Gopher men’s hockey blitzes Michigan 5-1 in Ann Arbor

The No. 11/12 Gopher men’s hockey team posted a 5-1 road win for the second Friday in a row as Minnesota beat No. 3/2 Michigan at Yost Ice Arena.

Minnesota (10-7-0 overall, 6-3-0-0-1-0 Big Ten) has now won three-straight games over the Wolverines and has won four-straight games in Ann Arbor (unbeaten in last eight at Yost Ice Arena at 5-0-3).

Jack LaFontaine (10-7-0) turned in another impressive performance in his former home rink. The Mike Richter Award winner carried a shutout into the third period on Friday and ended the night with 30 saves on 31 shots. In four games at Yost Ice Arena with the Gophers, LaFontaine is 3-0-1 against his former team with a shutout and three one-goal games (130 saves on 133 shots in those games, .977).

The Gophers jumped out to a three-goal lead in the first period as Brock Faber scored his second of the season to open things up before a pair of tallies in the second half of the period by Chaz Lucius for the freshman’s first career multi-goal game. Lucius has now scored in three-straight games with five points (four goals, one assist) over that stretch.

The second period saw the Gophers build on their lead with goals from Blake McLaughlin and Jonny Sorenson – both goals were set up by Sammy Walker.

Michigan (12-5-0, 5-4-0-1-2-0) snapped LaFontaine’s shutout bid with a goal from Thomas Bordeleau early in the third period.
The Gophers refused to let the hosts get any closer, however, even with a trio of power-play chances in the final stanza. The ‘U’ ended the night by going 5-for-5 on the penalty kill. The Wolverines held a 31-30 advantage in shots for the series opener.

Coach’s Comments
“We’ve been practicing at a real high level, and now we’ve brought it two Fridays in a row,” Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. “We have the chance tomorrow to end (the first half) strong against a heck of a team.”

Noteworthy
With a pair of assists in the win, Walker is now two points shy of becoming the 85th member of Gopher Hockey’s 100-Point Club. The senior is Minnesota’s active leading scorer with 98 points (41 goals, 57 assists) in 122 games and would be the first Gopher to hit 100 points since Rem Pitlick in 2018-19.

Up Next: First Half Finale
Minnesota closes out the first half against Michigan on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m. CT (TV: Big Ten Network; Stream: FOX Sports App; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM).