Gophers win border battle series opener against No. 16 Wisconsin

Published Nov. 22, 2019 11:44 p.m. ET

Four skaters found the back of the net as Minnesota won round one of the border battle with No. 16 Wisconsin, beating the Badgers 4-1 Friday night.

The Gophers set the tone early, scoring back-to-back goals in the early minutes of the first period. Blake McLaughlin found the back of the net at 15:34, and Scott Reedy scored just over a minute later to give the home team a 2-0 advantage.

Sean Dhooghe got the Badgers on the board midway through the second period, but the Gophers responded with a pair of goals from Jonny Sorenson and Sampo Ranta in the third to seal the win.

Jack LaFontaine got the start in goal, making 34 saves to match a season-high before leaving with an injury.

The two teams meet for the series finale on Saturday at 7 p.m. on FOX Sports North.

What a start!@GopherHockey scores back-to-back goals in the first period to jump out to a 2-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/Q9HaDch0A6

— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) November 23, 2019

GOAL!

Sorenson finds the back of the net to give @GopherHockey a 3-1 lead. pic.twitter.com/lfw607RyTz

— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) November 23, 2019