November 24th, 2023: Gophers blow three, one-goal leads and fall in a shootout against Michigan State despite outshooting the Spartans 47-28.
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Minneapolis – The Gophers came out with some extra jump in the first period. It seemed like it was one of their best starts of the year and they were rewarded with a 1-0 lead after the first period.
One thing in particular that stood out was how much more aggressive they were, even on the penalty kill in the offense zone. It started when Aaron Huglen pressured Artyom Levshunov who was about to rush the puck up from behind his net before Huglen pickpocketed him and came in on a mini breakaway. Trey Augustine turned away the shot though.
Then moments later, at even strength, Rhett Pitlick skated hard at Maxim Strbak and forced a turnover. Pitlick then made a move on Augustine but the Michigan State goaltender stood tall yet again.
“I think that was one of the things leading into this game,” Oliver Moore said on if there was an emphasis placed on attacking Michigan State’s defense and forcing turnovers. “That is kind of one of our identities as a team too… getting on defensemen. We got a lot of speed up front so the more we can do that the better.”
Despite all the turnovers the Gophers created, Augustine seemed to have saved almost every one of them. The 6-foot-1 freshman goaltender walked away with a win with 44 saves on 47 total shots.
“I know him really well. It’s funny because I just don’t know his weakness,” Moore said on Augustine who he played with at the National Development program the last two years. “He’s one of those guys where I’ve played with him for two years and he’s such a good goalie that I don’t know his weaknesses.”
Minnesota capitlized on their fast start with an early goal by Connor Kurth which was his first of the season. Aaron Huglen picked up the loose puck in the slot and found Kurth on the far side, giving the Gophers an early 1-0 lead minutes into the game.
Joel Larson tied the game in the second period on a scramble in front of Justen Close but after reviewing it, Red Savage was standing in the crease. The call was eventually overturned for goaltender interference.
But about nine minutes later, Jimmy Snuggerud forced another turnover on Patrick Geary but was called for hooking which sent the Spartans to the power play. Just 14 seconds later, Larson scored his seventh of the season, tying the game at 1-1.
Almost halfway through the third period, Tommi Mannisto went to the box after crushing Mike Koster’s head into the boards behind the net. This sent the Gophers to a five minute power play after a game misconduct was given to Mannisto.
Over three minutes went by in the five minute power play and the Gophers recorded four shots without a whistle before Luke Mittelstadt sent one over to Bryce Brodzinski on the right side who ripped home his 52nd goal of his career and sixth of the season giving the Gophers a 2-1 lead.
That lead did not last very long as Nash Nienhuis picked up his fifth of the season just over a minute later.
”I liked everything about our game tonight except giving up the two leads we had in the third, Gophers head coach Bob Motzko said. “One deflection and we got mixed up on one coverage. Outside of that we had the right guys with the puck all night long in front of their goalie and he had a pretty good game.”
The Gophers did eventually answer back with a goal from Pitlick. It was Pitlick’s fourth goal in his last three games and his fifth of the season after a great pass by Koster that was deflected by Moore onto the stick of Pitlick on the right circle.
But this back and fourth game did not stop as Tiernan Shoudy scored his first of the season just over a minute later. This sent the game into overtime. After an incredible overtime, the game was headed for a shootout where the Gophers missed the net twice and went 0-for-3.
The frustrating part was the Gophers dominated most of the overtime but walked away with a loss because they couldn’t score in the shootout. Jaxon Nelson stripped a puck at the point and rushed in on a breakaway but fired it off the post. Moments later, Pitlick hit the post right in front of Augustine.
“It’s definitely frustrating, we played a great game and we had a lot of chances,” Moore said. “Obviously a great goaltender on their end with Trey, but we’ve got to find a way to win those games. I think we were sloppy for 10 minutes and that can cost you in this league.”
The Gophers will have the day off tomorrow but will get back to it on Sunday to finish the series against Michigan State. They will face-off against the Spartans at 1:00 rather than at night.
“Guys will get a good night of sleep, they will get their rest, and we will look at some film tomorrow,” Motzko said on how his team will handle the day off. “Then we will come back for a 1:00 p.m. matinee. If we’re fortunate enough to get in the tournament, you could have a one o’clock game so this will be good for us.”