Huala set to return as Gophers host No. 6 UND

The top-ranked Gophers will open a two-game series Friday against the No. 6 University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux.

Minnesota is 6-1-1 against ranked opponents this season and following the series against UND, the Gophers will have played four top-10 teams in the last 10 days.

Erik Haula is set to return from an upper-body injury that had sidelined him the last few weeks.

Haula leads the team with 26 points on nine goals and 17 assists. He needs one more point to reach 100 points in his collegiate career.

The Gophers have been on a roll of late, winning five straight games — Minnesota has not lost a game since the last day of November when they lost to Omaha, 2-3 at Mariucci. Since then, they have gone 7-0-1 with wins over Boston College and Notre Dame.

With 14 games left in the regular season, Minnesota will only travel out of the state once more when they travel to Madison on Feb. 15 before going to Chicago on the 17th for the second game of the series against Wisconsin in the Hockey City Classic at Soldier Field.