Gopher men’s hockey hangs on for win at Arizona State

TEMPE, Ariz. – It wasn’t always pretty, but the No. 2 Minnesota men’s hockey team skated to a 3-2 win Friday in the series opener at Arizona State from Mullett Arena.

Jaxon Nelson and Bryce Brodzinski scored first-period goals for the Golden Gophers (11-4-0 overall) in their first-ever NCAA hockey game played in the state of Arizona. Logan Cooley’s lacrosse-style goal in the third period added insurance for the visitors to hold off the Sun Devils (7-7-0 overall) and extended the team’s win streak to four.

Minnesota netminder Justen Close, who missed the series at Michigan last week, quickly returned to form Friday and turned away 28 shots as the Sun Devils held a shot advantage of 30-24.

ASU tested Close early in the senior’s return to the lineup and he stood tall keeping the home side off the scoreboard. The Sun Devils thought they broke through seven minutes into the game, but their shot was directed in with the players hand and immediately waved off by the referee. After an ASU penalty, the Gophers got on the board first as Nelson finished a tic-tac-toe passing play created by Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud at the 9:16 mark.

Minnesota made it a two-goal lead with 2:30 remaining in the opening frame when Brock Faber started the rush and threaded the puck to Brodzinski. The senior buried the one timer giving the Gophers a 2-0 lead at intermission. Ninety seconds into the second, ASU’s goaltender made his bid for save of the year robbing Nelson of his second goal. A minute later, the Sun Devils cut the margin in half as a shot from the point found its way through traffic and they continued to apply pressure, seeking out the tying tally. Close continued to stay calm between the pipes and thwarted the ASU attempts as the visitors stayed in front, 2-1, heading to the locker room through two periods.

The Gophers were buzzing in the third period and regained their two-goal cushion as Cooley dazzled behind the ASU net 1:49 into the frame. The freshman went into his bag of tricks and pulled off “The Michigan” as the lead stretched to 3-1. Fellow freshmen Connor Kurth and Garrett Pinoniemi both had quality scoring chances in the slot later in the period, but the score line remained the same. The Sun Devils refused to go away and made it a one-score contest with just 2:55 to play. The home side pulled the goalie, leading to Minnesota chances with the empty net that refused to go in, and Close was at his best to seal the road victory.

Noteworthy
Brodzinski extended his career-long point streak to six games with his first-period goal … Nelson scored his fifth goal of the season and third on the man advantage … Snuggerud put together his third-consecutive, multi-point performance registering two assists to increase his team-leading point total to 18 … Close was assessed the first penalty of his career with a tripping call in the second … The Gophers have scored a power-play goal in four-straight games and 11 of 15 games played this year … Friday’s second period shot total of six was the first time this season Minnesota recorded single-digit shots in the middle frame.

Coach Motzko’s Comments
“For two periods, that was as bad as we’ve played all season and it was almost through our entire lineup,” Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. “We made a couple plays early in the game and we hung on. We’ll be better tomorrow, that’s one thing I do know.”

Next Up: Away at Arizona State (Nov. 26)
Minnesota closes the weekend series against the Sun Devils Saturday night. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. (CT) live on the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM / AM 1130 with free streaming video at Pac-12 Insider.

Courtesy: University of Minnesota Sports Information