Minneapolis, Minn. -- No. 2 Minnesota scored three goals in each the second and third periods to post a 6-3 victory over visiting Michigan State on Saturday night in Minneapolis.
Minnesota (20-7-1, 14-3-1 B1G) became the first team in the Big Ten to get to 20 victories and completed the four-game season sweep of MSU. Unlike last night's game which got away from the Spartans early, the teams skated through a scoreless first, MSU trailed 3-2 in the second intermission, and saw the Gophers score a pair of early goals in the third to go up by three goals, but MSU was far more poised and able to create offense in Saturday's game. The play of netminder Justen Close for Minnesota was the big story in the first period, robbing the visitors from several opportunities in both the first and third periods.
Karsen Dorwart and
Daniel Russell had the goals for the Spartans in the second period, each scoring their eighth goals of the season.
Cole Krygier netted his ninth of the season in the final two minutes of the game.
Dylan St. Cyr and Justen Close were key for both of their teams, robbing grade-A chances. St. Cyr had 24 stops for the Spartans, while Close made 16, including 12 in a first period in which the Spartans had a 12-4 edge in shots on net.
Michigan State is now 13-13-2 overall, and is 7-9-2 in Big Ten play. The Spartans return home next weekend and will host Notre Dame in a two-game set at Munn Ice Arena. The Spartans will honor their senior class next Saturday as well.
STATISTICS OF NOTE
- Karsen Dorwart had a goal and an assist, his second straight Saturday with a multi-point game.
- Daniel Russell had his eighth goal of the season, tying him with his centerman Dorwart for third on the team.
- Cole Krygier scored his ninth of the season in the third period.
- Jagger Joshua had two assists on the night to get him to the 20-point plateau.
- Four of the five freshmen in the lineup had at least one point in the game (Dorwart, Russell, Tiernan Shoudy and Matt Basgall)
- Nicolas Müller picked up his 18th assist of the season on Dorwart's power play goal. 10 of his assists this season are on the power play.
PERIOD SUMMARIES
First Period: The Spartans responded to a tough Friday outcome with a tremendous amount of jump and discipline in the first period, generating several grade-A chances that forced Gopher goaltender Justen Close to be outstanding to keep it a scoreless game. MSU had a 12-4 edge in shots on net over their hosts, which could have been a multi-goal lead if not for the play of the Gopher netminder.
Second Period: After the scoreless first, the teams generated five goals in the second, three in the first five minutes. The first went to the Spartans on the power play as
Karsen Dorwart walked in off the half wall and beat Close from the left dot for his eighth goal of the season. Minnesota countered two minutes later off the faceoff with a laser by Snuggerud, but MSU went back on top when Dorwart fed an unmarked
Daniel Russell on the left side. At 13:31, Logan Cooley drove to the net and St. Cyr kept it out, but Garrett Pinomiemi tipped it over the goal line past a prone St. Cyr on a pileup in the crease. The play was reviewed twice as the net appeared to be off its moorings and a second time for potential goaltender interference, but the goal stayed on the scoreboard. With 4:32 remaining in the period, Bryce Brodzinski was sprung on a breakaway after a turnover in the Spartan zone and buried it to give the home team their first lead of the game 3-2. Down a goal, the climb got a bit tougher for the Spartans in the balance of the period when
Daniel Russell was sent off on a contact to the head penalty with just over four minutes remaining, giving the dangerous Gophers a five-minute major power play. MSU killed off the penalty time in the remainder of the period.
Third Period: Goals by Ryan Chesley and Matthew Knies in the first eight minutes of the third opened up the game a bit for the home team, as the high-end talent for the Gophers scored on absolute snipes. Snuggerud added another goal of that variety at 13:09 to make it six goals on the scoreboard, but MSU did not step away from its game plan – the Spartans kept to their script and stayed discipled and creating offense, which paid off with a
Cole Krygier goal with 1:20 to play.
