For once, it was someone other than Justen Close in net for the Gophers men's hockey team on Friday night.
Nathan Airey made 19 saves in his official college debut and the 12th-ranked Gophers beat Robert Morris 4-2 at 3M Arena at Mariucci, the 400th victory of Bob Motzko's coaching career.
Airey's start in net meant an end to a run of 46 consecutive starts for Close. Airey, a freshman from Alberta who was injured at the start of the season, made his unofficial Gophers debut on New Year's Day, making 40 saves in a 3-2 exhibition victory over the United States under-18 development team.
He wasn't tested nearly as often in this one, as the Gophers (11-6-4) had a 57-21 advantage in shots on goal. Francis Boisvert made 53 saves for Robert Morris (6-14-3).
Robert Morris scored on its second shot on goal, with Cameron Garvey's deflection giving the Colonials a 1-0 lead only 4:13 into the game. But Gophers captain Jaxon Nelson tied it up with a deflection of his own only 22 seconds later.
Only 69 seconds after that, and 4 seconds into the first power play of the game, Brody Lamb put the Gophers (10-6-4) ahead when his shot deflected off Boisvert's glove, hit the crossbar, then deflected off the leg of defenseman Mitch Andres and into the net.
The Gophers doubled their lead early in the second period, thanks largely to a great individual effort from Luke Mittelstadt. who took the puck from behind his own net and skated coast-to-coast. His shot was saved by Boisvert's pad, but Oliver Moore cleaned up the rebound to make it 3-1.
Bryce Brodzinski scored his 11th goal of the season at the 16:15 mark of the third period, scoring on a breakaway. Robert Morris answered with a power-play goal by Rylee St. Onge with 1:58 remaining, but that was it for the Colonials, as Motzko improved to 400-258-65 in 19 seasons — 13 at St. Cloud State and six at Minnesota.
