Rivalry is a dying grape on the vine. No more Fighting Sioux and no more Gopher vs Sioux WCHA battles.
“That one (shutout) probably feels better than any other one I’ve had,” Johnson said. “Our group played unbelievable. My job, I don’t think, was too hard tonight. When they needed me, I was able to make the save.”
The victory snapped a seven-game winless streak (0-5-2) for UND against Minnesota and gladdened the hearts of a sellout crowd of 11,890.\
The teams haven’t met every year since the Gophers bolted the Western Collegiate Hockey Association for the Big Ten, and UND joined others then in forming the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
But judging by the two sellouts and intensity of the players on the ice, it is a series that UND wants to continue.
“It’s a rivalry that I think both sides will admit is something we have to keep doing,” Berry said. “It’s great for college hockey. I thought the atmosphere was electric.”
And for North Dakota, at least, so was the final result.