University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, January 10
East Lansing, MI
5:00 PM
University of Minnesota
7-10-4, 2-5-4-3
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at
4
Michigan State
11-9-1, 7-3-1-0
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2
3
F
Minnesota
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1
Michigan State
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Photo by: Brad Rempel
LaCombe Scores First Goal as Gophers Fall 4-1 to Spartans
1/10/2020 8:03:00 PM | Men's Hockey
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jackson LaCombe's first collegiate goal wasn't enough for the Gopher Hockey program on Friday night as the Maroon & Gold opened 2020 with a 4-1 loss at Michigan State.
After the Spartans had built a comfortable four-goal lead at Munn Ice Arena through two periods, Minnesota (7-10-4 overall, 2-5-4-3 Big Ten) benefited from eight power-play opportunities in the third period including a trio of abbreviated 5-on-3 chances. LaCombe's first goal with Minnesota was the product of one of those opportunities as the freshman defenseman buried a power-play goal after being set up by Sammy Walker and Blake McLaughlin.
Michigan State (11-9-1, 7-3-1-0) recorded three points (one goal, two assists) from Patrick Khoderenko while Mitchell Lewandowski and Sam Saliba each tallied a goal and an assist. Gianluca Esteves tallied the eventual game winner for the Spartans.
Jack LaFontaine took the loss for Minnesota, making six saves on nine shots to fall to 4-6-3 on the year. Jared Moe took over for the final 40 minutes and made 14 saves on 15 shots. John Lehemon made 25 saves on 26 shots to improve to 11-6-1 while Spencer Wright played the final 14 seconds without facing a shot.
Notable
After totaling just seven shots through 40 minutes of play, Minnesota recorded 19 shots on goal in the final frame to tie a season high for shots in a period. The performance carried the Gophers to a 26-24 advantage in shots. The Gophers went 1-for-8 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill, surrendering a power-play goal for just the second time in the last eight games.
Quotable
"(Michigan State) had much more snarl in their game tonight," Bob Motzko said. "We were going okay then we took the bad penalty, and they score – then 27 seconds later we're down 2-0. We chased the rest of the way."
Up Next: Road Trip to East Lansing
The Gophers close out the weekend in East Lansing on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 6:00 p.m. CT (TV: Big Ten Network; Stream: FOX Sports App; Radio: KFAN Plus FM 96.7).
After the Spartans had built a comfortable four-goal lead at Munn Ice Arena through two periods, Minnesota (7-10-4 overall, 2-5-4-3 Big Ten) benefited from eight power-play opportunities in the third period including a trio of abbreviated 5-on-3 chances. LaCombe's first goal with Minnesota was the product of one of those opportunities as the freshman defenseman buried a power-play goal after being set up by Sammy Walker and Blake McLaughlin.
Michigan State (11-9-1, 7-3-1-0) recorded three points (one goal, two assists) from Patrick Khoderenko while Mitchell Lewandowski and Sam Saliba each tallied a goal and an assist. Gianluca Esteves tallied the eventual game winner for the Spartans.
Jack LaFontaine took the loss for Minnesota, making six saves on nine shots to fall to 4-6-3 on the year. Jared Moe took over for the final 40 minutes and made 14 saves on 15 shots. John Lehemon made 25 saves on 26 shots to improve to 11-6-1 while Spencer Wright played the final 14 seconds without facing a shot.
Notable
After totaling just seven shots through 40 minutes of play, Minnesota recorded 19 shots on goal in the final frame to tie a season high for shots in a period. The performance carried the Gophers to a 26-24 advantage in shots. The Gophers went 1-for-8 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill, surrendering a power-play goal for just the second time in the last eight games.
Quotable
"(Michigan State) had much more snarl in their game tonight," Bob Motzko said. "We were going okay then we took the bad penalty, and they score – then 27 seconds later we're down 2-0. We chased the rest of the way."
Up Next: Road Trip to East Lansing
The Gophers close out the weekend in East Lansing on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 6:00 p.m. CT (TV: Big Ten Network; Stream: FOX Sports App; Radio: KFAN Plus FM 96.7).
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Team Stats
MINN
MSU
Shots
26
24
PPG
1
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
4
9
Penalty Mins
8
18
Faceoffs Won
18
32
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
-1
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
-2
Goals
0
Sh
0
A
1
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
0
Players Mentioned
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
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