Spartans Deal Gophers a Series Split
MINNEAPOLIS – Senior captain Tyler Sheehy recorded a two-goal performance for the second night in a row on behalf of the Minnesota men’s hockey team, but it was Michigan State that came out on top in Saturday’s series finale with a 4-2 win for the visitors.
The Gophers (4-6-1 overall, 2-2-0-0 Big Ten) jumped out to a two-goal lead thanks to a pair of power-play goals in the second period, but Michigan State (5-7-0, 1-3-0-0) rallied with four unanswered goals to claim the Big Ten split.
After a scoreless first period, Sheehy put the Maroon & Gold on the board with his fourth goal of the year at 10:09 of the second stanza with assists from Clayton Phillips and Rem Pitlick. The senior captain lit the lamp for the second time in the period – and fourth time on the weekend – with another power-play goal at 12:27 of the second period off assists from Sampo Ranta and Blake McLaughlin. The two-goal performance from Sheehy marked the second time in the senior’s career that he recorded multi-goal showings in back-to-back games (Dec. 2 and 3, 2016 against Ohio State).
The lead wouldn’t hold, however, as Michigan State closed out the period with two goals in just over a minute of play. Taro Hirose scored at 18:03, and Patrick Khodorenko followed suit at 19:14 to send the game into the second intermission knotted at 2-2. The Spartans added two more in the third with Brody Stevens scoring at 7:24 and Tommy Apap tallying at 9:42.
A late extra-attacker push by the Gophers was unsuccessful as the Spartans closed out the win.
Eric Schierhorn took the loss for Minnesota, making 18 saves to move to 1-3-0 on the year. Drew DeRidder picked up the win with 28 saves, moving to 1-3-0.
The Gophers outshot Michigan State 30-22 on the night, the fifth-straight game that the Maroon & Gold outshot their opponent. Minnesota went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and 2-for-4 on the power play.
The Gophers close out a six-game home stand next weekend with a Big Ten series against Ohio State at 3M Arena at Mariucci.