Gophers complete sweep of Badgers with 4-2 win

The Gopher Hockey program locked up its fifth-straight win and its second-straight Big Ten sweep with a 4-2 win at the Kohl Center on Saturday night.

Minnesota (12-10-4 overall, 7-5-4-3 Big Ten) picked up goals from four different scorers while Sammy Walker (one goal, one assist), Scott Reedy (one goal, one assist) and Sampo Ranta (two assists) recorded multi-point performances. Walker picked up the game-winning goal for the second-straight game.

The two teams traded goals in the first period with Bryce Brodzinski tallying his third goal of the weekend for the Gophers. Four of the freshman’s six goals this season have come against Wisconsin (10-15-1, 5-12-1-1). The Badgers answered back later in the period, ending Jared Moe’s shutout streak at 136 minutes and 50 seconds dating back to Jan. 10.

Robbie Stucker notched a power-play tally in the second period before Walker and Scott Reedy added goals in the third period. Down by three, Wisconsin cut into the lead with its second goal of the night, but the Badgers were stifled by a Minnesota defense that tied a season high with 29 blocks (Wisconsin on Nov. 22).

Moe didn’t make things any easier for the Badgers, making 25 saves on 27 shots to improve to 6-4-1 on the season. Jack Berry fell to 2-4-1 after making 21 saves.

Minnesota was outshot 27-25 on the night with the Gophers going 1-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. The Gophers find themselves in a three-way tie for third in the Big Ten, just one point off the conference lead shared by Penn State and Ohio State.