University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, January 30
3M Arena at Mariucci
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
9-16-1, 5-10-0
4
vs
1
Wisconsin
15-8-2, 8-7-0
1
2
3
F
Wisconsin
1
0
0
1
Minnesota
1
2
1
4
Team Stats
WIS
MIN
Shots
28
25
PPG
1
2
SHG
0
0
Penalties
6
7
Penalty Mins
12
14
Faceoffs Won
37
27
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Snap Skid in Top-10 Rivalry Win over Badgers
1/30/2026 10:45:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Goal and assist from both Mooney and Påhlsson
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota men's hockey team snapped its losing streak in emphatic, upset fashion Friday night, winning 4-1 in a rivalry matchup against No. 8/7 Wisconsin from 3M Arena at Mariucci. LJ Mooney and Erik Påhlsson each scored power-play goals in multi-point efforts to pace the Maroon and Gold to a Big Ten Conference victory.
The Golden Gophers (9-16-1 overall, 5-10-0 B1G, 17 points) picked up their fourth top-10 win of the season and ended their seven-game losing streak by handing the Badgers (15-8-2 overall, 8-7-0 B1G, 22 points) their fifth-consecutive setback.
Minnesota came out with a strong push to begin the night as Javon Moore used his speed up the wing for a chance on target, followed by a rebound bid off the stick of Finn McLaughlin, who jumped into the play. Despite controlling possession in the offensive zone, a tripping penalty to the home side gave Wisconsin a man advantage at 4:18 that was quickly erased. The Gophers needed to be sound defensively before another infraction gave the visitors their second power play in the middle of the period and this time, they converted 10 seconds into the chance for a 1-0 lead with 7:54 to play in the opening frame.
In the final five minutes, Minnesota earned its first crack to skate 5-on-4 and the power play did not disappoint the near-capacity crowd, quickly pulling even. Mooney buried a one-timer from the left circle thanks to a perfect feed from Luke Mittelstadt and the teams went back to the locker room all square at 1-1.
It was the Badgers that had opportunities to break the tie early in the second stanza, but it was all Maroon and Gold for the next three shifts. Tanner Ludtke hit the left post and nearly put away another pass from Jimmy Clark. Momentum stayed with the home side and the top line went to work, generating a strong forecheck that led to another man advantage. During this chance, it was the second unit that went to work and did damage as Påhlsson ripped a sharp-angle shot from along the goal line into the back of the net for a 2-1 edge at 10:41. The offense would not be stopped and just 1:49 later, Brodie Ziemer redirected a pass from Mooney over the goalie's glove, and the Gophers stretched the margin to 3-1, forcing a timeout from the visitors. Minnesota carried the two-goal advantage into intermission.
Neither side was able to generate much as the action stayed in the neutral zone during the beginning stages of the final frame. The Badgers had a surge as they fought to stay in the game, only to be denied at each opportunity by netminder Luca Di Pasquo and the Gophers defense. After shutting down the attack, the rest of the night belonged to the Maroon and Gold.
Just 20 seconds after Wisconsin pulled its goaltender, Di Pasquo was taken down behind his goal but not before starting the breakout. The junior pushed the puck ahead to Tate Pritchard, who found Påhlsson at center ice, and eventually onto the stick of a rushing Teddy Townsend. The rookie hit the empty net with 3:25 left in regulation, ending the losing streak behind the 4-1 win. In the closing seconds, Di Pasquo saw the opposite net empty again from nearly 200 feet away and lifted a shot that had to be knocked aside by a Badger defender to negate the potential goalie goal before tempers flared until the final buzzer.
Noteworthy
Mooney put away his sixth goal of the year and third on the power play, reaching 21 points overall after adding an assist later in the contest ... The freshman extended his point streak to five games, the longest for a Gopher this season, behind his fifth multi-point outing ... For the first time since opening weekend, Påhlsson found the back of the net, his first goal in 19 games, and third this season ... It also was the sophomore from Sweden's first power-play tally of his career ... Ziemer continues to rack up goals, registering his team-leading 16th of 2025-26, and now has 12 goals over his past 14 outings to rank eighth nationally ... With the empty-net goal, Townsend tallied his third goal of the year and first since Dec. 4 at Ohio State ... Mittelstadt matched Mooney with an assist Friday as the duo continues to pace Minnesota behind 15 helpers, while the senior has a point in four of his last five appearances ... Lamb pushed his point streak to a season-long four games on his 13th assist to reach 24 points ... After posting four points in five games to start the year, Leo Gruba reached the scoresheet for the first time since Oct. 18, a span of 17 contests ... For the first time in the 2026 calendar year, Jimmy Clark recorded a point via the power-play assist, his ninth of the campaign, while Pritchard added his third helper of the season to cap the night ... Di Pasquo closed the victory with 27 saves, his lowest total in a start since making 16 saves against Long Island on Nov. 14 ... Minnesota stayed red hot on the man advantage, going 2-for-2 in the series opener and have scored a power-play goal in five-straight games and 16 times in 13 outings since Nov. 15 ... The Gophers are now 7-0-1 when leading after two periods of play.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"We needed to get rewarded. I kept saying traction. You know, the words that I've been saying. How many of those games, even in the last six, had we played very well, but we fell behind? Then we're chasing the game. We finally put two power-play goals in, and we finally got a 5-on-5 goal to extend a lead. Then they had to chase us; and then we got comfortable," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "One game, but I'll give our guys (credit). Their focus to work and compete and want to get better through all of it; has been as special as I've been around."
Next Up: Home vs. No. 8/7 Wisconsin (Jan. 31)
The Gophers and Badgers close the weekend B1G series sponsored by Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union Saturday evening at 6 p.m. live on FOX9 and streaming on B1G+. Audio coverage with Wally Shaver and Jack Ramsey will also be available via the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
The Golden Gophers (9-16-1 overall, 5-10-0 B1G, 17 points) picked up their fourth top-10 win of the season and ended their seven-game losing streak by handing the Badgers (15-8-2 overall, 8-7-0 B1G, 22 points) their fifth-consecutive setback.
Minnesota came out with a strong push to begin the night as Javon Moore used his speed up the wing for a chance on target, followed by a rebound bid off the stick of Finn McLaughlin, who jumped into the play. Despite controlling possession in the offensive zone, a tripping penalty to the home side gave Wisconsin a man advantage at 4:18 that was quickly erased. The Gophers needed to be sound defensively before another infraction gave the visitors their second power play in the middle of the period and this time, they converted 10 seconds into the chance for a 1-0 lead with 7:54 to play in the opening frame.
In the final five minutes, Minnesota earned its first crack to skate 5-on-4 and the power play did not disappoint the near-capacity crowd, quickly pulling even. Mooney buried a one-timer from the left circle thanks to a perfect feed from Luke Mittelstadt and the teams went back to the locker room all square at 1-1.
It was the Badgers that had opportunities to break the tie early in the second stanza, but it was all Maroon and Gold for the next three shifts. Tanner Ludtke hit the left post and nearly put away another pass from Jimmy Clark. Momentum stayed with the home side and the top line went to work, generating a strong forecheck that led to another man advantage. During this chance, it was the second unit that went to work and did damage as Påhlsson ripped a sharp-angle shot from along the goal line into the back of the net for a 2-1 edge at 10:41. The offense would not be stopped and just 1:49 later, Brodie Ziemer redirected a pass from Mooney over the goalie's glove, and the Gophers stretched the margin to 3-1, forcing a timeout from the visitors. Minnesota carried the two-goal advantage into intermission.
Neither side was able to generate much as the action stayed in the neutral zone during the beginning stages of the final frame. The Badgers had a surge as they fought to stay in the game, only to be denied at each opportunity by netminder Luca Di Pasquo and the Gophers defense. After shutting down the attack, the rest of the night belonged to the Maroon and Gold.
Just 20 seconds after Wisconsin pulled its goaltender, Di Pasquo was taken down behind his goal but not before starting the breakout. The junior pushed the puck ahead to Tate Pritchard, who found Påhlsson at center ice, and eventually onto the stick of a rushing Teddy Townsend. The rookie hit the empty net with 3:25 left in regulation, ending the losing streak behind the 4-1 win. In the closing seconds, Di Pasquo saw the opposite net empty again from nearly 200 feet away and lifted a shot that had to be knocked aside by a Badger defender to negate the potential goalie goal before tempers flared until the final buzzer.
Noteworthy
Mooney put away his sixth goal of the year and third on the power play, reaching 21 points overall after adding an assist later in the contest ... The freshman extended his point streak to five games, the longest for a Gopher this season, behind his fifth multi-point outing ... For the first time since opening weekend, Påhlsson found the back of the net, his first goal in 19 games, and third this season ... It also was the sophomore from Sweden's first power-play tally of his career ... Ziemer continues to rack up goals, registering his team-leading 16th of 2025-26, and now has 12 goals over his past 14 outings to rank eighth nationally ... With the empty-net goal, Townsend tallied his third goal of the year and first since Dec. 4 at Ohio State ... Mittelstadt matched Mooney with an assist Friday as the duo continues to pace Minnesota behind 15 helpers, while the senior has a point in four of his last five appearances ... Lamb pushed his point streak to a season-long four games on his 13th assist to reach 24 points ... After posting four points in five games to start the year, Leo Gruba reached the scoresheet for the first time since Oct. 18, a span of 17 contests ... For the first time in the 2026 calendar year, Jimmy Clark recorded a point via the power-play assist, his ninth of the campaign, while Pritchard added his third helper of the season to cap the night ... Di Pasquo closed the victory with 27 saves, his lowest total in a start since making 16 saves against Long Island on Nov. 14 ... Minnesota stayed red hot on the man advantage, going 2-for-2 in the series opener and have scored a power-play goal in five-straight games and 16 times in 13 outings since Nov. 15 ... The Gophers are now 7-0-1 when leading after two periods of play.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"We needed to get rewarded. I kept saying traction. You know, the words that I've been saying. How many of those games, even in the last six, had we played very well, but we fell behind? Then we're chasing the game. We finally put two power-play goals in, and we finally got a 5-on-5 goal to extend a lead. Then they had to chase us; and then we got comfortable," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "One game, but I'll give our guys (credit). Their focus to work and compete and want to get better through all of it; has been as special as I've been around."
Next Up: Home vs. No. 8/7 Wisconsin (Jan. 31)
The Gophers and Badgers close the weekend B1G series sponsored by Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union Saturday evening at 6 p.m. live on FOX9 and streaming on B1G+. Audio coverage with Wally Shaver and Jack Ramsey will also be available via the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
Highlights: Gophers 4, Wisconsin 1
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