As Minnesota struggles to make up ground on the University of Minnesota-Duluth women’s hockey team, teh Bulldogs may have just helped the Gophers’ cause.

Duluth forward Iya Gavrilova, a freshman from Krasnoyarsk, Russia, is currently under investigation by the NCAA and the school. Gavrilova played on two teams in Moscow, where players have been known to receive payment, food, board and transportation.

That would be a serious violation of NCAA regulations and could result in the Bulldogs forfeiting every game Gavrilova made an appearance in, a total of 19 WCHA wins. That would shoot current conference No. 2 Minnesota into the top spot, with Wisconsin a close third.

After the adjustments from the Duluth forfeits, Minnesota would have 41 points going into the weekend, and Wisconsin 40, both teams with four games left on the regular season schedule. That would certainly make the last series of the year for both teams all the more important as the Badgers, end their season with two games at Ridder Arena against the Gophers.

Stayed tuned to the Daily for updates during the weekend.