Gophers men’s hockey team completes sweep of Ohio State

Twelve players recorded a point leading the No. 5/4 Golden Gophers to a 6-3 victory and series sweep over No. 7/6 Ohio State Saturday evening inside a sold-out 3M Arena at Mariucci. Jimmy Clark matched a career high with three points, while four others had multiple points, and the Maroon and Gold moved into first place in the Big Ten Conference standings heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

Minnesota (23-7-4 overall, 14-5-3 B1G) built a 3-0 advantage late in the second period and added two empty-net goals to defeat the Buckeyes (20-10-2 overall, 13-8-1 B1G) after the visitors closed the gap to one twice in the final frame. Connor Kurth scored a pair of goals, including the eventual game winner with 9:25 to play in regulation.

The top point producers of each team put shots on target in the opening minutes of the series finale with Jimmy Snuggerud ringing his off the goaltender’s mask. After the Gophers turned the puck over during a 3-on-2 chance, netminder Liam Souliere had to come through for his team, making a glove save to deny the Buckeyes on an odd-man rush the other way. Minnesota quickly moved to a power play at the 5:08 mark and nearly converted on a pass through the crease before Erik Påhlsson’s wrister from the slot was snagged out of the air. The man advantage was erased despite four shots, but the home side kept up the attacking-zone pressure over its next shifts.

The Gophers continued to dominate possession, generating quality scoring chances against a stingy OSU defense. With 7:19 remaining in the opening period, Clark won a puck battle along the boards and got a pass back to Mike Koster at the point. The captain stepped around a Buckeye and drove to the net before dishing off a slick pass to the waiting stick of Kurth at the top of the crease. Kurth quickly buried the feed and put the Maroon and Gold ahead 1-0. A late penalty on OSU gave the Gophers another 5-on-4 look that carried into the next period as they held a one-goal cushion at intermission.

Minnesota wasted no time extending its margin in the second stanza as Oliver Moore scored from the left circle 19 seconds after the puck was dropped. Sam Rinzel found a streaking Moore and the sophomore ripped home a shot over the goalie’s glove. Despite continuing to control the game in every facet, the Gophers needed Souliere to make critical saves where the graduate student remained poised in net.

Backed by a confident goalie, the Maroon and Gold stretched the advantage to 3-0 with 6:19 left in the middle frame. Clark started the play with a wraparound bid that deflected into the air where Matthew Wood was at the top of the crease and batted home the rebound from mid-air. The Buckeyes fought to get the tally back 36 seconds later via a one-timer from the left circle. Minnesota held off another late surge and took the 3-1 cushion back to the locker room after two complete periods.

OSU continued to pick up its offense beginning the final period and struck unassisted 3:35 into the stanza to pull within a goal, 3-2. The visitors tilted ice in their favor and tested Souliere again before the Gophers were able to alleviate the pressure and build their own attack. At the 10:35 mark, Minnesota regained its two-goal edge after Cal Thomas’ initial shot was tipped by Clark in front of the net. Kurth pounced on the loose puck and tucked home his second of the night to give the Maroon and Gold a 4-2 lead.

Kurth’s bid for a hat trick two minutes later had to be stopped by a quick glove save. The Buckeyes went up the ice to make it a 4-3 game as the clock showed 6:38 remaining in regulation. OSU elected to pull its goalie with two minutes to play of a one-score game but tic-tac-toe passing from the Gophers extended the advantage as Aaron Huglen pushed a pass across to Beckett Hendrickson at the blue line and the freshman unselfishly gave up the puck to Brody Lamb for the goal with 96 seconds left. Minnesota thought it had the game firmly in hand, but the Buckeyes had an answer yet again, scoring with 1:13 to play, but the Maroon and Gold challenged, and the goal was overturned for being offsides.

Snuggerud added another empty-net goal in the final 40 seconds to seal the series sweep, 6-3. Souliere closed the night by making 16 saves and has not lost a game in 12 regulation outings since Dec. 14.