Boyd's hat trick helps Gophers rout Ohio State, secure first series sweep since early November, read Saturday night's game story.


A fashion statement helped the Gophers regain some confidence this weekend. They sported alternate uniforms for both games against Ohio State and were rewarded with their first series sweep since early November.

"I really wish we would have busted those out a lot earlier, but those are fun jerseys to wear," Gophers senior forward Seth Ambroz said after Saturday night's 6-2 victory.

Instead of wearing the traditional home white sweaters with "M" on the chest, they wore white tops with "Gophers" written diagonally across the front on Friday night, and on Saturday night wore golden sweaters with "M" on the chest.

The last time they wore the gold tops were in last year's Frozen Four. Ambroz hinted the Gophers will be wearing the alternate uniforms again very soon.

"I'm a guy that likes to go with what's working, so we'll see what happens," the assistant captain said.

The Gophers will use whatever they can to keep this momentum going. They're riding their first four-game unbeaten streak since early November and need to continue this run to have any hope at rallying for a Big Ten regular-season championship.

They've at least rekindle hope of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The weekend sweep and other results from around the country bumped the Gophers back into the top 16 of the PairWise rankings, tied for 13th. The poll is based off a formula that predicts the 16-team tournament field.

Hat trick happy against Ohio State

The Gophers have no problem scoring on their home ice against the Buckeyes. Travis Boyd recorded his first career hat trick on Saturday night and a year ago in the same series Sam Warning recorded a hat trick. Ohio State's unfamiliarity with the big ice sheet might have something to do with it. Check out coach Steve Rohlik's comments below.

Outdoor hockey memories

Ohio State and the Gophers were part of the Hockey City Classic's outdoor hockey game last year at TCF Bank Stadium, but the two teams remained indoors for the Buckeyes' return to Minneapolis this season. However, the Hockey City Classic was played on Saturday night with Michigan beating Michigan State at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Reaction from Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik

"I'm confident that the group over there in that room [the Gophers] has a good chance to be around somewhere at the end of the year. For us, coming up here playing on the big [ice] sheet ... you can see our team's lack of confidence on the big sheet, trying not to get lost and at the same time when you do that you almost retreat too much. And you saw on some of the goals our guys are almost retreating back, and it was hard to watch there."

"It's not like we were creating a zillion chances, but we weren't giving up a ton of shots. Last night they had a lot more momentum and a lot more shots. Tonight we kept it to minimum of shots, I felt, and that was the game we wanted to play, and ya know a couple of power plays and it's a different ball game."

Saturday's box score.

Postgame video
(To view on mobile devices, click on player's/coach's name)

Gophers senior forward Travis Boyd

Gophers senior forward Seth Ambroz

Gophers coach Don Lucia