Minnesota’s Bjugstad sidelined by mono

Minnesota freshman forward Nick Bjugstad is expected to miss two weeks with mononucleosis, the school announced Sunday.

The diagnosis was made Saturday, the off day between games of a WCHA series against St. Cloud State.

Bjugstad had played in the first five games of the season, including Friday’s series opener. He had one assist.

A first-round pick of the Florida Panthers in the 2010 NHL entry draft (No. 19 overall), Bjugstad received votes as the preseason WCHA rookie of the year from both the media and coaches.

It isn’t the first time in recent memory that mono has hit the Golden Gophers. Mike Hoeffel missed four games of his junior season last year because of the viral infection.