I sent a much longer reply to Ralph at CMU, but I thought I'd add to the
ongoing discussion.
 
Here's one theory:  Minnesota produces consistently excellent teams, and is
basically a shining star in college hockey.  The Stars, however, are catch-as
catch-can, and suffer from a degree of randomness in their performance.
 
I can think of a dozen other reasons for Gopher hockey being more popular,
but I'll just let CMU Ralph summarize.
 
-Martin
Pitt - The Worst Hockey School in the USA