For the past three years, Dave and Ann Snuggerud have ventured from their Chaska home to the University of Minnesota campus on Friday and Saturday nights to watch their son, Jimmy, play for the Gophers men’s hockey team. It’s been a festive family affair, with several relatives joining in, including James Westby, Ann’s father. Westby and Dave and Jimmy Snuggerud share a common bond. They all have played hockey for the Gophers and have represented the United States in high-level international play — Westby and Dave in the 1964 and 1988 Olympics, respectively, and Jimmy in the World Junior Championship. They’re also united by something that Jimmy is hopeful he can help change beginning Thursday at the NCAA Fargo Regional. None of the trio has won a national championship with the Gophers, though Dave in 1989 and Jimmy in 2023 came gut-wrenchingly close when Minnesota lost in overtime in the NCAA final both times. For Jimmy Snuggerud, the team’s leading scorer, this figures to be his last go-round with the Gophers. The junior right winger is a 2022 first-round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, and expectations are he will sign with the NHL team after his Gophers season ends. Minnesota opens NCAA play against Massachusetts at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, with the winner meeting either Western Michigan or Minnesota State Mankato on Saturday for a trip to the Frozen Four. Is there pressure on Snuggerud? If so, he’s not letting on. He’s embracing it. “Pressure makes diamonds,” he said. “It’s something that you like and you thrive for” Snuggerud takes family advice when it comes to staying grounded. “What my dad and my mom and my grandpa all instill in me is, ‘Live in the moment and just be where your feet are and enjoy because it won’t always be there,‘” he said.