The Minnesota Golden Gophers' men's hockey team will be without one of their key forwards in the NCAA Tournament.

According to a report from College Hockey News, Gophers forward Aaron Huglen, a senior forward from Roseau, Minnesota and 2019 fourth-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres will miss the tournament due to a leg injury. The report comes after Huglen left the Gophers' game on Sunday against Notre Dame after just six minutes of ce

The injury is a rarity for Huglen, who has appeared in 150 games over four seasons with the Gophers. This season, in 38 games played, he recorded 19 points with five goals and 14 assists.

Last weekend, Minnesota was knocked out of the Big Ten Tournament after losing their opening series to Notre Dame. While the Gophers are still a lock for the NCAA Tournament, their chances of earning a No. 1 seed have diminished. Minnesota currently sits just ahead of Maine (No. 4) and Western Michigan (No. 5) in the PairWise Rankings, which are used for NCAA Tournament seeding purposes. Both Maine and Western Michigan will be in action this weekend.

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