Gophers men’s hockey blanked by Minnesota Duluth for first shutout loss since January 2023

Daniel Shlaine and Zam Plante scored 2:44 apart in the first period, Grayden Siepmann added a goal early in the third and 18th-ranked Minnesota Duluth beat the 12th-ranked Gophers men’s hockey team 3-0 Friday night at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

Adam Gajan made 17 saves for UMD, which outshot the Gophers 24-17. Luca Di Pasquo stopped 21 shots for the Gophers, who fell to 2-4-1 on the season.

“We played a really good first four minutes, but the next 56 were not very good for us,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko told reporters. “We couldn’t score a goal and get the effort to make it more exciting for the fans and get this thing going.”

The Gophers were shut out for the first time since Jan. 7, 2023, at St. Cloud State, a span of 104 consecutive games with at least one goal, and suffered their first home shutout since Mar. 6, 2020, against Notre Dame in Game 1 of the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.

The teams play again Saturday night.

Ava Lindsey scored two second-period goals to spark the No. 3 Gophers women’s hockey team to a 4-0 victory at No. 4 Minnesota Duluth on Friday.

Lindsey, who went into the game with one goal and a Division I-leading 12 assists, helped the Gophers (8-1, 4-1 WCHA) extend their unbeaten streak against the Bulldogs (6-3, 2-3) to 14 games. The Gophers are 13-0-1 against the Bulldogs since the end of the 2021-22 season.

After the teams skated through a scoreless first period, the Gophers scored twice in the first four minutes of the second period.

Lindsay, a junior from Minnetonka, opened the scoring 46 seconds into the second period. Madison Kaiser, who along with Sydney Morrow had assisted on the first goal, scored with 16:17 remaining in the period to give the Gophers a two-goal lead.

Bulldogs goalie Eve Gascon, the WCHA”s Goaltender of the Year last year, appeared to be injured on the goal and left the game. She was replaced by Sophia Villanueva.

Gophers goalie Hannah Clark had 24 saves in her second shutout of the season. The Gophers outshot UMD 36-24.

The series concludes Saturday in Duluth.

Kelly Kinney had 15 kills and Carly Gilk had 12 for the Gophers (16-4, 6-3 Big Ten), who have beaten the Hoosiers (15-4, 6-3) 15 consecutive meetings. They hit .412 as a team, their second-highest mark of the season.