Gophers men’s hockey gets back on track, sweeps Wisconsin with 8-4 victory

When the Gophers men’s hockey season enters the last weekend of January and the team has a record of 8-16-1, things have not gone anywhere near well for the proud program.

But for one weekend, at least, a sense of normalcy returned to 3M Arena at Mariucci. The Gophers beat No. 8 Wisconsin 8-4 on Saturday, Jan. 31, for a series sweep, after beating the Badgers 4-1 the previous night.

And the Gophers did it in style, getting a highlight-reel goal on one of Brodie Ziemer’s two tallies and scoring four power-play goals and one shorthanded marker in front of an announced crowd of 10,652, the seventh-largest crowd in arena history.

“There’s no better building in the country to win two games when you’re at home,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. “To hear the ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’ and our fans … What we just went through [a seven-game losing streak], you’ve got to throw your first shout out to our fans. A sellout crowd, enthusiastic. And then our guys didn’t let them down."

Erik Påhlsson added two goals and an assist for Minnesota. Goalie Luca Di Pasquo withstood a strong push from the Badgers. The Michigan State transfer stopped 33 of 38 shots.

The Gophers (10-16-1, 6-10 Big Ten, 20 points) ended a seven-game losing streak on Friday. Wisconsin (15-9-2, 8-8, 22 points) departed with a six-game losing streak.

Driving the offense for the Gophers all weekend was the line of Brody Lamb centering LJ Mooney and Ziemer. The trio combined for five goals and seven assists in the series. Mooney had three assists in the finale, while Ziemer added an assist to his two goals. Lamb had a goal and an assist.

“We all felt like we needed it, and we’ve been working hard to get the games to where we want them,” said Påhlsson, who had three goals in the series. “It was so nice to win and get a little bit of a reward for what we’ve been putting in.”

Special teams were important for the Gophers all night, and they cashed in in their first power play when Lamb wired a snapshot past goalie Daniel Hauser at 5:16 for a 1-0 lead.

With Wisconsin on the power play midway through the first, Mooney stole the puck in the neutral zone, skated into the Badgers zone and dished a pass to Ziemer, whose shorthanded snipe from the left circle beat Hauser for a 2-0 Gophers lead.

Although Wisconsin got one back before the power play ended when Tyson Dyck beat Di Pasquo off a rebound to make it 2-1, the Gophers had another answer.

Ziemer made the Badgers pay again on the power play, this time with a highlight-reel goal that made it 3-1 at 14:59. Tanner Ludtke corralled the puck at the Badgers blue line and fed Lamb, who found Ziemer charging in. Ziemer cut in front of the net and flipped a shot between his legs that beat Hauser top-shelf and drew roars from the crowd.

“I thought I saw it from the bench, but I don’t really see until I see the replay,” Motzko said, shaking his head in amazement. “I saw it. I had to confirm it.”

Badgers coach Mike Hastings pulled Hauser after the first period, replacing him with Eli Pulver. Påhlsson greeted Pulver with a tip-in of a Tate Pritchard shot for a 4-1 lead only 38 seconds into the second.

Wisconsin made a big push midway through the second, but Di Pasquo made six consecutive saves. However, the goalie couldn’t stop Fitzgerald, who went in on a two-on-none breakaway to cut Minnesota’s lead to 4-2 at 11:28.

“It ended up being a crazy game,” Motzko said. “Luca was our best player. They had umpteen chances, and ours went in.”

BOXSCORE: Gophers 8, Wisconsin 4

Dyck took a hooking penalty at 14:47 of the second, and Mittelstadt responded by beating Pulver and earning Culver’s for fans, scoring from the point for a 5-2 lead at 15:56. Hendrickson pushed the lead to 6-2 at 19:11 of the second, finishing a rush by tucking the puck past Pulver on a powerful move to the net.

Afterward, Motzko was pleased with the results and reiterated how his team must prepare for momentum to build.

“Our team has been battling in practice,” he said. “We have to continue to do that as it gets late in the season now, but they’ve been grinding hard. … They’ve taken the challenge, and they’ve raised the bar. It’s a formula that we’re going to have to stick with until it’s ingrained."