‘U’ Falls in Series Finale against Mavs
MANKATO, Minn. – An unlucky bounce ultimately cost the No. 8/10 Gopher Hockey program a chance at a series split with No. 4 Minnesota State on Saturday night as Minnesota fell 2-1 at the Verizon Center.
Minnesota (1-3-1 overall, 0-0-0-0 Big Ten) and Minnesota State (7-1-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) traded power-play goals in the second period only for the fourth-ranked Mavericks to notch the game winner in unusual fashion while shorthanded. Eric Schierhorn stopped Jake Jaremko’s opening shot on the play only for the rebound to careen into the net off a Gophers skater for the eventual game winner at 5:06 of the second period.
Rem Pitlick scored Minnesota’s lone goal on the Gophers’ first advantage of the night at 5:10 of the first period, giving Minnesota a power-play goal for the third-straight game. Tyler Sheehy picked up the lone assist as the Maroon & Gold went 1-for-5 on the advantage.
The lead held until 3:46 of the second period when Parker Tuomie added a power-play strike for the Mavericks. The power-play goal would be the only blemish for the Minnesota penalty killers on the night as the unit went 6-for-7 in the series finale and 12-for-14 in the series.
After outshooting Minnesota State on Friday night, the Gophers were held to 15 shots on Saturday compared to 22 from the Mavericks.
Making his 100th career start and first of the season, Eric Schierhorn made 20 saves for the Maroon & Gold, taking the loss to move to 0-1-0 on the year.
The Gophers open Big Ten play next weekend with a two-game Border Battle series against Wisconsin in Madison.