With Nick Bjugstad and Kyle Rau in Alberta playing in the under-20 World Junior Championships, Minnesota head coach Don Lucia has some holes to fill this weekend. With that, Nico Sacchetti and Joe Miller get another chance to play. Bjugstad and Rau's linemate, Zach Budish, finds himself playing with Nick Larson and Christian Isackson, who suits up in place of Travis Boyd.
In addition, Jake Parenteau returns to the lineup after being scratched in favor of Blake Thompson in the Gophers' previous game. As usual, Kent Patterson is between the pipes for Minnesota while Cody Campbell gets the nod for the Purple Eagles.
Minnesota Golden Gophers Line Combinations
Forwards:
Sam Warning – Erik Haula – Jake Hansen
Nate Condon – Taylor Matson – Seth Ambroz
Nick Larson – Christian Isackson – Zach Budish
Tom Serratore - Nico Sacchetti - Joe Miller
Defense:
Seth Helgeson – Justin Holl
Ben Marshall – Mark Alt
Jake Parenteau - Nate Schmidt
Goalies (bold indicates starting):
Kent Patterson
Michael Shibrowski
Jake Kremer
Niagara Purple Eagles Line Combinations
Forwards:
Scott Arnold - Patrick Divjak - Dan Baco
Ryan Murphy - Isaac Kohls - Marc Zanette
Giancarlo Iuorio - Chris Lochner - Ryan Rashid
Robert Martini - Mike Benedict - Tyler Matthews
Defense:
C.J. Chartrain - Kevin Ryan
Dan Weiss - Jason Beattie
Matt Williams - Kevin Albers
Goalies:
Cody Campbell
Chris Noonan
Colby Drost
Tonight's game starts at 7:00 PM and is not being televised. You can follow me on Twitter for in-game hockey updates live from Mariucci @gopherstate and follow @sbnminnesota for the best in Minnesota sports.