28 January 2024
Oliver Moore’s three-point game and Justen Close’s solid play in net lifted the Gophers men’s hockey team to a much-needed 5-1 victory over Michigan State on Saturday and a weekend split of their Big Ten series in East Lansing, Mich.
The Big Ten-leading Spartans (17-6-3, 11-3-2) won 3-2 over the third-place Gophers (15-7-4, 8-5-3) in Game 1 on Friday night.
Minnesota took charge of Saturday’s game immediately, taking a 2-0 lead late in the first period on goals from Bryce Brodzinski and Aaron Huglen. Moore made it 3-0 five minutes into the second period with the Gophers’ third goal.
In the third period, Moore scored his second goal of the game and third of the weekend, and Mason Nevers added an empty-netter to close things out.
Close finished with 24 saves for the Gophers.
“That’s what a 60-minute, road victory against one of the better teams in the country looks like,” Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. “I give our guys an enormous amount of credit. They bounced back, and to a man, they battled.”
The Gophers continue their extended trip away from home Feb. 2-3 as they travel to Madison, Wis., looking for revenge in the Border Battle against Wisconsin (19-5-1, 10-3-0), which is second in the Big Ten. The Badgers beat the Gophers 5-2 and 3-2 in a two-game series in Minneapolis on Oct. 26-27.
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