One of the big reasons for the Gophers' success this season is their dominance in the third period. The Gophers have outscored opponents 34-10 in the final 20 minutes.
Bjugstad, Schmidt lead Gophers' scoring in third period
In the final period, Nick Bjugstad has six goals -- as does Kyle Rau -- while Nate Schmidt has 12 assists for the Gophers.
That's pretty one-sided. Eleven of the third period goals have come on power play, Who are the big late scorers for the U? It pretty much mirrors who the top scorers are overall.
Here is a look at third period scoring:
Goals Assists Total
Nick Bjugstad 6 7 13
Comments: He has 16 goals and 11 assists for 27 points overall. Two of his third-period goals and three assists are on the power play.
Nate Schmidt 0 12 12
Comments: The sophomore defenseman has one goal and 20 assists overall for 21 points. Nine of his 12 assists in the final period are on the power play.
Kyle Rau 6 3 9
Comments: Half the freshman left winger's12 goals are in the third period. He has scored two power-play goals and one short-handed goal in the final period. He also has one assist on a man-advantage in the final 20 minutes. He has 22 points overall.
Erik Haula 4 4 8
Comments: Three of his four goals in the third period have come on the power play as well as all four of his assists. He has nine goals and 25 points overall.
The third period stats for the other Gophers:
Zach Budish 2 5 7
Mark Alt 2 4 6
Nate Condon 1 4 5
Taylor Matson 1 3 4
Jake Hansen 3 1 4
Tom Serratore 3 0 3
Seth Helgeson 1 2 3
Travis Boyd 0 3 3
Seth Ambroz 2 0 2
Nick Larson 1 1 2
Justin Holl 1 1 2
Ben Marshall 0 2 2
Blake Thompson 0 2 2
Sam Warning 0 2 2
Joey Miller 1 0 1
34 56 90
Waconia’s Max McEnelly defeated Stillwater’s Ryder Rogotzke on Friday to settle the match, just as he beat him at state in 2023.