University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
3-3-0 (0-0-0-0B1G)
Minnesota Duluth
3-3-0 (0-0-0-0NCHC)
‘U’ Falls to UMD 2-0 in Series Finale
10/26/2019 10:18:00 PM | Men's Hockey
DULUTH, Minn. – For the first time in nearly two years, the Gopher men's hockey program was held without a goal on Saturday night, falling 2-0 to Minnesota Duluth at AMSOIL Arena.
The shutout loss was the first by the Maroon & Gold in 23 months and two days – dating back to Nov. 24, 2017 in a 1-0 loss at Notre Dame. Coincidentally, the Irish are next up for the Gophers as Big Ten play begins next weekend with a two-game series at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
Jared Moe (2-1-0) suffered his first loss with Minnesota although the freshman stood out as the program's top player in the series finale. After surrendering a goal on Minnesota Duluth's first shot on goal of the night, Moe proceeded to stop 21-straight attempts and also backstopped the Gophers to a 4-for-4 performance on the penalty kill. The Bulldogs added an empty-net goal in the final minute to quash any chance of a rally by the Maroon & Gold.
Minnesota (3-3-0 overall, 0-0-0-0 Big Ten) was outshot 23-21 in the contest while the Gophers were 0-for-2 on the power play.
Minnesota Duluth (3-3-0, 0-0-0-0 NCHC) tallied goals from Quinn Olson and Jackson Cates. Hunter Shepard made 21 saves on 21 shots for the shutout.
Notable
The shutout snapped Sammy Walker's four-game goal streak (a career long) and four-game point streak (tied for a career long) although the sophomore captain won seven of the eight faceoffs he took in the game.
Quotable
"That was a much better effort by us tonight. It's unfortunate we had to go through yesterday to get to this, but that's just where we're at," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "I liked how we responded…we had hockey players out there tonight. We just needed a puck to go through, and we couldn't get one to go through."
Up Next: Home-And-Home with UMD
The Gophers host Notre Dame next weekend (Nov. 1-2) at 3M Arena at Mariucci for the opening series of Big Ten play. Friday's contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT (TV: Big Ten Network; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM; Stream: FOX Sports App) while the series wraps up on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. CT (TV: FOX Sports North; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM; Stream: FOX Sports Go). Please note the difference in streaming services for the two games.
All tickets for the 2019-20 Gopher Hockey season – the 99th campaign in program history – are now on sale through GopherSports.com. Season tickets start at $500 – the lowest price point for season tickets at the University of Minnesota since 1999-2000. Highlighting the 2019-20 slate is one of the strongest home schedules in program history with Minnesota hosting all six Big Ten opponents (Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin) along with nonconference foes in North Dakota, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, Bemidji State, St. Cloud State and Niagara.
