Minnesota outplays and outscores Michigan, 6-0

MINNEAPOLIS — Gophers are best known for digging holes and damaging the land above, causing chaos and destruction in the process. 

By outplaying the No. 6 Michigan hockey team (10-4-1 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) and capitalizing on the Wolverines’ errors, No. 4 Minnesota (14-2-1, 7-0) adopted the mentality of its mascot, digging Michigan into a deficit it couldn’t claw out of. By dominating the Wolverines in shot count and taking advantage of Michigan’s pitfalls, the Golden Gophers demolished the Wolverines, 6-0. 

For the first half of the first period, Minnesota’s offense was explosive but unable to capitalize. Finding areas of weakness by tallying 14 shots on goal in just 13 minutes, the Gophers controlled Michigan, quickly wearing out its defense. Despite keeping the first 14 shots away from the goal, the Wolverines couldn’t stave off any more, and as a result, Minnesota netted three pucks in a four-minute frame.

Driving up the right wing, Gopher forward Matthew Wood got around freshman forward Will Felicio with ease, the puck taking a bounce off of Felicio’s skate toward Minnesota forward Oliver Moore. Moore then took a shot that deflected off of graduate goaltender Logan Stein’s pads and landed back at the stick of Wood in the crease, who tipped the puck top shelf past Stein. 

Less than a minute later, a low-effort pass from senior defenseman Ethan Edwards got cut off and turned over by the fired-up Gophers, who drove up the ice on an odd-man rush where Minnesota forward Jimmy Snuggerud finished the job. 

Instead of responding with offensive prowess to the 2-0 deficit, Michigan got chippy and physical. Although the Wolverines killed the ensuing penalty, the Gophers were able to score with a man advantage. As junior defenseman Luca Fantilli skated from the penalty box to the Michigan bench, another Wolverine waiting to return to 5-on-5 play, Minnesota forward Aaron Huglen shot a one-timer from the left faceoff circle that put the Gophers up three goals in the first period. 

Minnesota dug a hole for Michigan in the first period. Gophers aren’t just known for digging tunnels, but specifically, for digging deep and extensive tunnels. And Minnesota evidently hadn’t dug a big enough tunnel for the Wolverines, potting three more pucks in the second frame.

48 seconds in, Wood capitalized once again with a wrister in the slot. Michigan was able to keep the Gophers at bay for the next nine minutes until Minnesota forward August Falloon took a near-identical shot to Wood’s first — a deflection off Stein’s pads and a top-shelf shot from the crease — and once again, got the puck into the goal, extending the Gophers lead to 5-0. Then to add insult to injury, Minnesota forward Connor Kurth extended the Wolverines’ deficit to six. 

By not controlling the puck and making sloppy plays in the first two periods, Michigan let the Gophers control the game early. The Wolverines took shots and keep Minnesota goalless in the third period, but it didn’t matter. 

The Gophers had dug an impossible tunnel for Michigan to escape, and as a result, handed the Wolverines their first Big Ten loss of the season.

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