After a winless two weekends to start the 2026-27 college hockey season, the Minnesota Golden Gophers men’s hockey team responded with a convincing sweep over third-ranked North Dakota.
The rivalry series packed 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, and Minnesota followed Thursday night’s 5-3 win with another 5-3 victory to complete the sweep Friday night.
The star was Wyatt Cullen, a freshman forward from Moorhead who was the 10th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. He lit the lamp in the second period and then scored two more times in the third period to complete the hat trick and seal the win.
ENJOY THIS WYATT CULLEN HAT TRICK 🧢🧢🧢
— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) October 24, 2026
📺: FOX9+ & B1G+ pic.twitter.com/qqlQmdNr1q
The Gophers won despite getting hammered in shots-on-goal and in the faceoff circle. North Dakota won 37 of 61 faceoffs and out-shot Minnesota 45-22.
The Gophers made up for it with a whopping 17 blocked shots, also killing three of five UND power plays.
Of course, we’d be crazy not to mention Gophers goaltender Melvin Strahl, who made 12 saves in both the first and second periods, and 18 more in the third. The sophomore made just his second start for Minnesota, having transferred to Minneapolis after spending his freshman year at Michigan State.
Sweeping UND is quite the statement. Not only did it give the Gophers bragging rights in one of the great rivalries in college hockey history, but it also put them back on track after getting swept by Michigan Tech and going 0-1-1 against No. 9 Minnesota Duluth last week.
Minnesota opens the Big Ten schedule next week at home against Penn State.
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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Oct 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.