The Gophers and the Huskies got physical late in the game, but Minnesota cruises to a 6-2 win.
The #2 ranked Minnesota Gophers (14-5-1, 11-3-0 WCHA) bounced back Saturday night from a deflating 3-2 overtime loss the night before, beating the Michigan Tech Huskies 6-2 in front of 9,771 at Mariucci Arena. The win gave the Gophers a weekend split with the Huskies, and keeps them in a first place tie with Minnesota-Duluth at the halfway point of the season.
There was an edge to the Gophers play Saturday night as they came out banging in a very physical first period, and kept that momentum through most of the game. The line of Joey Miller, Nico Sacchetti, and Christian Isackson, players who have not seen much ice time this season, were inserted into the lineup, and their energy spread through the rest of the team. The Gophers would once again score first, something they have done in fifteen of their twenty games this season. Kyle Rau (12) would get the goal at 7:37, after taking a number of punches and elbows to the head as he battle for the puck in the corner. Rau’s line would make their presence felt all night, after being not much of a factor the last couple of games. Michigan Tech would tie the game at 1-1 with a power play goal near the end of the first period.
In the second, Minnesota would take the lead back with a power play goal of their own, when Jake Hansen tipped home an Erik Haula snap shot from the point a little over half way through the period. The Gophers would take their 2-1 lead into the locker room between the second and third, but not before Blake Thompson was given a game misconduct for Contact To The Head. That call gave the Huskies a five minute power play, which carried over into the third period. Michigan Tech converted once again with the man advantage, tying the Gophers at two just over a minute into the third. But that would be the last sign of any offense for the Huskies, as that goal seemed to light a fire under the Gophers, as Minnesota would get their first of four third period goals just two minutes after Tech had tied the game. From that point on it was pure domination, as the Gophers owned Michigan Tech in the third, and finally got the separation goals that Don Lucia had been talking about all season. They buried the Huskies in the final frame, but not before Michigan Tech took to fighting and taking runs at the Minnesota players late in the period, as the game devolved into a fight filled free for all. After a number of delays, the two teams eventually got through the period, and the Gophers got the win to remain atop the WCHA standings going into the holiday break.
Fan favorite Joey Miller got his first goal of the season for Minnesota in the third period, one of five Gophers to score in tonight’s game. Jake Hansen netted his seventh and eighth of the season, and Rau, Alt and Bjugstad each added a goal to go along with Miller’s. Minnesota (14-5-1, 11-3-0 WCHA) does not play again until the Mariucci Classic on December 30th, when they take on the Niagra Purple Eagles (5-5-6). Game time is 7:00 PM (Central). You can follow the Gophers on Charter High Speed Internet and on GopherHole.com