Gophers men’s hockey swept by Ohio State with 2-1 loss

His team had just lost the series opener to Ohio State by four goals, and Bob Motzko was asked what the postgame message was to his players on Friday, Feb. 6.

“We weren’t gonna kick a trash can,” the Gophers men’s hockey coach said. “[The players] knew it. It was unacceptable for our people to have to watch that.”

A night later, the Gophers played with more urgency and energy … and ended up losing again.

Jake Karabela broke a third-period tie with a 4-on-4 goal as Ohio State defeated the Gophers 2-1 to sweep the Big Ten series Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 8,707 at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The fifth-place Gophers (10-16-1, 6-12 Big Ten, 20 points) got a goal from Brody Lamb and 16 saves from Luca Di Pasquo. Their power play, which led the nation at 32.5% entering the game, went 0-for-3.

“It was a complete reversal — how we played tonight, but we didn’t get rewarded for it," Motzko said. “Our guys came ready to get after it tonight, but unfortunately, our power play got shut down.”

The game took a toll on the Gophers. Freshman left winger LJ Mooney, the team’s third-leading scorer, left the game midway through the first period after taking a hard hit along the boards. He did not return. Motzko did not have an update on Mooney’s status.

William Smith also scored for sixth-place Ohio State (10-15-1, 6-10, 19 points), which won the series opener 6-2. Goalie Sam Hillebrandt made 28 saves.

“We talk a lot about having no quit,’’ Gophers sophomore defenseman Leo Gruba said. “A lot of success is based off of how much pain you can endure. And it’s been a painful season in a lot of ways, just from losses.”

The Gophers began the game more aggressively than they did the night before, getting three shots on goal in the first 1:11 and spending most of the first three minutes in the Ohio State zone.

At 4:03, Buckeyes forward Felix Caron checked Mooney from behind and drew a boarding penalty. Referees checked for a major but ruled it a minor. The Gophers power play couldn’t get anything going, and with 18 seconds left in the man advantage, Gruba was called for holding. Minnesota’s penalty kill, last in the nation at 67.5% entering the game, killed the penalty, allowing no shots on goal and nearly scoring shorthanded.

But only 26 seconds after the Buckeyes’ power play ended, Ohio State took a 1-0 lead at 8:11 when Smith took a pass from Max Montes in the slot and fired the puck past Di Pasquo.

Only 36 seconds later, though, Ziemer won a puck battle in the slot and sent a pass to Lamb, who beat Hillebrandt from the right circle for his 14th goal of the season and a 1-1 tie.

At 8:47 of the third, Ohio State’s Riley Thompson was called for cross-checking John Whipple into the bench, but the referee also called Whipple for embellishment. The Buckeyes took advantage when Karabela beat Di Pasquo with a shot from the left circle on a rush.

Motzko pulled Di Pasquo for an extra attacker with 1:26 left in the third. Lamb rang the crossbar on a shot with 55 seconds left, and Hillebrandt made three saves down the stretch.

“This has to be more of a baseline how we play every weekend, every game,” Lamb said.

The Gophers suffered their fifth sweep in Big Ten play this season, and all but one of those losses were in regulation. The loss dropped them to No. 38 in the NCAA Percentage Index (NPI), the formula that the NCAA uses to select and seed its 16-team tournament. To receive an at-large bid, a team likely would need to be in the top 14 in the NPI. For the Gophers to make the NCAA tournament, they most likely would need to win the Big Ten tournament and its automatic NCAA bid.

Big Ten standings

1. Jake Karabela, Ohio State: Scored the winning goal in the third period.

2. Sam Hillebrandt, Ohio State: Goalie made 28 saves to finish the sweep.

3. Brody Lamb, Gophers: Center scored the lone Minnesota goal, had one waved off and hit the crossbar with a shot in the final minute.