The North Dakota Fighting Sioux advanced through their quarterfinals game on Thursday night against St. Cloud State, but it won't get any easier on Friday night. With UND's victory, they'll now play the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the semifinals on Friday night at the Xcel Energy Center.
The Sioux likely secured a NCAA Tournament berth with Thursday night's 4-1 victory over the Huskies. It was North Dakota's stud helped his team to victory once again, too, as Warroad native Brock Nelson scored two goals to help his team advance to Friday night's big game.
For those doubting the importance of the matchup between the Gophers and the Sioux since both teams have likely clinched berth into the national tournament, by the way, Gophers Kyle Rau and Erik Haula dismissed that while talking to the Pioneer Press.
"The pressure's definitely not off," Haula said. "The pressure's on all the time."
"It's what it's going to be like the rest of the year," Rau said. "It's good for us to get used to this before going to the NCAAs."
For more coverage of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, check out The Daily Gopher. You can also find more on the WCHA at Western College Hockey.