Based on the USCHO Men's Division I rankings heading into the weekend, the in-state showdown between the University of Minnesota Gophers and Minnesota State Mavericks was the biggest matchup in the country. A home-and-home series, the first game saw the No. 2-ranked Gophers host the No. 5 ranked Mavericks at 3M Arena at Mariucci on Friday, with the teams then making the trek to Mankato on Saturday for the second game of the series. 

After an opening weekend sweep of Lindenwood University, the 2-0 Gophers took some time early in the game to match Mankato's play before jumping out to a two-goal lead off goals from freshman and Chaska native Jimmy Snuggerud. Midway through the second period, Mankato thought it had pulled one goal back on a wrist shot from defenseman Akito Hirose, before the referees reviewed the play and deemed it a no-goal due to goaltender interference. 

Early in the third period, the Mavericks found themselves on the scoreboard via a goal in the slot from Jake Livingstone. Up 2-1 and on the power play halfway through the third period, Mason Nevers quickly tapped the puck back off an offensive zone faceoff to Jackson LaCombe, who fed the puck across to Jimmy Snuggerud for a powerful one-timer and Snuggerud's hat trick. Connor Kurth added an empty net goal to lead to a 4-1 win for the Gophers, their first victory over the Mavericks since November 19, 2016. 

Saturday night's game in Mankato was a closer affair, with the Mavericks pulling off a 3-2 win to force a series split, dealing the Gophers their first loss of the season. Not missing a beat, Jimmy Snuggerud scored the game's first goal through a bad-angle shot, with assists from Rhett Pitlick and Jackson LaCombe.

Early in the second period and still leading 1-0, the Gophers had the prime opportunity to build on their lead through back-to-back Maverick penalties, including a five-minute major penalty on David Silye. However, the Mavericks successfully killed off the power play time and swung the momentum their way. Still in the second, the Mavericks tied the score through Campbell Cichosz's shot from the point through heavy traffic, tallying his first-ever Division I goal.

The Mavericks took the lead early in the third through a goal from Josh Groll before the Gophers answered back only a minute later, with Mason Nevers scoring off a nice cross-crease pass from Charlie Strobel. Ryan Johnson recorded the second assist on the goal, leading to a four-assist weekend for the senior defenseman. With six minutes left on the clock, Hermantown native Ryan Sandelin collected a soft pass from Sam Morton and fired home a hard snapshot for the game-winner. 

After being swept by St. Cloud State in the opening weekend of play, the University of St. Thomas Tommies hosted the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks (1-0-1) for a two-game series at their home rink in Mendota Heights.

Friday night's games started with an early tally only 25 seconds in, with freshman Lucas Wahlin setting up freshman Ryan O'Neill for his first collegiate goal and Wahlin's first collegiate point. However, the Nanooks scored four straight goals, with two in the first period from Anton Rubtsov and Matt Koethe, plus two in the second from Simon Falk and former Minnesota Gopher and St. Louis Park native Jonny Sorenson. 

The Tommies pulled one back seven minutes into the third period through a goal from Lucas Wahlin, but that was the closest they were going to get, finishing with a 4-2 loss. For the Nanooks, senior goaltender Matt Radomsky recorded 20 saves on 22 shots, with freshman goalie Aaron Trotter saving 12 of 16 shots for the Tommies. 

Saturday night saw the Tommies jump out to a 1-0 lead again, with Mack Byers scoring off assists from Ryan O'Neill and Lucas Wahlin. That 1-0 score remained until thirteen minutes into the second, with the Nanooks tying the game through a Chase Dubois power-play goal, with Dubois scoring his first of the year through a nice one-time slapshot. On the power play again only five minutes later, sophomore forward Brady Risk put the Nanooks in front after a perfect backdoor feed from Garrett Pyke. Still down 2-1 in the third, St. Thomas freshman Luc Laylin tied the score at 2-2 on the power play, notching his first career Division I goal.

Tied at the end of regulation, the teams moved into a 3-on-3 overtime where the Tommies earned their first win of the season, with freshman Josh Eernisse taking the puck end-to-end and finishing through a fantastic solo effort. 

Bemidji State University hosted the independent program of Arizona State University (0-2) for a two-game series, their first games of the season. Not starting how they envisioned, the Beavers fell 3-0 to the Sun Devils Friday night, with ASU goalie TJ Semptimphelter recording a 40-save shutout. Junior forward Matthew Kopperud started off the scoring fifteen minutes into the first period, finishing on a pass from Dylan Jackson off a 2-on-1. Both teams went scoreless in the second period, with the Beavers outshooting the Sun Devils 20-7. Then, three minutes into the third, Jackson Niedermayer, son of hockey great Scott Niedermayer, put the Sun Devils up 2-0, with the second assist going to Edina standout Demetrious Koumontzis. Defenseman Ty Murchison scored an empty net goal to cap off the 3-0 win. 

The Beavers came out flying on Saturday night, jumping out to a two-goal lead through goals from Alexander Lundman and Jakub Lewandowski, both coming less than six minutes into the first. However, ASU countered, with Matthew Kopperud tallying his second goal of the weekend through a one-timer on the power play before Josh Doan (son of former Phoenix Coyotes star Shane Doan) tied the score at two through a redirected shot in close. The Beavers answered on a power play goal from Mitchell Martan before the Sun Devils tied it at three via a Robert Mastrosimone goal with only 25 seconds remaining in the first, capping off a six-goal first period. In the second, Bemidji retook the lead on a Jere Vaisanen power play goal before Robert Mastrosimone responded on the power play, tying the game at 4-4 through a Josh Doan feed. After a scoreless third period, Mitchell Martan scored his second goal of the night in overtime, banging the puck home off a Will Zmolek rebound. Bemidji will be off this weekend before traveling to Houghton, Mich., to face Michigan Tech on 10/21 and 10/22. 

Neither St. Cloud State nor the University of Minnesota-Duluth played this weekend, with St. Cloud State traveling to Madison, WI, this upcoming weekend to face the Wisconsin Badgers and UMD traveling to Mankato for two games against the Mavericks. SCSU vs. Wisconsin will have 7:00pm CT starts on both Friday & Saturday, with UMD vs. Mankato starting at 7:07pm CT on Friday and then 6:07pm CT Saturday.