I thought that John Gilbert wrote a great article on the Gophers so I'm
 re-copying it here for all you Gopher fans out there. (You know who you are!)
 
 'U' READY FOR TOUGH 6-GAME TRIP  by John Gilbert, Staff Writer (Star Tribune)
 
 The Gophers picked a poor time to jump into first place in the WCHA. While they
  swept Michigan Tech, previous leader Northern Michigan was losing twice at
 Wisconsin. The combination pushed the Gophers into first place, but with all
 the Super Bowl hype, it wound up barely being noticed. {the Gopher Hockey
 article in Sunday's Strib was on page 17!!!!!!}
 
 The sweep extended the Gophers' winning streak to nine --- longest current
 streak in the nation. And they have won 15 of their last 17 games. But the
 toughest stretch of the season begins this weekend, when the Gophers hit the
 road for their next six games, starting at Colorado College Friday and
 Saturday nights, then at Northern Michigan and finally at Wisconsin.
 
 Because Northern Michigan and Wisconsin are the top two contenders the Gophers
 must beat for the title, it might seem possible to look past Colorado College
 this weekend. However, the Tigers are fresh from sweeping North Dakota at
 home, and they have proven a difficult foe at the Broadmoor. Colorado College
 has an 0-8-2 record on the road, but the Tigers are 6-1-1 at home.
 
 "We're aware of their record at home," said winger Trent Klatt. "And we know
 that this is the biggest weekend of the season for us, right now."
 
 The Gophers have been battling against a few injuries. Defenseman Chris
 McAlpine pulled a muscle and trainer Bob Broxterman called his condition
 "day-to-day", but he could return to the lineup in time for Thursday's
 departure. Justin McHugh, who was checked into the boards early in Saturday
 night's game is expected to play after recovering from a mild head injury.
 
 Forward John Brill, who played sparingly after returning from a broken bone in
 his foot, should be able to  play closer to 100 percent this weekend. And
 defenseman Sean Fabian,is back practicing after recovering from a cracked bone
 in his wrist, but needed further medical evaluation to determine if he can
 play.
 
 The Gophers WCHA record is 14-4 and they've won six straight league games
 since being swept at home by Northern Michigan Dec. 14-15. While Wisconsin
 is one point behind them, the Gophers still have four games in hand on the
 Badgers, and could pull away if they win the games as they catch up.  In
 overall games the Gophers are 19-6. They lost two games at Michigan, then won
 six in a row before the Northern Michigan series.
 
 end of article.
 
 Carol
 U of M
 GO Gophers!!!!!