What to Make of Minnesota's Series Split at No. 2 Michigan

After Thursday's surprising upset win over No. 2 Michigan on the road, the Gophers fell back to earth with a 4-2 loss on Friday night. Ultimately, they will be coming back to the Twin Cities with their first win of February. Here's what we learned.

Friday's power play

Minnesota exceeded expectations this weekend by giving the Wolverines all they could handle in their home arena. Their power play has been one of the lone bright spots this season as a top-five unit in the country for most of the year. That was not the case on Friday night, failing to convert on a few late chances in the third period.

The Gophers might've had a better performance on Friday, carrying a 2-2 tie into the third period. They were only outshot 33-27, compared to a staggering 39-15 difference on Thursday. They had two key chances at the end of the game, right before Michigan found the back of the net and sealed a 4-2 win.

Luca Di Pasquo is the real deal

At the top of Minnesota's offseason priorities from a roster construction standpoint should be retaining Di Pasquo. He transferred in from Michigan State last offseason, and he has proven himself as one of the best goaltenders in the Big Ten. He did his best Connor Hellebuyck impersonation on Thursday, carrying the Gophers to a win, despite being thoroughly outplayed elsewhere.

Di Pasquo has at least one season of college hockey eligibility remaining, and he has not yet been drafted to the NHL. He has a .915 save percentage this season, and he's a player Minnesota should build around next season.

Big Ten tournament chances

Thursday's upset win should be enough evidence that the Gophers are still dangerous in the Big Ten tournament. Depending on the rest of the regular season results, they will be either the fifth or sixth seed, which means they will play either Penn State or Wisconsin on the road in the first round.

Minnesota was winless in both the Pegula Ice Arena and the Kohl Center in the regular season. It lost both those series by a combined score of 8-2 and 9-2, respectively. The Gophers are 4-10-1 on the road this season, but they have wins over North Dakota and Michigan, which are both legitimate national title contenders. They can beat just about anyone in the country, and also lose to anyone in the country. This weekend's series was enough evidence that they're still bought in, and they're a dangerous team in any single-elimination field.