(UND Ahtletics)
GRAND FORKS – After a thrilling 5-5 tie on Friday night followed by a 6-2 loss on Saturday, North Dakota dropped to No. 7 in the DCU/USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls on Monday.
UND’s next opponent, Minnesota, took over the top spot in both polls after having an idle weekend. The Golden Gophers last split with Minnesota State on Oct. 7-8 in a home-and-home series.
The last time North Dakota played a team ranked at the top of either poll was Nov. 15-16, 2019 at Denver. In that series, UND and the Pioneers played to a 1-1 tie on Friday night before the Fighting Hawks rolled to a 4-1 victory on Saturday night.
North Dakota and Minnesota begin the series on Friday night at 7 p.m. in Minneapolis.