Pritchard Scores in Gophers' Saturday Setback

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Oct 30

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MINNEAPOLIS - The 12th-ranked Minnesota men's hockey team fell behind by two goals early in the second period and could not overcome the deficit in a 4-1 loss to No. 18/19 Minnesota Duluth inside 3M Arena at Mariucci Saturday night.

The Golden Gophers (2-5-1 overall, 0-0-0 B1G) got a second-period tally from freshman Tate Pritchard to cut the Bulldogs (7-1-0 overall, 0-0-0 NCHC) lead to one, but goals on the power play and into an empty net put the game away late in the third frame.

It was a tight, cautious start to the rematch as Minnesota generated the first dangerous chances of the evening. Five minutes into the opening period, LJ Mooney sliced through the UMD defense and set up Pritchard, whose shot rang off the right post. A minute later, Graham Harris fired a one-timer from the slot that forced the Bulldogs' netminder into a critical stop.

The early pressure by the Gophers led to a power play at the 6:40 mark but the opportunity was wiped away by the visitors. A high-sticking minor on Minnesota flipped momentum late in the period, and UMD converted at the end of the man advantage, burying a rebound at the side of the net. That gave the visitors a 1-0 lead with 3:11 to play in the first and they held the margin through 20 minutes.

The Gophers pressed out of the intermission using their legs to get moving and generated another power play 2:54 into the second stanza. The team put three shots on target but were unable to find the equalizer. Just after the penalty expired, UMD doubled its lead off a 2-on-1 following a neutral-zone turnover.

Minnesota answered three minutes later with its best sequence of the night. Beckett Hendrickson pushed the puck ahead to Mason Moe, who threaded a pass across the slot to Pritchard for a shot over the sliding goalie's glove at the 9:25 mark, pulling the home side within one at the end of the second frame.

Facing a one-goal deficit entering the third, the Gophers returned to their attack mode through the middle stages of the period, forcing the Bulldogs' goalie into making saves, including a shoulder stop as Mooney fired to the short side. A minor penalty on Minnesota with 8:19 left in regulation proved costly as UMD found the back of the net for its second power-play goal of the night, restoring the two-goal cushion.

The home side pulled goaltender Nathan Airey for an extra skater in the closing minutes but were unable to close the gap before the Bulldogs added an empty-net goal in the final minute to seal the sweep, 4-1.

Noteworthy
Pritchard picked up his second goal of the season and first point overall since opening night ... Moe collected his third point during his freshman campaign in just six total appearances ... Hendrickson's assist in the second period was his fifth point of the year, and the sophomore has at least one point in all four series played this season ... Airey ended the night by making 20 saves ... Minnesota held a 29-24 edge in shots on goal versus the Bulldogs in the contest, including a team-high six from Brodie Ziemer ... The Gophers have now allowed six power-play goals through eight games this season as UMD was 2-for-2 on the man advantage Saturday, while the home team was 0-for-2 ... Minnesota was swept at home for the first time since Oct. 26-27, 2003, when it dropped a pair to Wisconsin.

Coach Motzko's Comments
"The last thing we can do is feel sorry for ourselves or be down, because we've lost some games here early in the year," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We've got to push through it. And we've got a lot of faith that we will."

Next Up: Away at Wisconsin (Oct. 30 and Nov. 1)
Minnesota will begin Big Ten Conference play next week when it travels to Madison, Wis., for a Border Battle series against the Badgers. Game one is set for Thursday night at 8 p.m. live on Big Ten Network, while game two will take place Saturday evening at 6 p.m. streaming on B1G+. Fans can also tune into the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK for the call of both games.

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Team Stats

Tate Pritchard

Beckett Hendrickson

Mason Moe

Brodie Ziemer

Players Mentioned

Nathan Airey

Graham Harris

Beckett Hendrickson

Mason Moe

LJ Mooney

Tate Pritchard

Brodie Ziemer

Players Mentioned

Nathan Airey

Graham Harris

Beckett Hendrickson

Mason Moe

LJ Mooney

Tate Pritchard

Brodie Ziemer

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Team Stats

Game Leaders

Tate Pritchard

Beckett Hendrickson

Mason Moe

Brodie Ziemer

Players Mentioned

Nathan Airey

Graham Harris

Beckett Hendrickson

Mason Moe

LJ Mooney

Tate Pritchard

Brodie Ziemer