Gophers beat Spartans 5-1 to advance to Big Ten championship game

Logan Cooley scored twice and Justen Close made 29 saves as the Gopher men’s hockey team beat Michigan State 5-1 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals Saturday night at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The top-seeded Gophers will host No. 2 Michigan next Saturday in the Big Ten championship game. The Wolverines beat Ohio State 7-3 in the other semifinal game.

Jaxon Nelson, John Mittelstadt and Aaron Huglen also added goals for Minnesota against the Spartans.