University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, January 30
Columbus, OH
4:00 PM
University of Minnesota
15-3-0, 11-3-0-0-0-0
5
at
2
Ohio State
5-12-1, 5-11-0-1-0-0
1
2
3
F
Minnesota
1
3
1
5
Ohio State
0
1
1
2
Team Stats
MINN
OSU
Shots
27
30
PPG
2
0
SHG
1
0
Penalties
4
6
Penalty Mins
8
23
Faceoffs Won
28
22
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
-1
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
2
+/-
+1
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
-1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
1
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
Players Mentioned
Defense
/ Men's HockeyDefense
/ Men's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Ric Kruszynski
‘U’ Earns Seventh Sweep with 5-2 Win
1/30/2021 7:35:00 PM | Men's Hockey
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A two-man advantage that netted two power-play goals pushed the No. 4 Gopher men's hockey team to its seventh sweep of the season as the Maroon & Gold topped Ohio State 5-2 on Saturday at Value City Arena.
Minnesota (15-3-0 overall, 11-3-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) has now won four-straight games and outscored its opponents 30-5 to claim the throne as the top scoring offense in the NCAA this year (4.22 goals per game).
Jackson LaCombe led the way for the Maroon & Gold – matching his career high with three points (one goal, two assists) – Jaxon Nelson and Sammy Walker each added a goal and an assist. Nelson recorded his first career multi-point performance in the win.
The Gophers struck first and improved to 14-1-0 on the year when doing as Nelson forced a turnover and fed Jonny Sorenson for the sophomore's fifth of the year at 7:44 of the first period.
Ohio State (5-12-1, 5-11-0-1-0-0) committed a pair of costly penalties at the start of the second period as Collin Peters was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct and Ryan O'Connell was called for a minor at the same play stoppage. The Maroon & Gold made the hosts pay with two power-play goals in 26 seconds. Sampo Ranta scored his team-leading 12th goal of the year at 1:59 with assists from Walker and LaCombe while Nelson scored his fourth of the year at 2:25 after being set up by Ben Meyers and LaCombe for the eventual game winner. The Buckeyes broke the shutout with a goal from Tate Singleton at 7:11.
After setting up two power-play goals earlier in the period, LaCombe scored a shorthanded goal for the second night in a row at 18:59 of the second period for the sophomore defenseman's third goal of the season. Blake McLaughlin and Ryan Johnson earned assists on the goal as Minnesota has now tallied a shorthanded goal in three-straight games with four goals on the penalty kill this year.
The third period saw Kamil Sadlocha bring the Buckeyes within two with a goal at 14:54 but Walker's forced turnover and empty-net goal at 19:40 sealed the win for Minnesota.
Minnesota was outshot 27-30 on the night while going 2-for-6 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Jack LaFontaine (13-3-0) made 28 saves on 30 shots to pick up the win for the Maroon & Gold while earning his NCAA-best 13th win of the year. Evan Moyse (0-1-0) made 22 saves on 26 shots for the Buckeyes.
Quotes from Coach
"I thought it was an outstanding weekend for us. We came on the trip with 24 guys, and everybody was part of (the sweep)," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We just played very solid all weekend...we really limited their opportunities."
Noteworthy
Minnesota has now won six-straight games against Ohio State including sweeping all four regular-season games this season against the Buckeyes. The Maroon & Gold are unbeaten in their last seven against the Buckeyes (6-0-1) and hold a 35-8-5 all-time record against Ohio State.
Up Next: Border Battle
Minnesota returns to action next weekend with a two-game Big Ten series against Wisconsin at 3M Arena at Mariucci. The action kicks off on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7:00 p.m. CT (TV: FOX Sports North Plus/FOX Sports Wisconsin Plus; Stream: BTN Plus/FOX Sports Go; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM) with the series finale on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 7:00 p.m. CT (TV: FOX Sports North Plus/FOX Sports Wisconsin Plus; Stream: BTN Plus/FOX Sports Go; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM).
Minnesota (15-3-0 overall, 11-3-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) has now won four-straight games and outscored its opponents 30-5 to claim the throne as the top scoring offense in the NCAA this year (4.22 goals per game).
Jackson LaCombe led the way for the Maroon & Gold – matching his career high with three points (one goal, two assists) – Jaxon Nelson and Sammy Walker each added a goal and an assist. Nelson recorded his first career multi-point performance in the win.
The Gophers struck first and improved to 14-1-0 on the year when doing as Nelson forced a turnover and fed Jonny Sorenson for the sophomore's fifth of the year at 7:44 of the first period.
Ohio State (5-12-1, 5-11-0-1-0-0) committed a pair of costly penalties at the start of the second period as Collin Peters was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct and Ryan O'Connell was called for a minor at the same play stoppage. The Maroon & Gold made the hosts pay with two power-play goals in 26 seconds. Sampo Ranta scored his team-leading 12th goal of the year at 1:59 with assists from Walker and LaCombe while Nelson scored his fourth of the year at 2:25 after being set up by Ben Meyers and LaCombe for the eventual game winner. The Buckeyes broke the shutout with a goal from Tate Singleton at 7:11.
After setting up two power-play goals earlier in the period, LaCombe scored a shorthanded goal for the second night in a row at 18:59 of the second period for the sophomore defenseman's third goal of the season. Blake McLaughlin and Ryan Johnson earned assists on the goal as Minnesota has now tallied a shorthanded goal in three-straight games with four goals on the penalty kill this year.
The third period saw Kamil Sadlocha bring the Buckeyes within two with a goal at 14:54 but Walker's forced turnover and empty-net goal at 19:40 sealed the win for Minnesota.
Minnesota was outshot 27-30 on the night while going 2-for-6 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Jack LaFontaine (13-3-0) made 28 saves on 30 shots to pick up the win for the Maroon & Gold while earning his NCAA-best 13th win of the year. Evan Moyse (0-1-0) made 22 saves on 26 shots for the Buckeyes.
Quotes from Coach
"I thought it was an outstanding weekend for us. We came on the trip with 24 guys, and everybody was part of (the sweep)," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We just played very solid all weekend...we really limited their opportunities."
Noteworthy
Minnesota has now won six-straight games against Ohio State including sweeping all four regular-season games this season against the Buckeyes. The Maroon & Gold are unbeaten in their last seven against the Buckeyes (6-0-1) and hold a 35-8-5 all-time record against Ohio State.
Up Next: Border Battle
Minnesota returns to action next weekend with a two-game Big Ten series against Wisconsin at 3M Arena at Mariucci. The action kicks off on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7:00 p.m. CT (TV: FOX Sports North Plus/FOX Sports Wisconsin Plus; Stream: BTN Plus/FOX Sports Go; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM) with the series finale on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 7:00 p.m. CT (TV: FOX Sports North Plus/FOX Sports Wisconsin Plus; Stream: BTN Plus/FOX Sports Go; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM).
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