The home stretch of the NHL regular season is upon us, and that means that prospects in other leagues around the world are also wrapping up their seasons. The most notable of those prospects for Leafs fans is undoubtedly Matthew Knies, who is winding down his sophomore season at the University of Minnesota.
Knies and his Gophers teammates earned a first-round bye in the BIG10 tournament after finishing first in the conference, but they were back in action this past weekend in a semifinal matchup against Michigan State. Things started slowly for Minnesota as they worked to get their legs under them after so much time off, but they walked away with a tidy win in Saturday’s single-elimination game against the Spartans, advancing to the BIG10 Championship game against the Michigan Wolverines for the second consecutive year.
Down 1-0 in the opening frame, the Gophers’ powerplay got to work with Knies setting up Jaxon Nelson on the doorstep to tie the game. Minnesota never looked back from there, and Michigan State had no answer as the Gophers piled up five unanswered goals to come away with the victory. Fellow Leafs prospect Mike Koster also notched a pair of assists in Saturday’s semifinal.

Matthew Knies sets up Jaxon Nelson ou …

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Author: Nick Richard / The Leafs Nation