Gophers top Bulldogs 7-5 in Duluth

A four-goal opening period set the tone for the night and seven different players found the back of the net as No. 6 Minnesota men’s hockey secured a 7-5, non-conference road win at Minnesota Duluth Friday night from AMSOIL Arena.

Minnesota (2-1-0 overall) claimed its first win at UMD (1-3-0 overall), a team receiving votes in the national polls, since Oct. 15, 2011, thanks to multi-point efforts by Jimmy Clark, Brody Lamb, Oliver Moore, Cal Thomas, and Matthew Wood. Freshmen Brodie Ziemer and Erik Påhlsson scored their first NCAA goals in the win as 14 players found their name on the scoresheet for the visitors.

The Gophers scored on their first shot of the night, 94 seconds into the contest as Ziemer took a pass from Moore at the blue line and toe-dragged around the UMD defender before ripping a shot past the netminder. Two minutes later, Clark drew an offensive-zone penalty, and the Maroon and Gold capitalized on the man advantage. Lamb fought his way to the goal crease and pounced on a rebound, making it a 2-0 advantage less than five minutes after puck drop.

The strong Minnesota forecheck led to another tally as Clark picked up a loose puck and found Connor Kurth along the goal line. The junior fed a pass to the tape of Wood in front of the net and the newcomer buried a second-chance opportunity. The visitors tacked on the fourth of the frame with 2:15 to play as Wood threaded a pass to the point where Sam Rinzel was waiting. The sophomore walked in a shot to the far post and gave the Gophers a 4-0 cushion through 20 minutes behind a 23-4 edge in shots on target.

Desperately needing a spark in the second stanza, the Bulldogs went to a power play but were denied the chance. The home side used momentum from the man advantage to get on the scoreboard via a scramble in the slot, closing the gap to 4-1. Minnesota went right back to work attacking the UMD net and used extended zone time to force the Bulldogs into calling a timeout after an icing late in the period. The Gophers regained their four-goal margin as a Thomas shot ricocheted out to the high slot with 4:19 remaining in the frame. Aaron Huglen jumped on the puck and found the back of the net, helping the Maroon and Gold take a 5-1 lead into intermission.

In what turned out to be a wild, six-goal third period, the Bulldogs held off an early surge by the Gophers and after a shot bounced off the mask of goaltender Nathan Airey, scored on the rebound to cut the lead to 5-2. Wood nearly helped the visitors stretch the advantage back to four as his attempt on a 3-on-1 break rang off the left post. UMD continued to climb back, scoring a power-play goal that deflected in off a Minnesota player with seven minutes to play as it turned into a two-goal contest.

Less than two minutes after the Bulldogs scored, Moore and Påhlsson put away goals 27 seconds apart late in the period as the margin swelled back to 7-3. UMD scored twice in the final four minutes to make the scoreline closer before the Gophers skated away with a 7-5 victory.

Airey ended the night by turning away 17 shots, earning his second win in as many starts in 2024-25.