Brody Lamb scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and also had two assists, and the Gophers men’s hockey team added two empty-netters late to beat Ohio State 6-3 on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio.
“Our guys battled,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko told reporters at Value City Arena. “Sometimes it wasn’t pretty.”
Less than two minutes after the Buckeyes had tied the score 3-3 on a goal by Max Montes, Lamb slipped behind the Ohio State defense for a breakaway. His initial shot was saved by Kristoffer Eberly, but Lamb punched in the rebound with 13:20 remaining in the third period.
Lamb leads the Gophers with 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists).
Motzko said the team had travel problems following its overtime victory at Denver on Saturday night, so the quick turnaround for a Thursday game in Columbus was not ideal.
“I give our guys credit,” he said. “We had great fight in us tonight.”
Brodie Ziemer’s empty-net goal with 1:21 remaining made it 5-3. Javon Moore sealed the victory with 7 seconds remaining. Luca Di Pasquo made 32 saves for the Gophers, who were outshot 35-28.
The victory was fourth in five games for the Gophers (8-9-1, 4-3 Big Ten), who continued their recent success against the Buckeyes and in Columbus. The Gophers, who were 3-1 vs. Ohio State last season, are 8-2-1 in their past 11 games at Value City and are 19-3-1 against the Buckeyes since 2020.
