Top line soars as Gopher hockey sweeps Michigan State

The No. 2 Minnesota men’s hockey team got seven points from its top line in a 6-3 win over No. 15 Michigan State Saturday afternoon inside 3M Arena at Mariucci. Jimmy Snuggerud scored twice during a three-point performance and Ryan Chesley picked up his first collegiate game-winning goal to secure the season-series sweep.

Five unanswered goals, including three in the second period, helped the Golden Gophers (20-7-1 overall, 14-3-1 B1G) erase a one-goal deficit and earn their 13th-straight victory against the Spartans (13-13-2 overall, 7-9-2 B1G). The Maroon and Gold hit the 20-win mark for the third-consecutive season and ninth time in the previous 12 years.

MSU nearly got its first goal of the weekend seven minutes into the contest as a shot off a turnover squeaked through the pads of goaltender Justen Close but caromed away thanks to the right post. The Gophers failed to convert a late power play and the frame ended scoreless, which was the only period in the season series the Maroon and Gold did not score at least once.

An early Minnesota penalty to begin the second frame gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead as they capitalized on a redirect in the goal crease. The advantage only lasted 65 seconds as the Gophers answered right back with its young guns to even the score. Logan Cooley cleanly won a faceoff in the offensive zone and Snuggerud picked up the puck at the top of the circle before wiring a wrister by the goalie for his 15th goal of the season. MSU regained the edge 1:28 later with a 3-on-1 break following a giveaway in the neutral zone.

The Gophers needed to come up with a penalty kill in the middle of the stanza to keep it a one-goal contest before finding themselves on another man advantage. Matthew Knies thought he had the tying goal off a rebound, only to have the MSU netminder deliver a spectacular glove save. Video review confirmed the no-goal call, much to the dismay of the capacity crowd.

Less than 24 hours after scoring his first collegiate goal, Garrett Pinoniemi showcased his tenacity around the net and poked the puck over the goal line at the 13:31 mark of the period. This time the call on the ice went in Minnesota’s favor and was confirmed after a review and MSU challenge as the home side tied the game, 2-2. Cooley started the play, speeding around the defense and created the chance for his second assist of the day. A perfect stretch pass two minutes later from Ryan Johnson sent Bryce Brodzinski in alone where the senior buried his backhand, giving the Gophers a 3-2 lead. The Spartans were called for a five-minute major and game misconduct in the final minutes of the second period and that time carried into the third.

Despite not scoring on the extended man advantage, Minnesota tacked on its fourth goal 2:41 into the frame as Chelsey found space in the middle of the ice. Rhett Pitlick slipped a pass his way and the freshman’s shot went under the bar, pushing the margin to 4-2. The Gophers kept piling on as Knies scored his team-best 17th goal and Snuggerud got his second of the night with less than seven minutes to play for a 6-2 edge. MSU got a goal in the final 90 seconds and Minnesota secured the home win.

As he has done all season, Close was at his best when his team needed a boost and the senior made 26 saves during his 17th win of the year. The Gophers outscored the Spartans by a 25-6 margin across the four games in 2022-23, scoring five or more times in every meeting with a pair of shutouts.

Noteworthy
Snuggerud (37) and Cooley (36) are now the highest-scoring freshman duo for the Gophers since 2006-07 when Jay Barriball (43) and Kyle Okposo (40) led the team in scoring and rank in the top six nationally for points … Snuggerud’s 16th tally this year moved him into a tie for the NCAA lead for goals by a freshman … Cooley registered his team-leading 23rd assist and has points in 17 of his previous 20 outings … Knies registered his ninth multi-point game and has a goal in 16 of 28 contests this season … Mike Koster made it a four-point series getting an assist and now has nine points across his last 10 games, while Johnson and Brock Faber each added their third assist of the weekend … Chesley scored his second goal of the year and had an assist for his first multi-point effort as a Gopher … Brodzinski matched his career-best goal total from a season ago with his 12th tally … The 14 goals during the weekend were the most in a series since scoring 20 against Arizona State (Jan. 21-22, 2021) and third time with at least 14 goals over the last 12 years … Minnesota recorded its fifth-consecutive sellout at 3M Arena at Mariucci with an announced attendance of 10,253.

Coach Motzko’s Comments
“We responded,” Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. “We tied it, got down, tied it again and then we kept responding. We got better as the game went on. It wasn’t an A game, but we got better.”

Next Up: Away at Wisconsin (Feb. 10)
Minnesota has its final bye week of the regular season before returning to action Feb. 10-11 on the road at Wisconsin. The series starts Friday night at 7 p.m. on Bally Sports North Extra and the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.

Courtesy: University of Minnesota Sports Information