The No. 1-ranked and undefeated University of Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-0) welcomed their biggest rivals, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (2-1-1), to Mariucci Arena for a two-game series.

Playing in front of a sold-out crowd both nights, Friday night saw North Dakota jump out to a 1-0 lead four minutes in, with Jake Schmaltz tipping in a Ty Farmer shot from the point. That lead held until almost the end of the second period when Jackson LaCombe scored on a backhand shot to tie the game. However, the Fighting Hawks answered immediately on the power play through a Riese Gaber goal.

With 90 seconds to go in regulation, still down 2-1, the Gophers pulled their goaltender. Extra skater Mason Nevers tied the game at two, scoring seconds after hopping onto the ice. With the momentum on their side in overtime, it only took 20 seconds for the Gophers to finish the game, with Matthew Knies scoring on a great power move in close. Fighting Hawks goaltender Drew DeRidder saved 32 of 35 shots faced, with Justen Close saving 14 of 16 shots for the Gophers. 

In game two Saturday night, Coach Motzko put goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz in goal, with his UND counterpart Brad Berry sticking with Drew DeRidder. After a scoreless first period, Matthew Knies started the scoring, putting the Gophers up 1-0 on the power play. Eight minutes later, Rhett Pitlick doubled the lead for the Gophers and then earned himself a ten-minute rest in the penalty box for a game misconduct due to his goal celebration. Next, the Gophers took back-to-back-to-back minor penalties with an additional five-minute major penalty which allowed the Fighting Hawks back into the game, with North Dakota scoring four goals in less than four minutes to take a 4-2 lead.

With 35 seconds remaining in the second, Connor Kurth clawed it back to a one-goal deficit, scoring a gritty rebound goal. Thirteen minutes into the third period, the Gophers' goal-scoring leader Jimmy Snuggerud tied the game at 4-4.

In overtime, the Fighting Hawks prevented the home sweep, with Medina native and captain Mark Senden scoring his second goal of the game for the OT win. 

Based on the USCHO rankings, the No. 2 team in the country, Minnesota State (3-1), made the two-hour drive north to battle the No. 8 ranked St. Cloud State Huskies (4-0) in a two-game series.

The Huskies got on the board first, with Zach Okabe utilizing the traffic in front of the net to catch goaltender Keenan Rancier by surprise. Early in the second, Sam Morton tied things up at one on the power play, deflecting the puck off a great pass from Akito Hirose. The Mavericks then took the lead halfway through the second off a goal from Tony Malinowski before the Huskies responded to close out the period, with Grant Cruikshank tying the game and continuing his stellar run of form.

Only 35 seconds into the final frame, Kyler Kupka scored what ended up being the game-winning goal on the power play. For the second Friday in a row, goalie Jaxon Castor earned the win for the Huskies, saving 28 of 30 shots faced. 

The rematch Saturday night saw another close game, with back-and-forth scoring and both teams battling hard for the win. The Huskies scored first for the second night in a row, with Micah Miller finding Grant Cruikshank alone in front for a shorthanded goal almost eight minutes into the period. The Mavericks responded less than two minutes later via a David Silye goal.

Still tied up at one halfway through the second period, Micah Miller scored his first goal of the season before Chase Brand added another goal only ninety seconds later, making it a two-goal lead for the Huskies. That lead lasted for four minutes before Josh Groll made it 3-2, scoring his third goal of the year.

Almost seven minutes into the third period, the Mavericks' points leader, Sam Morton, tied the game at three off a superb solo effort. That score held until the 16:34 minute mark when Grant Cruikshank scored the go-ahead and game-winning goal off a feed from Kyler Kupka. That goal marked Cruikshank's sixth goal and ninth point this season, which leads the team and puts him tied for second in the NCHC for points scored.

The undefeated Huskies will play a home-and-home series against Bemidji State next weekend, with the Mavericks hosting Bowling Green State University for a two-game series. 

After a sweep the weekend prior, the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (2-2) looked to bounce back this weekend against the Wisconsin Badgers (0-4) at home.

Luke Loheit started the scoring in the first, notching a rebound goal off a Ben Steeves shot. The Badgers answered a few minutes later, with Rosemount native Charlie Stramel scoring his first career collegiate goal. Wisconsin then took the lead three minutes later, with Cruz Lucius scoring off his backhand in the slot. On the power play to start the second, Blake Biondi tipped an Isaac Howard shot to tie the game at two only 23 seconds into the period.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, that was the last goal they would score Friday night, with the Badgers scoring three unanswered goals to win the game 5-2, with goals from Jack Gorniak, Ty Smilanic, and Owen Lindmark. Jared Moe earned the win in net for the Badgers, stopping 36 of 38 shots. 

Game two saw more of the same as the night before, with Brock Caufield, older brother of Cole Caufield, putting the Badgers up 1-0 only four minutes into the game. Heading into the first intermission still up 1-0, the Badgers scored immediately after going on the power play three minutes into the second, with Cruz Lucius scoring for his third point of the series.

That 2-0 score held until close to the end of regulation, with Jack Gorniak scoring on the empty net to make it 3-0. Goaltender Jared Moe had a second consecutive great game in net, saving all 35 shots faced for his first shutout of the season.

The Bulldogs will look to set things straight this upcoming weekend at home when they take on Cornell University, where they will play without freshman forward Isaac Howard. Howard was suspended two games by the NCHC for his cross-checking major in Saturday's game.

Bemidji State University (1-1) faced off against fellow CCHA rivals Michigan Tech, who were 2-1 heading into the weekend series.

On Friday night in game one, Michigan Tech forward Logan Ganie scored early, putting the team up 1-0 only two minutes into the game. Heading into the second period still up one, the Huskies made it 2-0 less than four minutes in, with alternate captain Ryland Mosely scoring in close off a rebound. That would be the last tally for the Huskies on the night, with the Beavers scoring five unanswered goals, with one in the second and four in the third.

White Bear Lake native Lleyton Roed scored the first and second goals to make it 2-2, marking his first collegiate points, before Mitchell Martan scored the go-ahead goal, with Eric Martin notching the final two goals. The Beavers outshot Michigan Tech 37-17, with sophomore goalie Mattias Scholl earning the win in net. 

Saturday night saw the Beavers' scoring streak continue, with Martan notching the first goal of the game at the 18:46 minute mark in the first. Then, with three minutes remaining in the second, Lleyton Roed made it 2-0, scoring unassisted after forcing a turnover in the neutral zone.

Seven minutes into the third and on the power play, Michigan Tech answered, with Maple Grove native Kyle Kukkonen finishing on a beautiful one-timer for his first Division I goal. It did not take long for Kyle Kukkonen to record his second collegiate goal, tying the game at two with less than two minutes remaining, and the goalie pulled.

After a scoreless 3-on-3 overtime, Jackson Jutting scored the winning shootout goal to earn the Beavers the extra point. The now 2-1-1 Beavers will play again next weekend, facing off against St. Cloud State in a home-and-home series. 

University of St. Thomas (1-3) traveled to University Park, Pennsylvania, to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions (4-0) in a two-game series, playing on Thursday and Friday night.

In night one, the game was all knotted up at zero until 14:32 of the first, when Ture Linden put the Nittany Lions up 1-0. From there, Penn State did not look back, adding four goals in the second period to go up 5-0 before Ethan Gauer finally put the Tommies on the board, scoring with less than a second left in the period. In the third, freshman Lucas Wahlin, who currently sits atop the team's points leaderboard, made it 5-2 before Penn State answered less than two minutes later through a Danny Dzhaniyev goal, resulting in a 6-2 final score. Freshman goaltender Aaron Trotter had a busy night in net for the Tommies, saving 39 of 45 shots faced.

After a disappointing loss the night before, the Tommies battled back in game two to make it a closer affair. Nearly 16 minutes into the first, Connor McMenamin made it 1-0 for the Nittany Lions. 20 seconds later, PSU added a second goal, as Jimmy Dowd fed Ben Copeland to extend the lead. However, on the power play less than two minutes later, Ryan O'Neill scored for the Tommies off a great cross-ice pass from Buffalo High standout Jake Braccini. Halfway through the second period, Tommie defenseman Ethan Gauer tied the score at two off a powerful slap shot from the point.

That score held through the end of regulation, where Connor McMenamin recorded his second goal of the night, winning it in overtime with less than 25 seconds left and earning the Nittany Lions the series sweep. St. Thomas will again be on the road next weekend, traveling to Michigan to take on Ferris State in a two-game series.