Pitlick scores twice in Gophers 5-2 win at Michigan

Luke Mittelstadt’s three-point night led the No. 2 Golden Gophers men’s hockey team to a 5-2 win on the road at No. 3 Michigan Thursday inside Yost Ice Arena.

Six different players posted multi-point performances for Minnesota (9-4-0 overall, 5-2-0 B1G), including a pair of goals from Rhett Pitlick to take down the Wolverines (9-4-0 overall, 2-3-0 B1G). Goals from Logan Cooley and Mittelstadt six minutes into the third period sealed the victory backstopped by a 29-save effort from Owen Bartoszkiewicz.

It was all Maroon and Gold for the opening six minutes as the visitors put the first four shots on frame. Mittelstadt found Pitlick alone at the left faceoff dot and the sophomore wristed a shot under the bar, short side as Minnesota struck for a 1-0 advantage 5:40 into the action. It was nearly eight minutes before Michigan tested Bartoszkiewicz and the Gophers cage. Two late penalties against the Gophers helped the Wolverines pull even as they tallied a power-play goal with 3:21 to play in the first period, making it 1-1 at intermission.

The start of the second was a similar story with Minnesota creating chances and led to its first power play of the night. After the visitors were called for a five-minute major, the teams skated four aside and it was Pitlick again that stared down a wide-open goal. He buried his second of the night at the 7:17 mark thanks to a perfect, cross-crease pass by Mike Koster. The Wolverines answered back with their second power-play tally three minutes later, tying the score 2-2.

The deadlock lasted less than two minutes as Jimmy Snuggerud controlled a loose puck in the slot and lifted it over the goaltender’s blocker, giving the Gophers a 3-2 edge. Cooley’s initial shot was saved, and the rebound dropped to his fellow freshman, who put away his team-leading ninth goal of the year. Minnesota came up with a clutch penalty kill late in the frame, maintaining its one-goal margin.

Michigan was assessed a bench minor for delay of game as it came out of the locker room late and the Gophers capitalized on a two-man advantage. Cooley ripped a one-timer from the top of the circle, stretching the lead to 4-2 just 38 seconds into the third. Bartoszkiewicz delivered again for the Maroon and Gold coming up with two saves, including a fully-extended stop as he stretched across the goal to keep the home team off the scoreboard.

Minnesota tacked on its fifth goal of the night, two seconds after a power play expired, when Mittelstadt scored his first collegiate goal on a shot from the right point. The Wolverines made a late push as the Gophers rolled their depth to the finish, closing out the 5-2 road win.