It took two-plus months for the venom to work it's way through Justin Kloos' system. The Gophers sophomore forward was metaphorically bitten by the offensive-slump snake after a hot start to the season that included a hat trick.

His consistency managed to produce an occasional goal or assist, but while Kloos slumped, so did the Gophers. In Friday night's 4-2 win over Ohio State, the dry spell appeared be over.

"I think the most frustrating part about the last honestly two months, the longest snake bite of my life ... is a lot of those games I missed the gimmes and our team ended up losing by one or tying," Kloos said. "It was good to help the team win and it was a big Friday win."

Kloos had only scored two goes over the past two months, while still contributing 10 assists. The Gophers need him to score goals, though. He led the team with 16 as a freshman and has nine this year after what they hope was Friday's slump-buster.

"Justin needed to score a goal," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "It had been a while for him on five-on-five. And he made a nice play to Leon [Bristedt] on the power play."

Kloos said it's important for guys, like himself, to step up now that top goal-scorer Connor Reilly is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. He didn't change much with his game on Friday night, but found the confidence he needed to start scoring again.

"I don't think I really changed too much," Kloos said. "I had a really good talk with coach [Mike] Guentzel about most of my problems were mental. I was just getting frustrated. I was losing a little confidence around the net. I came in with a positive attitude and luckily I was able to pump one in."

Friday replay: Several Gophers embracing 'next man up' mentality in 4-2 win over Ohio State, read Friday night's game story and postgame blog. Watch postgame video of Gophers sophomore forward Justin Kloos, freshman forward Leon Bristedt, and coach Don Lucia.

• Series Preview: Gophers vs. Ohio State
Saturday 7:05 p.m. at Mariucci Arena
TV/radio/live stream: FSN Plus; 1500-AM; BTN2Go.

Gophers at a glance: The Gophers (13-9-3, 3-2-3 Big Ten) had to rally on both nights against two-win Wisconsin for a victory and tie. The fourth-place Gophers need to sweep the Buckeyes to set up a big weekend against first-place Michigan in two weeks. For more on Ohio State, read the full series preview.

• Gophers' Saturday lines
Forwards (left wing, center, right wing)
Leon Bristedt, Kyle Rau, Hudson Fasching
Sam Warning, Travis Boyd, Seth Ambroz
Taylor Cammarata, Justin Kloos, Vinni Lettieri
Robin Hoglund, Christian Isackson, Ryan Reilly

Defensemen (left, right)
Mike Reilly, Jake Bischoff
Brady Skjei, Ryan Collins
Ben Marshall, Michael Brodzinski

Goaltenders
Adam Wilcox, Nick Lehr, Ryan Coyne

• Minnesotans on Ohio State's roster
Drew Brevig, Soph. defenseman, Lakeville
Blake Doerring, Jr. defenseman, Chanhassen
Matt Johnson, Sr. forward, Stillwater
Al McLean, Sr. defenseman, Duluth

• Most of the questions I've been fielding over the past month have been about the safety of coach Don Lucia's job. Disgruntled fans blame the veteran coach for this year's underachievement. Read about why so many are unhappy and join the discussion. Offer your grade of Lucia's work and check out his resume. Watch video of Lucia and senior forward Travis Boyd previewing the weekend.