Gophers men’s hockey completes weekend sweep of Wisconsin

In front of the largest crowd in 3M Arena at Mariucci history, the fourth-ranked Golden Gophers scored four times in the third period to win, 4-1 and finish off a series sweep of No. 17/18 Wisconsin in Big Ten Conference men’s hockey action Saturday evening.

Matthew Wood broke a scoreless tie 9:16 into the third period and Minnesota (21-6-3 overall, 12-4-2 B1G) added three more goals from that same line to secure a season sweep over the Badgers (11-14-3 overall, 6-11-1 B1G) for the first time since 2003. That all happened before an announced attendance of 10,894, which was the largest to even witness a game in the 30-plus years at 3M Arena at Mariucci for the Maroon and Gold.

After a slow start to the game Friday night, the Gophers reversed that trend Saturday, firing five shots on target in the early minutes, matching its entire first period total from the previous night. Oliver Moore’s one-timer from the slot had to be turned aside as the home side tried to build on the early momentum. It was a neutral-zone battle through the middle of the frame before the Badgers generated their best chances, but netminder Liam Souliere made a pair of saves to shut down the attack. With five minutes left in the period, the visitors went to the first man advantage of the weekend for either team that was promptly erased by the Gophers and the teams went back to the locker room scoreless.

The second stanza kept the same trend from the end of the opening frame with both defenses making plays to limit zone time until Minnesota sustained a forecheck and tested the Wisconsin goalie. Luke Mittelstadt got two shots through traffic that were stopped, and the home team maintained its offensive pressure. After a turnover by the Gophers, the Badgers pounced for a 3-on-2 rush and were stymied again with a pad stop from Souliere. The Maroon and Gold fought to start an odd-man rush of its own on the next shift, but Wood’s shot went wide.

The Gophers drew their first power-play of the series during the attack at the 9:56 mark and tested the goaltender with a pair of shots but could not find the opening tally. Following an icing on Minnesota, Wisconsin put together a surge late in the period before the home team moved back to a man advantage in the final three minutes. The opportunity was wiped away and the Badgers used a generous whistle to go on another power play that carried over into the final frame as the game remained 0-0 through two periods.

Minnesota killed off the remainder of the 5-on-4 chance beginning the third period and again got to work in the offensive zone, utilizing its speed through the neutral zone. The shots came from distance and were handled by the Wisconsin goalie until a penalty to the Gophers sent the visitors to a power play at the 6:32 mark. The advantage was short lived when the Badgers took a run at Souliere behind the net and were sent to the box. One second after the power play expired, the Maroon and Gold finally broke through in front of its jam-packed student section, sending the record crowd into a frenzy. Wood was in the perfect spot in the slot to collect a loose puck and fired it under the glove to give Minnesota a 1-0 edge.

Souliere and his defense had to be at their best the very next shift as the Badgers pushed for the equalizer and came inches away via a scramble in the goal crease. Two minutes later, a harmless-appearing shot by Kurth from the point deflected off a Wisconsin player and slipped under the goalie’s pads as the Gophers doubled their lead with 8:39 to play in regulation.

Facing a two-goal deficit, the Badgers threw everything they had into a comeback bid only to be shut down every time by Minnesota’s staunch defense. That led to a chance the other way and Moore joined his linemates with third-period goals. The sophomore raced up the left wing and buried a wrister over the shoulder from the left faceoff dot, giving the home side breathing room ahead 3-0 with all three goals coming during a five-minute stretch.

For the second night in a row, the Badgers elected to pull the goalie late in the game, this time with five minutes to play. It paid off as the visitors broke the shutout bid with 3:56 remaining, making it a two-goal deficit. Wisconsin sent out an extra attacker again trying to claw back, but it was Kurth that iced the sweep as he buried a goal into an empty net and a 4-1 margin for the Gophers as the clock showed 2:15. The victory gave Minnesota three important points in the B1G standings as it remains just two points behind Michigan State for the top spot with six games to go in the regular season.

Souliere (10-4-1) closed the night by turning away 26 shots and is unbeaten over his last three starts. He also reached double-digit wins for the third-straight season of his NCAA career.