Minnesota State beats Gophers 4-0 to advance to Frozen Four

Minnesota State scored two goals in the first period and star goaltender Dryden McKay stopped all 22 shots he faced as the Mavericks beat the Gophers 4-0 to advance to their first NCAA Frozen Four.

Sam Morton and Ryan Sandelin scored goals 2:04 apart midway through the first period and the Mavericks never looked back. After a scoreless second period, Nathan Smith scored midway through the third period to make it 3-0 Minnesota State and Dallas Gerads added an empty-netter with under three minutes to seal the game.

Minnesota State will face St. Cloud State in the Frozen Four semifinals on April 8 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The other semifinal pits Minnesota-Duluth against Massachusetts. It’s the first time since 1992 that three teams from the same state have competed in the Frozen Four.

The Gophers only managed nine shots on goal through the first two periods and went 0-4 on the power play.

For the first time since 2007, no number one seeds advanced to the Frozen Four.