Another perplexing shootout came and went Friday night as the Gophers men’s hockey team fell short again, this time against Michigan State, a team Minnesota has dominated for years.
But Gophers coach Bob Motzko remained upbeat after the official 3-3 tie, with the Spartans getting an extra point in the Big Ten standings for winning the shootout.
“I liked us tonight,” Motzko said. “I liked everything about our game, except giving up the two leads we had in the third period.”
The No. 8 Gophers received goals from Connor Kurth, Bryce Brodzinski and Rhett Pitlick at 3M Arena at Mariucci. They took a 2-1 lead with less than 12 minutes remaining in regulation, and then grabbed a 3-2 lead with under six minutes left.
But No. 7 Michigan State answered both of those goals to force overtime. The excitement carried into the five-minute extra session, with the teams trading chances without a goal.
What followed left the announced sellout crowd of 10,392 mostly flat. Karsen Dorwart scored on the shootout’s first attempt, and that’s all the Spartans needed, with Pitlick, Mason Nevers and Jimmy Snuggerud all unable to convert.
That dropped the Gophers’ all-time record in shootouts to 4-17, including 2-13 against Big Ten opponents. Minnesota has tried eight shootout attempts this season and converted none, including setbacks to Minnesota Duluth and Michigan.
“It was a great goaltending duel out there tonight,” Motzko said after watching Justen Close make 25 saves for the Gophers and Trey Augustine make 44 for Michigan State.
Oliver Moore, a highly touted Gophers freshman, played the last two seasons with Augustine on the U.S. National team development program.
“I know him really well,” Moore said. “I just don’t know his weakness yet.”
Augustine has been a big part of Michigan State’s turnaround. The Gophers are 14-0-1 against the Spartans, with Minnesota’s last loss in the series coming Feb. 8, 2020, a month before the national COVID shutdown.
The Spartans (10-3-2, 5-0-2 Big Ten), now first place in the conference, will try to end that Gophers streak when the teams finish this series Sunday.
“We’ll come back for a 1 o’clock matinee [Sunday],” Motzko said. “And you know what, if we’re so fortunate to get into the [NCAA] tournament, we could have a 1 o’clock game, so this will be good for us.”
The Gophers (6-4-3, 2-3-2) will have more time to study the Game 1 video with an extra day off. Motzko sounded intent to stress the positives.
“We were making plays right up and down the rink, and all four lines were going and putting pressure,” the coach said. “We had the right guys in the right spots with the puck, and unfortunately they couldn’t get one more goal.”