Gophers hockey loses control of B1G lead with 5-2 loss to Michigan

Bryce Brodzinski and Sampo Ranta scored for the No. 3 Gopher men’s hockey program as Minnesota fell to No. 7 Michigan 5-2 on Friday night at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

After surrendering a first period goal to the Wolverines, Minnesota (19-5-0 overall, 15-6-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) briefly rallied with Brodzinski’s sixth of the year in the second period. Ryan Johnson and Ben Meyers assisted on the Maroon & Gold’s opening tally for an all-sophomore scoring summary with Johnson setting a new career single-season points record and Brodzinski and Meyers both moving within a point of their freshmen totals.

Michigan (14-8-1, 11-8-0-1-0-0) added a pair of goals to close out the period before Sampo Ranta notched his team-leading 16th goal of the season (the junior also has a team-best 26 points this year) midway through the third period. Brock Faber and Scott Reedy earned assists on the play as Reedy matched his career high for points in a season.

Unfortunately, the third period was a replay of the second as the Wolverines responded with another pair of goals to claim the series opener.
Jack LaFontaine (17-6-0) took the loss for Minnesota while Strauss Mann (10-7-1) earned the win.

Minnesota held a 30-19 advantage in shots.

Noteworthy
Tonight’s loss snapped a 12-game winning streak against Michigan when both teams are ranked in the top 10 nationally, a streak that dated back to the start of the 2000-01 season.

Up Next: Senior Night
Minnesota concludes the regular season on Saturday, March 6 with a 4:04 p.m. CT Big Ten contest against Michigan (TV: Big Ten Network; Stream: FOX Sports App; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM).

Courtesy: University of Minnesota Sports Information