University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, January 31
3M Arena at Mariucci
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
10-16-1, 6-10-0
8
vs
4
Wisconsin
15-9-2, 8-8-0
1
2
3
F
Wisconsin
1
1
2
4
Minnesota
3
3
2
8
Team Stats
WIS
MIN
Shots
38
32
PPG
2
4
SHG
0
1
Penalties
6
4
Penalty Mins
12
8
Faceoffs Won
37
33
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
2
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
2
Goals
2
Sh
2
A
1
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
1
Players Mentioned
Goaltender
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: © /University of Minnesota
'U' Secures Rivalry Sweep of No. 8/7 Badgers
1/31/2026 11:00:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Season-high eight goals to close series sweep
MINNEAPOLIS - Five special teams goals powered the Golden Gophers men's hockey team to an 8-4 rout of No. 8/7 Wisconsin Saturday night inside 3M Arena at Mariucci.
Ten different players recorded a point for Minnesota (10-16-1 overall, 6-10-0 B1G, 20 points), while seven had multiple points as it finished off a Big Ten Conference series sweep and upset of the Badgers (15-9-2 overall, 8-8-0 B1G, 22 points). Brodie Ziemer, Erik Påhlsson, and LJ Mooney each had three points to pace the offense in the statement victory.
The Maroon and Gold wasted no time getting the jump on the visitors as it drew a penalty five minutes into the contest. The top power-play unit delivered 24 seconds into the 5-on-4 as Brody Lamb lifted a blistering shot over the glove, giving the Gophers a 1-0 lead. A penalty to the home side gave Wisconsin a chance to pull even, but it was Minnesota that capitalized as Mooney forced a turnover at center ice and pushed a pass ahead to Ziemer. The sophomore showed off his quick release, burying the shorthanded tally for an early two-goal cushion. The Badgers were still able to convert during the man advantage one minute later to make it a 2-1 game at 11:04.
Late in the frame, the Gophers again took advantage of a Wisconsin penalty. This time it was a highlight-reel goal from Ziemer as he went between-the-legs for the third goal of the period and his second of the night with 5:01 remaining in the opening period. Holding the two-goal edge, Minnesota went to the penalty kill and needed a huge glove save from goaltender Luca Di Pasquo to maintain the lead as it erased the opportunity and carried the 3-1 margin back to the locker room.
The intermission did nothing to slow down the Gophers' offense as Påhlsson tipped in a pass from Tate Pritchard just 38 seconds into the second stanza for a 4-1 edge. Di Pasquo took over the next sequence and made a pair of spectacular saves as the visitors made another strong surge. Momentum stayed with the Badgers and a breakaway goal made it a two-goal game once again with 8:32 to play in the period.
The remainder of the frame belonged to the Maroon and Gold as Luke Mittelstadt found the back of the net with another power-play goal, this time with a seeing-eye shot through traffic at the 15:54 mark. Beckett Hendrickson pushed the advantage to 6-2 on an unassisted tally behind a brilliant individual effort as the clock showed just 49 seconds for a four-goal lead through 40 minutes.
After Wisconsin got one goal back on the power play 30 seconds into the final frame, Minnesota went right back to work, where Påhlsson delivered again. The sophomore collected a Javon Moore pass and broke in on goal before slipping in a backhand shot between the pads to push the margin to 7-3. The Badgers cut into the lead in the middle of the frame but the Gophers' capped the night behind another goal via the man advantage. Leo Gruba put the finishing touches on the incredible weekend as his one-timer from the point secured the series sweep for the Maroon and Gold, 8-4.
Noteworthy
Lamb put away his 12th goal of the year, third on the man advantage, and the senior captain matched his career-long scoring streak at five games with a two-point outing ... Ziemer picked up the first shorthanded goal of his career Saturday and added his 10th on a power play, tying for the NCAA lead as one of two players to reach double digits ... It's the third time this year that the Chaska, Minn., native has a goal-scoring streak of three games and fourth time he's recorded a multi-goal performance ... Ziemer's second goal of the night was the 30th goal of his career and 18th this season, moving into fifth among the nation's top goal scorers in 2025-26 ... For the second time this season, Påhlsson found the back of the net in each game of a weekend series after scoring twice opening weekend versus Michigan Tech (Oct. 3-4) during a season-high three-point night ... Hendrickson was finally rewarded for his stellar play, scoring his fifth goal of the year and first of 2026, and added a helper for the fifth multi-point game of the year ... Mittelstadt made it three-straight games with an assist, and five of the last six, behind his 16th assist this season, while adding his second goal of the year ... The night after posting his first point since October, Gruba found the back of the net with his second goal of the campaign ... Mooney stretched his team-best point streak to six games thanks to a career-high three assists, reaching 24 total points and 18 helpers, the most for the Gophers ... The freshman now has six multi-point outings this year ... Pritchard put together his first multi-point game since opening night and the first time in his career with multiple assists ... Di Pasquo finished the sweep by turning away 34 shots, registering 30 or more saves for the 10th time this season ... Minnesota's power play is firing on all cylinders of late as it scored for the sixth-straight outing and now has 20 goals on the man advantage across the past 14 contests thanks to converting a season-high four times Saturday ... The power play now ranks second in the NCAA at 30.8 percent ... The Gophers scored eight goals for the first time against the Badgers since Feb. 26, 2022 ... Saturday's sellout crowd of 10,652 was the seventh-largest to see a game inside 3M Arena at Mariucci in rink history.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"No better building in the country to win two games. When you're at home and hear the Battle Hymn of the Republic. You got to throw your first shoutout to our fans. Sold out crowd, enthusiastic, and then our guys didn't let them down," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "I know it's one weekend, but we have felt that we don't get ahead of ourselves, but our guys have just stuck to a great script on working and staying positive."
Next Up: Home vs. Ohio State (Feb. 6-7)
Minnesota continues its four-game homestand when it hosts the Buckeyes of Ohio State Feb. 6-7 from 3M Arena at Mariucci. Game one Friday will be televised live on FOX9 and B1G+ at 7 p.m. before the series finale is set for 8 p.m. Saturday night on Big Ten Network. Both games can also be heard through the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
Ten different players recorded a point for Minnesota (10-16-1 overall, 6-10-0 B1G, 20 points), while seven had multiple points as it finished off a Big Ten Conference series sweep and upset of the Badgers (15-9-2 overall, 8-8-0 B1G, 22 points). Brodie Ziemer, Erik Påhlsson, and LJ Mooney each had three points to pace the offense in the statement victory.
The Maroon and Gold wasted no time getting the jump on the visitors as it drew a penalty five minutes into the contest. The top power-play unit delivered 24 seconds into the 5-on-4 as Brody Lamb lifted a blistering shot over the glove, giving the Gophers a 1-0 lead. A penalty to the home side gave Wisconsin a chance to pull even, but it was Minnesota that capitalized as Mooney forced a turnover at center ice and pushed a pass ahead to Ziemer. The sophomore showed off his quick release, burying the shorthanded tally for an early two-goal cushion. The Badgers were still able to convert during the man advantage one minute later to make it a 2-1 game at 11:04.
Late in the frame, the Gophers again took advantage of a Wisconsin penalty. This time it was a highlight-reel goal from Ziemer as he went between-the-legs for the third goal of the period and his second of the night with 5:01 remaining in the opening period. Holding the two-goal edge, Minnesota went to the penalty kill and needed a huge glove save from goaltender Luca Di Pasquo to maintain the lead as it erased the opportunity and carried the 3-1 margin back to the locker room.
The intermission did nothing to slow down the Gophers' offense as Påhlsson tipped in a pass from Tate Pritchard just 38 seconds into the second stanza for a 4-1 edge. Di Pasquo took over the next sequence and made a pair of spectacular saves as the visitors made another strong surge. Momentum stayed with the Badgers and a breakaway goal made it a two-goal game once again with 8:32 to play in the period.
The remainder of the frame belonged to the Maroon and Gold as Luke Mittelstadt found the back of the net with another power-play goal, this time with a seeing-eye shot through traffic at the 15:54 mark. Beckett Hendrickson pushed the advantage to 6-2 on an unassisted tally behind a brilliant individual effort as the clock showed just 49 seconds for a four-goal lead through 40 minutes.
After Wisconsin got one goal back on the power play 30 seconds into the final frame, Minnesota went right back to work, where Påhlsson delivered again. The sophomore collected a Javon Moore pass and broke in on goal before slipping in a backhand shot between the pads to push the margin to 7-3. The Badgers cut into the lead in the middle of the frame but the Gophers' capped the night behind another goal via the man advantage. Leo Gruba put the finishing touches on the incredible weekend as his one-timer from the point secured the series sweep for the Maroon and Gold, 8-4.
Noteworthy
Lamb put away his 12th goal of the year, third on the man advantage, and the senior captain matched his career-long scoring streak at five games with a two-point outing ... Ziemer picked up the first shorthanded goal of his career Saturday and added his 10th on a power play, tying for the NCAA lead as one of two players to reach double digits ... It's the third time this year that the Chaska, Minn., native has a goal-scoring streak of three games and fourth time he's recorded a multi-goal performance ... Ziemer's second goal of the night was the 30th goal of his career and 18th this season, moving into fifth among the nation's top goal scorers in 2025-26 ... For the second time this season, Påhlsson found the back of the net in each game of a weekend series after scoring twice opening weekend versus Michigan Tech (Oct. 3-4) during a season-high three-point night ... Hendrickson was finally rewarded for his stellar play, scoring his fifth goal of the year and first of 2026, and added a helper for the fifth multi-point game of the year ... Mittelstadt made it three-straight games with an assist, and five of the last six, behind his 16th assist this season, while adding his second goal of the year ... The night after posting his first point since October, Gruba found the back of the net with his second goal of the campaign ... Mooney stretched his team-best point streak to six games thanks to a career-high three assists, reaching 24 total points and 18 helpers, the most for the Gophers ... The freshman now has six multi-point outings this year ... Pritchard put together his first multi-point game since opening night and the first time in his career with multiple assists ... Di Pasquo finished the sweep by turning away 34 shots, registering 30 or more saves for the 10th time this season ... Minnesota's power play is firing on all cylinders of late as it scored for the sixth-straight outing and now has 20 goals on the man advantage across the past 14 contests thanks to converting a season-high four times Saturday ... The power play now ranks second in the NCAA at 30.8 percent ... The Gophers scored eight goals for the first time against the Badgers since Feb. 26, 2022 ... Saturday's sellout crowd of 10,652 was the seventh-largest to see a game inside 3M Arena at Mariucci in rink history.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"No better building in the country to win two games. When you're at home and hear the Battle Hymn of the Republic. You got to throw your first shoutout to our fans. Sold out crowd, enthusiastic, and then our guys didn't let them down," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "I know it's one weekend, but we have felt that we don't get ahead of ourselves, but our guys have just stuck to a great script on working and staying positive."
Next Up: Home vs. Ohio State (Feb. 6-7)
Minnesota continues its four-game homestand when it hosts the Buckeyes of Ohio State Feb. 6-7 from 3M Arena at Mariucci. Game one Friday will be televised live on FOX9 and B1G+ at 7 p.m. before the series finale is set for 8 p.m. Saturday night on Big Ten Network. Both games can also be heard through the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
Brodie Ziemer Goal
Sunday, February 01
Highlights: Gophers 8, Wisconsin 4
Saturday, January 31
Highlights: Gophers 4, Wisconsin 1
Friday, January 30
Teddy Bear Delivery
Monday, January 26