Minnesota is going to have to get their fifth win in a row Friday without their leading goal scorer Nick Bjugstad.
The sophomore missed the third period of Saturday's 3-2 win over Nebraska-Omaha as a precaution for an undisclosed injury. Coach Don Lucia stated after Wednesday that Bjugstad was "day-to-day" but will once again be held out of action. Travis Boyd takes his place on the first line with Kyle Rau and Zach Budish.
Two other players, Nick Larson and Ben Marshall, return to the lineup after injuries of their own. Larson has been out since having wrist surgery from an injury suffered against Notre Dame. Marshall, meanwhile, returns after missing last weekend's series and will be reunited with Mark Alt.
Kent Patterson is in net, as usual for the Gophers. Joel Rumpel gets the nod for the Badgers.
Minnesota Golden Gophers Line Combinations
Forwards:
Kyle Rau (#7) - Travis Boyd (#22) - Zach Budish (#24)
Sam Warning (#11) - Erik Haula (#19) - Jake Hansen (#21)
Nate Condon (#16) - Taylor Matson (#9) - Seth Ambroz (#17)
Tom Serratore (#14) - Nico Sacchetti - Nick Larson (#18)
Defense:
Seth Helgeson (#4) - Justin Holl (#12)
Ben Marshall (#10) - Mark Alt (#20)
Jake Parenteau (#6) -Nate Schmidt (#29)
Goalies (bold indicates starting):
Kent Patterson (#35)
Michael Shibrowski (#1)
Jake Kremer (#30)
University of Wisconsin Badgers Line Combinations
Forwards:
Ryan Little (#20) - Mark Zengerle (#9) - Tyler Barnes (#7)
Matt Paape (#8) - Brendan Woods (#21) - Michael Mersch (#25)
Joesph Labate (#16) - Jefferson Dahl (#14) - Sean Little (#18)
Brad Navin (#26) - Keegan Meuer - Jason Clark (#17)
Defense:
Frankie Simonelli (#27) - Justin Schultz (#6)
Jake McCabe (#19) - John Ramage (#55)
Eric Springer (#4) - Joe Faust (#24)
Goalies:
Joel Rumpel (#33)
Landon Peterson (#31)
Referees: Brian Thul, Scott Bokal
Linesmen: Tony Czech, Jeff Schultz
Tonight's game starts at 7:00 PM and is being televised on Fox Sports North Plus (find your channel here). You can follow me on Twitter for in-game hockey updates @gopherstate live from Mariucci and follow @sbnminnesota for the best in Minnesota sports.