St. Cloud State routs No. 1 Gophers' hockey

ST. CLOUD – The Gophers looked spooked in the final seconds of the first period. Captain Kyle Rau leaned up against his own net and paused to digest St. Cloud State's second goal just moments before the first intermission.

Goaltender Adam Wilcox also needed a moment to catch his breath.

No. 7 St. Cloud State had built a 2-0 lead after one period on Friday night at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud and the startled top-ranked Gophers never calmed down in a 4-1 beating by their in-state rival.

The Gophers' emotion turned to frustration early in the third period. Back-to-back penalties put the Gophers at a 5-on-3 disadvantage and set up the Huskies for a 4-0 lead. After deflecting several pucks with his body on a failed penalty kill, Travis Boyd hunched over and glided off the ice to a quiet Gophers bench.

Hudson Fasching spoiled Charlie Lindgren's shutout bid for the Huskies with a goal 4:18 into the third period, but the Gophers' offense never could get into a rhythm on the road in front of full house of 5,122 fans.

"It's definitely very intimidating. You come in here and you don't expect that kind of atmosphere," Fasching said. "It kind of took a hold of us in the first. We were a little bit shellshocked and little bit intimidated.

"It's tough, especially 'cause we take a couple early penalties. We kind of started getting down on ourselves. Then we let in a goal like that [at the end of the first period]. It's hard for us to mentally take that and bounce back."

Gophers goaltender Adam Wilcox stopped 33 shots.

"It's amazing. Every series against the Gophers is going to be absolutely packed, along with North Dakota. Playing in front of a crowd like this, especially in costumes, is awesome," Brodzinski said.

The performance validated the comments Gophers coach Don Lucia made about his team earlier in the week. He said they weren't a tough enough opponent, and several aspects of their game weren't progressing as well as he had hoped.

St. Cloud State made a point to expose each of these areas. The Gophers' offensive attacks were limited to one or two shots and the Huskies' won races to the puck forcing the Gophers into penalty trouble.

"It was just an all-around tough game for us," Ambroz said. "We didn't match their intensity. We knew they'd be coming out hot after last season. We just didn't have it today. … We take [seven] penalties, that's going to be a recipe for success for anybody."

The Gophers' character will be tested on Saturday when the series returns to Mariucci Arena after Friday's humbling defeat.

"I thought at times we were undisciplined tonight and lost our composure and you can't do that whether you're at home or on the road," Lucia said.