University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Faber's Three Points Helps 'U' Finish Sweep at MSU
12/3/2022 7:45:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Six different goal scorers for Gophers
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Brock Faber tallied three points, while six different players scored a goal and No. 1/4 Golden Gophers men's hockey finished off the weekend sweep of No. 11/13 Michigan State in a 6-3 win Saturday evening inside Munn Ice Arena.
Faber recorded a goal and two assists, while Justen Close made a career-high 40 saves as Minnesota (13-5-0 overall, 8-2-0 B1G) secured its third Big Ten Conference sweep this season. A three-goal barrage in the second period helped the Gophers move to 4-0 in the state of Michigan in 2022-23 as they picked up their 11th-straight win over the Spartans (11-6-1 overall, 5-4-1 B1G) to remain in first place in the league standings.
It was a battle in the neutral zone beginning the game with the Maroon and Gold generating the best chances during the first period. The goaltenders on both ends of the rink were up to the task and turned away every attempt thrown their respective way. That changed in the blink of an eye when Faber intercepted an MSU pass in his defensive zone and found Jimmy Snuggerud at center ice with an outlet pass. Snuggerud was joined on the rush by Logan Cooley for a 2-on-0 breakaway and the Chaska, Minn., native went high glove and hit the back of the net. After getting the goal with 5:58 to play in the first, Minnesota withstood a Spartans charge and carried the 1-0 advantage into the locker room.
Brilliant passing by the Gophers nearly doubled their margin six minutes into the second, but an equally impressive save from the home netminder kept it a one-shot contest. Minnesota continued to press and a heads-up pass from Luke Mittelstadt, deep inside his own zone, to Bryce Brodzinski at the far blue line did in fact push the lead to 2-0. Brodzinski went in alone and deftly slid the puck between the pads on the backhand. Just 19 seconds after MSU hit the post behind Close, the visitors turned up ice and Jaxon Nelson took a pass from Mason Nevers before firing a shot to the left corner and the advantage increased to 3-0.
The onslaught continued as Minnesota scored its third goal in a nine-minute stretch. Faber moved the puck to the slot where Matthew Knies was waiting with a perfectly angled stick blade and the sophomore's tip went over the shoulder of the goaltender and the Gophers held a 4-0 lead through two periods. MSU got on the scoreboard for the first time in the series 2:19 into the third with a back-door feed that cut the deficit to three. The Spartans found a new gear and had the visitors on their heels, but Close remained poised in net and made a sliding pad save to keep out a goal.
Momentum stayed with MSU as it added its second goal seven minutes later that re-energized the sellout crowd. Minnesota turned to its veteran line to settle things and it was the junior Nevers that regained the three-goal cushion with less than 10 minutes remaining. Faber registered his third goal of the year four minutes later and the Gophers rode out the victory, 6-3.
Noteworthy
Seven players recorded multiple points for Minnesota Saturday ... Snuggerud and Knies remain tied for the Gophers' scoring lead as both put away their 11th goal this season ... Snuggerud has points in 13 of his previous 16 contests and six straight, while Knies has recorded seven points over a five-game stretch, including his NCAA-best fourth game-winning goal ... Mittelstadt tallied his second multi-point effort of the year ... Brodzinski's goal was his eighth this season as he has scored in three of the last four outings ... LaCombe and Cooley each picked up a pair of assists, increasing their team-leading total to 14 ... Faber and Cooley extended their career-long point streaks to six and five games, respectively ... With the 11 total goals in the weekend, it was the third series Minnesota reached double-digit scoring ... The Gophers were not whistled for a penalty for the third-straight game.
Next Up: Home vs. Wisconsin (Dec. 9)
For the first time in nearly a month, the Gophers return to 3M Arena at Mariucci when they host rival Wisconsin for a B1G series presented by M Health Fairview. The action starts Friday night at 8 p.m. during First Responders Night live on the Big Ten Network with audio coverage on the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM / AM 1130.
Faber recorded a goal and two assists, while Justen Close made a career-high 40 saves as Minnesota (13-5-0 overall, 8-2-0 B1G) secured its third Big Ten Conference sweep this season. A three-goal barrage in the second period helped the Gophers move to 4-0 in the state of Michigan in 2022-23 as they picked up their 11th-straight win over the Spartans (11-6-1 overall, 5-4-1 B1G) to remain in first place in the league standings.
It was a battle in the neutral zone beginning the game with the Maroon and Gold generating the best chances during the first period. The goaltenders on both ends of the rink were up to the task and turned away every attempt thrown their respective way. That changed in the blink of an eye when Faber intercepted an MSU pass in his defensive zone and found Jimmy Snuggerud at center ice with an outlet pass. Snuggerud was joined on the rush by Logan Cooley for a 2-on-0 breakaway and the Chaska, Minn., native went high glove and hit the back of the net. After getting the goal with 5:58 to play in the first, Minnesota withstood a Spartans charge and carried the 1-0 advantage into the locker room.
Brilliant passing by the Gophers nearly doubled their margin six minutes into the second, but an equally impressive save from the home netminder kept it a one-shot contest. Minnesota continued to press and a heads-up pass from Luke Mittelstadt, deep inside his own zone, to Bryce Brodzinski at the far blue line did in fact push the lead to 2-0. Brodzinski went in alone and deftly slid the puck between the pads on the backhand. Just 19 seconds after MSU hit the post behind Close, the visitors turned up ice and Jaxon Nelson took a pass from Mason Nevers before firing a shot to the left corner and the advantage increased to 3-0.
The onslaught continued as Minnesota scored its third goal in a nine-minute stretch. Faber moved the puck to the slot where Matthew Knies was waiting with a perfectly angled stick blade and the sophomore's tip went over the shoulder of the goaltender and the Gophers held a 4-0 lead through two periods. MSU got on the scoreboard for the first time in the series 2:19 into the third with a back-door feed that cut the deficit to three. The Spartans found a new gear and had the visitors on their heels, but Close remained poised in net and made a sliding pad save to keep out a goal.
Momentum stayed with MSU as it added its second goal seven minutes later that re-energized the sellout crowd. Minnesota turned to its veteran line to settle things and it was the junior Nevers that regained the three-goal cushion with less than 10 minutes remaining. Faber registered his third goal of the year four minutes later and the Gophers rode out the victory, 6-3.
Noteworthy
Seven players recorded multiple points for Minnesota Saturday ... Snuggerud and Knies remain tied for the Gophers' scoring lead as both put away their 11th goal this season ... Snuggerud has points in 13 of his previous 16 contests and six straight, while Knies has recorded seven points over a five-game stretch, including his NCAA-best fourth game-winning goal ... Mittelstadt tallied his second multi-point effort of the year ... Brodzinski's goal was his eighth this season as he has scored in three of the last four outings ... LaCombe and Cooley each picked up a pair of assists, increasing their team-leading total to 14 ... Faber and Cooley extended their career-long point streaks to six and five games, respectively ... With the 11 total goals in the weekend, it was the third series Minnesota reached double-digit scoring ... The Gophers were not whistled for a penalty for the third-straight game.
Next Up: Home vs. Wisconsin (Dec. 9)
For the first time in nearly a month, the Gophers return to 3M Arena at Mariucci when they host rival Wisconsin for a B1G series presented by M Health Fairview. The action starts Friday night at 8 p.m. during First Responders Night live on the Big Ten Network with audio coverage on the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM / AM 1130.
Play in Focus: Javon Moore at Denver
Thursday, December 18
Mic'd Up: Brody Lamb
Tuesday, December 16
Highlights: Gophers 5, Ohio State 6
Friday, December 05
Highlights: Gophers 6, Ohio State 3
Thursday, December 04