Fresh off the heels of a 3-0 Friday night win, Minnesota will look for a sweep roughly 19 hours later in a rare 3 p.m. start.

Moved early to account for the time shift in today’s Gophers men’s basketball team, Don Lucia’s squad probably would have liked to have played a doubleheader last night given how thoroughly they dominated Colorado College.

Minnesota looked at its finest all season; putting smart shots on net, capitalizing on rebounding chances, playing stifling defense and receiving a shutout effort from netminder Alex Kangas.

The Tigers had their chances, their first in the opening period when a Colorado College forward had a breakaway shorthanded chance and beat Kangas but was unable to put a shot on net.

With a win this afternoon, Minnesota would make the No. 5 and final home ice spot a very interesting scenario. A Gophers win would pull Minnesota within three points of the No. 5 spot, while North Dakota could tie Colorado College if they beat Minnesota Duluth tonight. Those serious implications make it hard to overstate the impact this game will have on both teams. Minnesota’s strong effort last night only matters if it is followed with an equally dominating performance tonight. On the other side, Colorado College head coach Scott Owens said his players appeared to be "skating in sand" in last nights loss. If the Tigers can rebound and perform like the team ranked No. 7 in the country they can create some much needed breathing room.

Less than a half hour before the drop of the puck, here are the starting lineups beginning with the Gophers:

Minnesota Offensive First Line:

Left Wing-Jacob Cepis

Center-Jordan Schroeder

Right Wing-Zach Budish

Another night, another three point effort from the first line. The key to Minnesota’s offensive attack is receiving continual effort from its first line. Led by Cepis, the Gophers consitently attack the net and create chances. If Minnesota can receive similar effort today, they should be able to maximize there chances to put more pucks in net.

Also making noise of late is Patrick White. The third line center scored his ninth goal of the season en route to a two point night. Maligned for a disappointing sophomore season last year, White is starting-albeit late-to show why he was a first-round draft pick.

Minnesota Defensive First Line:

Left-Nick Leddy

Right-David Fischer

Goalie-Alex Kangas

Kangas recorded his fourth career shutout-first of this season-and was described by Lucia as being "big in the net". While the junior was rarely tested, he will need to be equally stout today.

Colorado College Offensive First Line:

Left Wing-Andrew Hamburg

Center-Rylan Schwartz

Right Wing-Mike Testwuide

Colorado College Defensive First Line:

Left-Gabe Guentzel

Right-Nate Prosser

Goalie-Joe Howe