Lamb leads Gophers men’s hockey team to 4-1 win over Ohio State

Brody Lamb matched a career high with three points and the No. 5/4 Minnesota men’s hockey team put together a complete effort on home ice, winning 4-1 over No. 7/6 Ohio State from 3M Arena at Mariucci Friday night.

The Golden Gophers (22-7-4 overall, 13-5-3 B1G) got two goals and an assist from Lamb, while Ryan Chesley tallied the eventual game winner in the second period, breaking a 1-1 tie with the Buckeyes (20-9-2 overall, 13-7-1 B1G). It’s the sixth-straight home win for the Maroon and Gold over OSU dating back to 2021. The win also pushes Minnesota to within one point of first place in the Big Ten Conference standings and sole possession of second place with three games remaining.

The series opened with action taking place in the neutral zone as both defenses were able to break pucks out quickly and alleviate early pressure. The Gophers built a sustained attack through the middle of the period, leading to chances from distance as the contest went more than six continuous minutes without a whistle. Netminder Liam Souliere was active and challenged a Buckeyes’ shooter to make a glove save at the top of the blue paint and shut down the visitors.

The Maroon and Gold finally broke through at the 12:14 mark when Aaron Huglen used a burst of speed and danced through the OSU defenders. After circling behind the net, Huglen put a perfect pass between two Buckeyes onto the tape of Lamb. The junior buried the chance from the slot, putting the home side in front, 1-0. Holding the one-goal edge, the Gophers were called for a minor penalty that was killed thanks to a shoulder safe from Souliere and strong defending. Seconds after the man advantage was erased, Minnesota went to a power play of its own but were unable to convert. With exactly one minute left in the frame, a defensive breakdown allowed OSU to pull even before the teams went to the locker room tied after the first period.

Souliere had to be sharp beginning the second stanza and delivered a pair of critical saves to keep it a tie score. His stops helped the offense get back to work and eventually regain the lead, 2-1, 7:25 into the middle period. Beckett Hendrickson pushed the pace up the left wing and found a trailing Chesley at the blue line. The junior captain fought off an OSU check before stepping around the goaltender and slipping home the go-ahead tally into an open cage behind a brilliant individual effort.

The goal gave momentum back to the Gophers, who dominated possession over the next shifts, leading to another crack on the man advantage. Minnesota had a flurry of point-blank shots with the goalie out of position only to see the puck stay out of the net during an unsuccessful 5-on-4 and it remained a 2-1 margin for the home team through 40 minutes.

The quick glove of Souliere erased a dangerous shot from the Buckeyes early in the final frame and then it was more offensive zone time for the Maroon and Gold. The Gophers battled to get pucks deep into OSU’s zone and keep play 200 feet from their own goal as they were cautious to not give up any odd-man rushes, while holding onto their lead. With time dwindling down in the period, the speed of Lamb was again on display as he collected a stretch pass from Luke Mittelstadt and deked the goalie before scoring on a wraparound, giving Minnesota breathing room with a 3-1 edge and just 2:26 remaining in regulation.

The Gophers put the game away when Jimmy Clark fired a shot towards the empty net from his own zone that went just wide in the final 90 seconds. Oliver Moore skated past everyone and collected the puck at the left post and sealed the 4-1 victory.

It was a milestone night for Souliere as the graduate transfer claimed the 50th victory of his collegiate career. The Montreal, Quebec, native made 25 saves, including 13 in the third period to shut down any comeback bid by OSU. Souliere also picked up the second assist of his career and first as a Gopher during the third period.