense based on other schedules. Bemidji State plays in the same conference as Minnesota State while St. Cloud State travels to Bemidji in October. Having Minnesota State and St. Cloud State playing one another should be a fantastic game on its own.
If there's one downside, it's that Minnesota and St. Cloud State not facing one another in the first game takes away a guaranteed matchup for the first time Bob Motzko faces his former team.
6. Once Again, Every Big Ten Series Is Friday-Saturday
This seems to be important to people.
7. Home-and-Home With Minnesota Duluth
Minnesota will not open its season at Amsoil Arena for a third straight year. (It likely will happen in 2020 with the Gophers once again representing the Big Ten in the Ice Breaker.) There will be some familiarity, however. Once again, the teams will play a home-and-home series. Friday's game takes place in Minneapolis with Saturday's finale going up I-35 to Duluth while Gopher football takes place on campus.
Facing Minnesota Duluth in a home-and-home series seems to be an annual tradition these days. I enjoy the games. It gives each school a home game each year against a rival. More importantly, it's impressive how the Bulldogs and Gophers have created a new tradition for one another given the two (unlike Minnesota with St. Cloud State and Minnesota State) did not play home-and-home series when each was WCHA foes.
8. One Series Not Yet Mentioned That I've Circled On My Calendar?
The trip to Madison. Besides likely playing in front of a packed Kohl Center on January 31 and February 1, Minnesota and Wisconsin should be two of the more intriguing Big Ten teams this season. Given the talent coming into the Badgers and the time of the season, it's a weekend that could tell a lot about both teams down the stretch.
9. Is Hockey Day Minnesota on January 25th?
If not then the second January bye week makes even less sense. Hockey Day Minnesota 2020 is being hosted by Minneapolis, meaning it would make sense for the Gophers to host a college game that day and be a part of a hometown celebration. Recent HDMs in St Cloud and Bemidji featured home games for SCSU and Bemidji State.
As of now the date for HDM 2020 has not been announced. Minnesota hosts Ohio State on January 25th, which lines up with one of the weekends Hockey Day Minnesota could be. The Gopher women also play Wisconsin (albeit in Madison) that weekend and host Ohio State the weekend before.
Still, the event lately has been held the week prior. If HDM ends up being January 18th and the Gophers are idle during a celebration of Minnesota hockey hosted in the town of its campus, it would be a massive miss.
10. Overall, There's A Lot to Like About the Non-Conference Schedule
Trying to please everyone with only 10-12 non-conference games each season can be difficult. Minnesota has several teams it would like to play. Several more would like to play the Gophers.
That said, it's tough to complain about the non-conference schedule. Minnesota hosts each of the other four in-state schools and North Dakota. The Gophers will be tested by the two-time defending champions, the top three regular-season teams in 2018-19, its first trip to Colorado since 2012, and a Fighting Hawks team that returns several of its top players. Besides Niagara, Minnesota's non-conference schedule features teams who finished in the top 35 of last season's Pairwise.
No schedule will be able to please everyone - selfishly I would like to see the Gophers come out East this season - but 2019-20 features a solid non-conference slate in addition to what is shaping up to be another tough year of Big Ten play.
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