Gophers men’s hockey ends seven-game skid with 4-1 victory over Wisconsin

A seven-game losing streak that began Dec. 5 at Ohio State and stretched through series against Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State finally ended for the Gophers men’s hockey team on Friday, Jan. 30, with a 4-1 Border Battle victory over Wisconsin.

Power-play goals from LJ Mooney and Erik Pahlsson, an even-strength tally from Brodie Ziemer and an empty-netter from Teddy Townsend enabled the Gophers to end the program’s longest skid since a nine-game losing streak during the 1997-98 season.

Minnesota (9-16-1, 5-10 Big Ten, 17 points) got a strong performance from goalie Luca Di Pasquo, who stopped 27 of 28 shots in front of an announced crowd of 10,113 at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Di Pasquo even had a shot at an empty-net goal, but Badgers defenseman Luke Osburn knocked down his airborne attempt in the Wisconsin zone.

Tyson Dyck scored at first-period goal for eighth-ranked Wisconsin (15-8-2, 8-7, 22 points), which has lost five consecutive games. Daniel Hauser made 21 saves.

“We score two power-play goals, and we finally get a 5-on-5 goal to extend the lead, and then they had to chase us,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. “And then we got comfortable in our game.”

Wisconsin got the game’s first power play at 4:18 of the first period when Gophers forward Beckett Hendrickson was whistled for tripping. Minnesota killed the penalty, not allowing a shot on goal. Mooney took a slashing penalty at 11:55 of the first, and the Badgers cashed that in for a 1-0 lead.

Osburn took a shot from the point that Dyck deflected in front of the net. The puck popped high in the air, sailed over Di Pasquo’s head and dropped behind him and into the net at 12:06 to give the Badgers the lead.

With Badgers forward Bruno Idzan in the penalty box for tripping, Mooney took a pass from Luke Mittelstadt and blasted a one-timer past Hauser for a 1-1 tie at 16:08.

“Our lines started to click a little bit,” Mooney said. “We were talking on the bench and just having fun. We had a lot of fun tonight.”

Outshot 13-4 in the first period, the Gophers came out with more energy in the second. Tanner Ludtke, sent in on a short breakaway, nearly scored but fired the puck off the left post. Minnesota went on the power play at 7:53 when Aiden Dubinsky was called for hooking Brodie Ziemer in front of the net. Erik Pahlsson made it 2-1 when his sharp-angle shot from just above the goal line beat Hauser over the goalie’s right shoulder on the short side.

With the crowd energized, the Gophers stretched the lead to 3-1 at 11:08 when Ziemer redirected Mooney’s shot from the high slot past a surprised Hauser. That prompted Badgers coach Mike Hastings to use his timeout to settle his team.

“Moons reloaded, and I just found my way to the net,” Ziemer said. “Nice pass there, and I was fortunate to find the back of the net.”

In the third, the Gophers kept Wisconsin on the perimeter, and Di Pasquo stood tall.

“We’ve been seeing it come for a while, and our players know it,” Motzko said of Di Pasquo’s development. “He know it, and now our fans are starting to see we might have a true No. 1.”

BOXSCORE: Gophers 4, Wisconsin 1

Big Ten standings

1. LJ Mooney, Gophers: Had a goal and an assist. Strong with the puck all night, especially on the penalty kill.

3. Brodie Ziemer, Gophers: Gave his team a two-goal lead in the second period, helped drive Minnesota’s puck possession.

The Gophers and Badgers finish their season series at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31 at Mariucci. The game will be televised on FOX9 and streamed on Big Ten Plus.