Gophers coach Don Lucia said after his team’s 3-3 tie with Minnesota State Mankato on Friday at Mariucci that he would make a couple line-up changes for the rematch.

The two teams meet tonight at the Xcel Energy Center in a game that is part of the first Minnesota Hockey Showcase and also a game which counts in the WCHA standings.

“We had a couple guys sit out for discipline” on Friday, Lucia said. “We will watch video and make a decision about who plays [tonight].”

The two suspended players, freshmen forwards Nico Sacchetti and Jake Hansen, could play. Their suspensions were only for one game.  

Any comments on the suspensions? “It speaks for itself,” Lucia said.

MORE LUCIA

* How the Gophers can put more pucks in the net: “Have the goalie miss it.”

* What about playing at the Xcel, which has a smaller rink than Mariucci: “It will be an adjustment the first five, 10 minutes. Just getting used to the small sheet.”

* On the fourth OT in a row with MSU: “It was almost like it was fitting that we played another overtime game. … When you have two goaltenders that are really good, goals are difficult to come by.” 

MAVS STARTED SLOW 

Minnesota State Mankato was off last weekend and was outshot 15-7 in the first period and trailed by a goal three different times. 

“We were down three times and we battled back all three times to get the tie,” MSU coach Troy Jutting said. “I am disappointed in the way we played the first two periods. I thought Minnesota played well and we did not. I thought we watched them play hockey for two periods.”

Jutting was happy with Mike Zacharias’ play for the Mavericks in the nets: “To stop 47 pucks and take a cut like that [it required six stitches] and go back in there and battle. He is a tough kid; he’s a competitor.”

Jutting said the Mavericks need to play tonight like they did in the third period on Friday.

“I thought we played much better in the third. I thought we finally came to play,” Jutting said. “… We played a lot closer to the way we are capable of playing.”

Backup goalie Dan Tormey went out on the ice while Zacharias’ head was being bandaged in overtime after he got a cut from a teammate’s stick.

“It was going to be Mike,” Jutting said. “If Mike wanted to go, Mike was going to play. … Mike was into the game. He had seen a lot of pucks.  And, if he wanted to play, he was going to play.”

Zacharias, after a long break,  did go back on the ice as the fans at Mariucci stood and applauded.

He finished with 47 saves, but had to make only one in the 3-1/2 minutes after his injury.

“He is a senior,” Jutting said. “He has been around the block. He competes every night.”

Earlier in the game, Zacharias was knocked over by one of his defensemen and lost his helmet for the first time. He lost it again in OT just before he was injured by a teammate’s stick.

“[Zacharias] is good, so is there kid,” Jutting said referring to Alex Kangas. “I thought he played very well, too.”

Kangas made 26 stops.

MORE JUTTING

* On defenseman Cameron Cooper, who scored the game-tying third goal for the Mavericks in the third period: “For a freshman playing in the second game of his career, I thought he played extremely well. I don’t think the environment got to him at all. A kid who grew up 20 miles from here.”

THEY SAY

* Gophers forward Jay Barriball on Zacharias’ late injury: “I didn’t see it, but I heard his face was just gushing blood. I’m sure he is a tough kid. I applaud him for getting back in.”

On tonight’s rematch: “I think it will be the same type of game. Both teams are still hungry. We both want to get that win pretty bad. It is going to be a physical game.”  

* Gophers captain Ryan Stoa on getting two penalties with his team on the power play: “I was frustrated about it. We were on the power play both times, and then it is on four-on-four. It was selfish on my part to take those penalties.”

On special teams being on the ice so much: “It’s not frustrating for me because I do special teams. But for those guys who are not on special teams, it is hard. It is tough to not play for five minutes and then jump out there and be expected to have the same intensity that the other team has. It is hard when there are that many penalties.”

(Mankato State came into the game leading the nation in penalty minutes per game, averaging 28 per game. On Friday night, the Mavericks had 12 penalties for 27 minutes, the Gophers 10 for 20 minutes.)

* MSU goalie Mike Zacharias on whether he tought he could return to action after his injury: “I didn’t know the severity of it. I saw the blood dripping, and I felt it running down my face. … Obviously, I did not want to come out of the game at that stage.”

On his chances of playing tonight: “I am hoping so. I mean, I don’t think I have concussion and I am feeling OK. Hopefully they will be able to kind of tape this up and it won’t effect me [tonight].”

On how the injury happened: “The puck hit me in the head, and my straps fell off my helmet. My helmet fell off and then I got hit in the forehead. Don’t know whose stick it was. Was it [MSU defenseman Kurt] Davis? It would be my own teammate.”

On another OT with the Gophers, the fourth in a row: “It’s kind of familiar terriory now for all of us. Everybody in the state of Minnesota kind of expects Minnesota, Minnesota State to go into overtime. It is just kind of funny it worked out that way. Thank God that it did not go more than one overtime.”

(The Gophers and the Mavericks played two two-overtime games last March in their first round, WCHA playoff series and one one-overtime game.)

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