The top-ranked Gophers men’s hockey team got off to a hot start in its Big Ten Conference opener Thursday night.
It didn’t last.
Mathieu De St. Phalle had two goals and an assist, Cruz Lucius also scored twice and 14th-ranked Wisconsin beat the Gophers 5-2 at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
Captain Jaxon Nelson scored only 15 seconds in for the Gophers (3-2), but De St. Phalle tied it on the power play only 83 seconds later. The Gophers tied the score at 2-2 midway through the second period on the first career goal by Charlie Strobel, but Carson Bantle and De St. Phalle scored 62 seconds apart later in the period and Wisconsin (6-1) stayed in control from there.
Lucius, a sophomore from Grant whose brother Chaz played for the Gophers, then punctuated the victory with his second goal of the game. That came after Strobel — whose father and uncle played for the Badgers — received a game misconduct for a hit to the head of Wisconsin’s Quinn Finley in front of the Gophers net.
Ben Dexheimer had three assists and Joe Palodichuk two for Wisconsin, which has gotten off to a hot start under new coach Mike Hastings. He replaced the fired Tony Granato after leading Minnesota State Mankato to two Frozen Fours and eight NCAA tournaments in 11 seasons. Kyle McClellan made 22 saves.
Justen Close made 29 saves for the Gophers. The teams complete the series Friday night.