Disappointment dominated Saturday morning's team meeting. There was no need to overemphasize the letdown of the Gophers' first shutout loss in a year and a half — watching the game video provided enough punishment.

"There wasn't too much screaming. Just a lot of disappointment," sophomore forward Connor Reilly said. "They showed us the video, and they didn't need to say much because we saw it. I think a lot of us are mature enough that we know when we're not playing the way we can.

"Our effort was atrocious."

Minnesota Duluth blanked the Gophers 3-0 on Friday night at Mariucci Arena, and then finished the sweep with a 2-1 victory Saturday in Duluth. The weak offensive weekend exposed the No. 4 Gophers' lack of scoring depth.

The Gophers (7-3) will get a chance to work out the kinks in Friday night's exhibition game against the Under-18 U.S. national developmental team at Mariucci Arena.

Minnesota's identity is built on sharing offensive responsibilities. Last year the Gophers had nine players with at least nine goals, but nobody with more than 16. Eight of those players returned, and the balance worked well early. But nobody could score against UMD except freshman Leon Bristedt.

Sophomore forward Hudson Fasching is one of five current Gophers that played with the U-18 U.S. National Developmental Team.
Video (01:37): Fasching recalls playing Gophers as USNDT member

"We're not going to win many games scoring one goal," coach Don Lucia said. "In the three games we've lost, we scored one [goal] twice and zero in the other game. … There are some guys that need to contribute a little bit more from an offensive standpoint… and they're capable of it."

The obvious candidates are seniors Kyle Rau and Sam Warning, and sophomores Justin Kloos and Hudson Fasching. Kloos led the team with 16 goals last season, and the others each scored 14. Kloos leads the team with six goals this season, Fasching has five, Warning and Rau three each.

"When your team is struggling, as a senior and as a leader, I'd like to be that [go-to scorer]," Rau said. "And, obviously, I wasn't that guy this [past] weekend, so that is something I need to work on."

Fasching said there is something to be said for a 20-plus goal-scorer, someone that can break through a poor offensive night. Rau and Kloos have the skills to do it, he said, but it's hard to make that step.

Senior forward Travis Boyd showed the potential for a big offensive year until he suffered a lower-body injury. He scored three goals in the first five games, but he hasn't played since Halloween night. The Gophers hope this scary stretch ends before his return sometime in December.

Jason Gonzalez • 612-673-4494