University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 11
8:00 PM
University of Minnesota
26-8-1
5
vs
1
Michigan State
18-18-2
1
2
3
F
Michigan St.
1
0
0
1
Minnesota
2
1
2
5
Team Stats
MSU
MIN
Shots
30
24
PPG
1
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
4
4
Penalty Mins
8
8
Faceoffs Won
28
30
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
2
Goals
2
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
2
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
2
+/-
2
Goals
0
Sh
0
A
2
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
Players Mentioned
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's HockeyDefense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Matt Krohn
'U' Routs Spartans Advancing to B1G Title Game
3/11/2023 11:00:00 PM | Men's Hockey
12 players record a point for Gophers
MINNEAPOLIS - No. 1 Minnesota men's hockey scored the final five goals of the night on the way to a Big Ten Conference Tournament semifinals victory, 5-1, against No. 18/17 Michigan State Saturday from 3M Arena at Mariucci.
The Golden Gophers (26-8-1 overall) got production up and down their lineup as 12 different skaters had at least a point, pushing the team into the B1G title game with the win over the fifth-seeded Spartans (18-18-2 overall). It was the 14th-straight time Minnesota took down MSU as it won all five meetings this year by a combined 30-7 margin.
Logan Cooley's two goals moved the freshman to the 50-point milestone as he became the first Gopher freshman to hit the mark since Phil Kessel had 51 points in 2005-06. The blue line delivered on the offensive end as five players contributed seven of Minnesota's 15 points led by Mike Koster's two-assist effort.
The visitors were gifted an early man advantage 3:08 into the action and scored at the tail end of the chance, taking a 1-0 lead as the top-seeded Gophers showed rust following a two-week break from competition. The Maroon and Gold went nearly five minutes without a shot on goal as the Spartans stayed on the attack until the speed of Rhett Pitlick drew a look for the nation's seventh-best power play at the 12:25 mark. Minnesota did not disappoint as picture-perfect passing led to an easy finish for Jaxon Nelson, started by the puck movement of Koster and Matthew Knies to pull even, 1-1.
It was the fourth line that gave the Gophers a 2-1 edge as John Mittelstadt tipped home a Ryan Chesley shot from the point with just 2:09 remaining in the opening frame for the eventual game winner. Ryan Johnson picked up his 50th career assist on the play as Minnesota showed off its depth in front of a near-capacity crowd.
Momentum stayed with the Maroon and Gold as it struck two minutes into the second stanza when the red-hot Aaron Huglen buried a juicy rebound, stretching the margin to 3-1. Cal Thomas fired a shot from the point that got redirected in the slot and the Roseau, Minn., native was there for the finish. MSU got a late power play, but the strong goaltending effort of Justen Close and a trio of blocked shots by Minnesota kept the visitors off the scoresheet, maintaining the two-goal lead through two periods.
The Gophers earned a man advantage of their own 5:26 after the puck dropped on the final frame that was erased by the Spartans. Cooley used a home-ice bounce to make it a 4-1 contest as his shot from the top of the circle deflected on a stick in the slot, caromed off the glass behind the net and bounced off the MSU goaltender before crossing the goal line. Needing a late and desperate spark, the visitors pulled its goalie with 4:30 to play, which allowed Cooley to finish off his second of the night into the empty net 29 seconds later and pick up his 50th point.
Close shined as he has all season long between the pipes and the senior turned away 29 Spartans shots for his 23rd win. The Kindersley, Saskatchewan, native has limited teams to two or fewer goals in 22 of 31 games played.
Noteworthy
The Gophers are now 14-0-0 this season when Cooley scores a goal as he tallied his team-leading 50th point behind his fourth two-goal game ... The Pittsburgh, Pa., native extended his scoring streak to 12 games, totaling 23 points in that span ... Nelson snapped a 15-game scoring drought with his first goal since Dec. 9 against Wisconsin for his eighth tally of the season ... Mittelstadt found the back of the net with his third goal of the campaign and first since Nov. 26 and won 6-of-7 draws at the faceoff dot ... Chesley returned to Minnesota after missing a month and tallied two assists as four of his nine points this year have come against MSU, while adding a physical element to the lineup ... Huglen continued his strong play of late, getting his fourth goal over the last 10 outings ... Pitlick now has points in five-straight contests and eight of his previous nine ... The assist from Knies was his 19th of the year and 40th point overall to extend his point streak to five, matching his longest of the season, while Jimmy Snuggerud also had an assist and has 48 points for the Gophers ... Johnson recorded his 14th assist and has points in six of his last nine games ... Koster increased his career-best point total to 25 with his sixth multi-point performance and is now the fourth-highest scoring defenseman in the conference.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"When we watch this game back, we are going to see a lot of good things in there," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We saw the rust; we saw it early. A little conditioning when you are off because it's hard to duplicate it, but a lot of good things in there and we've got to build on this and build on it quick."
Next Up: Big Ten Conference Tournament Championship (Mar. 18)
Minnesota plays its final game of the season inside 3M Arena at Mariucci when it hosts No. 2 seed Michigan March 18 with the B1G Tournament championship on the line. The game will air live on the Big Ten Network starting at 7 p.m. and Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
The Golden Gophers (26-8-1 overall) got production up and down their lineup as 12 different skaters had at least a point, pushing the team into the B1G title game with the win over the fifth-seeded Spartans (18-18-2 overall). It was the 14th-straight time Minnesota took down MSU as it won all five meetings this year by a combined 30-7 margin.
Logan Cooley's two goals moved the freshman to the 50-point milestone as he became the first Gopher freshman to hit the mark since Phil Kessel had 51 points in 2005-06. The blue line delivered on the offensive end as five players contributed seven of Minnesota's 15 points led by Mike Koster's two-assist effort.
The visitors were gifted an early man advantage 3:08 into the action and scored at the tail end of the chance, taking a 1-0 lead as the top-seeded Gophers showed rust following a two-week break from competition. The Maroon and Gold went nearly five minutes without a shot on goal as the Spartans stayed on the attack until the speed of Rhett Pitlick drew a look for the nation's seventh-best power play at the 12:25 mark. Minnesota did not disappoint as picture-perfect passing led to an easy finish for Jaxon Nelson, started by the puck movement of Koster and Matthew Knies to pull even, 1-1.
It was the fourth line that gave the Gophers a 2-1 edge as John Mittelstadt tipped home a Ryan Chesley shot from the point with just 2:09 remaining in the opening frame for the eventual game winner. Ryan Johnson picked up his 50th career assist on the play as Minnesota showed off its depth in front of a near-capacity crowd.
Momentum stayed with the Maroon and Gold as it struck two minutes into the second stanza when the red-hot Aaron Huglen buried a juicy rebound, stretching the margin to 3-1. Cal Thomas fired a shot from the point that got redirected in the slot and the Roseau, Minn., native was there for the finish. MSU got a late power play, but the strong goaltending effort of Justen Close and a trio of blocked shots by Minnesota kept the visitors off the scoresheet, maintaining the two-goal lead through two periods.
The Gophers earned a man advantage of their own 5:26 after the puck dropped on the final frame that was erased by the Spartans. Cooley used a home-ice bounce to make it a 4-1 contest as his shot from the top of the circle deflected on a stick in the slot, caromed off the glass behind the net and bounced off the MSU goaltender before crossing the goal line. Needing a late and desperate spark, the visitors pulled its goalie with 4:30 to play, which allowed Cooley to finish off his second of the night into the empty net 29 seconds later and pick up his 50th point.
Close shined as he has all season long between the pipes and the senior turned away 29 Spartans shots for his 23rd win. The Kindersley, Saskatchewan, native has limited teams to two or fewer goals in 22 of 31 games played.
Noteworthy
The Gophers are now 14-0-0 this season when Cooley scores a goal as he tallied his team-leading 50th point behind his fourth two-goal game ... The Pittsburgh, Pa., native extended his scoring streak to 12 games, totaling 23 points in that span ... Nelson snapped a 15-game scoring drought with his first goal since Dec. 9 against Wisconsin for his eighth tally of the season ... Mittelstadt found the back of the net with his third goal of the campaign and first since Nov. 26 and won 6-of-7 draws at the faceoff dot ... Chesley returned to Minnesota after missing a month and tallied two assists as four of his nine points this year have come against MSU, while adding a physical element to the lineup ... Huglen continued his strong play of late, getting his fourth goal over the last 10 outings ... Pitlick now has points in five-straight contests and eight of his previous nine ... The assist from Knies was his 19th of the year and 40th point overall to extend his point streak to five, matching his longest of the season, while Jimmy Snuggerud also had an assist and has 48 points for the Gophers ... Johnson recorded his 14th assist and has points in six of his last nine games ... Koster increased his career-best point total to 25 with his sixth multi-point performance and is now the fourth-highest scoring defenseman in the conference.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"When we watch this game back, we are going to see a lot of good things in there," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We saw the rust; we saw it early. A little conditioning when you are off because it's hard to duplicate it, but a lot of good things in there and we've got to build on this and build on it quick."
Next Up: Big Ten Conference Tournament Championship (Mar. 18)
Minnesota plays its final game of the season inside 3M Arena at Mariucci when it hosts No. 2 seed Michigan March 18 with the B1G Tournament championship on the line. The game will air live on the Big Ten Network starting at 7 p.m. and Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
CCM Jersey Reveal
Wednesday, September 10
2025-26 Non-Conference Schedule
Monday, August 11
Herb Brooks Statue
Wednesday, August 06
Meet the Newcomers: Teddy Townsend
Friday, July 18