Flashback to December, Minnesota is slumping heavily in the B1G, fans are spitting out their usual talk of “#FireLucia” and voicing their complaints of the less-than-ideal in-state record the Twin Cities team had achieved. The Minnesota Golden Gophers team we saw back in December and the Golden Gophers team entering these final games of January are incomparable.

Minnesota has the talent.

Minnesota sent two players from their roster to Buffalo to play in the World Juniors, including Ryan Lindgren, a big defenseman who has shown some light scoring potential and excellent work ethic on the blue line. The second player to make USA from the Golden Gophers is becoming a household name in college hockey, and a name Buffalo Sabres fans cannot wait to have: Casey Mittelstadt. The center and Eden Prairie native was chosen as the eighth overall choice in the 2017 NHL draft, and has shown exciting and consistent production to find himself on the first line for the Gophers.

Coach Don Lucia has shown a great deal of faith in his freshman forward, and while it’s paid dividends, Lucia has still been able to instill an important matter of trust into his other players. In a back-to-back with a St. Cloud State squad then ranked #1 in the country, the Gophers were able to split the series without Lindgren and Mittelstadt’s aid, as the game’s took place the first weekend after the grueling Juniors.

Don’t ignore the inconsistencies.

They only sport a 7-9-1 conference record, but have a 16-12-1 overall record this season. While they swept Clarkson, split with the Huskies of St. Cloud, and on Friday night took down #1 Notre Dame 1-0 in overtime, the road doesn’t get any easier in the near future. They take on the first place Fighting Irish on Saturday night, in a repeat of Friday’s action. With an outrageous play by Mittelstadt in overtime, the Gophers put the Irish on a two-game losing streak. For Minnesota, they’re beginning the put crucial wins on the board and if their offense can produce effectively and on a consistent basis, this Golden Gopher team may be able to punch a Golden Ticket to the Frozen Four in 2018. Until then, it’s an uphill climb on the road to St. Paul in March.