Boyd's hat trick helps Gophers rout Ohio State

The satisfaction of a sweep had become a foggy memory for the Gophers men's hockey team. A long 13 weeks passed before they would win two games in a weekend again, and the celebration seeped through the locker room doors underneath Mariucci Arena on Saturday night.

The Gophers didn't leave any room for Ohio State to spoil their weekend, blowing past the Buckeyes 6-2 for their first Big Ten sweep, coming halfway through conference play.

Travis Boyd helped secure the lopsided victory with his first career hat trick and an assist. The senior forward connected on all three of his shots, scoring his first goal of the night early in the first period for a 1-0 lead, the second 9 seconds into the second and the third coming 11 seconds into the Gophers' second power play of the night.

"It was a special moment," Boyd said. "To do it at home just makes it more special in front of our fans. It was a fun night."

The postgame gathering at center ice to salute fans and celebrate the sweep made the night even more enjoyable for Boyd and his teammates.

"This morning in our team meeting, Coach [Don Lucia] said it was 89 days [against Notre Dame Nov. 7 and 9] since the last time we swept," Boyd said. "So way too long to get back around the circle. Hopefully that gives us a little bit of momentum carrying into a big next weekend."

Boyd's linemates, Sam Warning and Seth Ambroz, each had three assists on a 10-point night for the all-senior line. Senior captain Kyle Rau had a goal and assist, his first multipoint game since Jan. 3.

Boyd was the voice of reason throughout the week, calling for the "next man up" mentality and the importance of winning back-to-back games this weekend. With only five more regular-season series after Ohio State until the Big Ten tournament, it was important for the Gophers to prove they can be good for more than just one night. Any sort of postseason run will require winning two or more games a weekend.

They are on a four-game unbeaten streak heading into next weekend's high-stakes series with conference leader Michigan.

"It's been tough for us to put two together in a weekend and tonight we did. It's great to be part of. … We'll have some fun for a little while," Ambroz said. "It was a good night [for our line] and we want that to continue. We've just got to keep doing what we're doing and do the little things right and we'll keep having success."

The Gophers didn't need a lot of shots — 28 — to score Saturday. They scored two goals on eight shots in the first period, two on 12 in the second and two more in the third on just eight shots. They had compiled 40-plus shots four times over their previous seven games, including 42 on Friday night.

Ohio State (7-15-2, 2-8) managed only 18 shots on goal, getting goals from Sam Jardine and Victor Bjorkung.

"We had to have it," Lucia said of the sweep. "This is one of those weekends where we needed to have a couple wins. You think your team is making progress, but there hasn't been that reward every night."