Bristedt, Sheehy each score twice in Gophers' win over Ohio State

Published Dec. 9, 2016 12:37 p.m. ET

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Leon Bristedt and Tyler Sheehy both scored twice and Rem Pitlick added three assists as the No. 11/9 Gopher Hockey program handed No. 10/11 Ohio State its second loss of the season with a 5-3 win in the Big Ten opener at Mariucci Arena on Friday night.

Minnesota (7-4-2 overall, 1-0-0-0 Big Ten) improved to 25-3-1 all-time against the Buckeyes including an active seven-game winning streak against this weekend's visitors.

After Ohio State (8-2-4, 0-1-0-0 Big Ten) jumped out to an early goal when the Gophers accidently put the puck in their own net at 6:31, the Maroon & Gold rallied with a pair of tallies late in the stanza. Junior defenseman Ryan Collins snapped a 43-game goal drought with his blast of a goal at 15:49 off a drop pass from Pitlick before Bristedt slipped in his first of the night with a shorthanded tally at 19:26 from Vinni Lettieri and Jake Bischoff.

The Big Ten rivals traded two-goal runs in the second starting with Bristedt's second of the night and 30th career goal on a Minnesota power play at 4:19. Tommy Novak and Steve Johnson earned assists on the goal. Sheehy added the eventual game-winning goal less than a minute later at 5:10 with assists from Justin Kloos and Pitlick -- the first of two times on the night that the duo would set up Sheehy for a goal.

Ohio State bounced right back with a goal 17 seconds later at 5:27 before a power-play goal of its own cut the lead back to one at 14:15, sending the game into the final period at 4-3 in favor of the home squad.

In the third period, Kloos and Pitlick would again feed Sheehy for the sophomore's team-high seventh goal and 17th point of the season at 11:47, giving the Gophers an insurance goal. Sheehy now boasts 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in six career games against the Buckeyes.

In his 50th career start, Eric Schierhorn made 18 saves to pick up the win for the Maroon & Gold. The defending Big Ten Goaltender of the Year now holds a 7-4-2 mark on the season and a 27-21-2 career record with the Gophers. Matt Tomkins took the loss for Ohio State, making five saves on nine shots to fall to 6-2-3 on the year. Christian Frey came in midway through the second and made 16 saves on 17 shots.

Minnesota outshot Ohio State 26-21 in the game -- the 21 shots against are the lowest the Gophers have allowed since the first weekend of the season.
Pitlick's three assists and three points were single-game career highs for the freshman while Bischoff now leads Minnesota with 11 assists on the year.

The three-time defending Big Ten champions close out the weekend Saturday at 7 p.m. CT on FOX Sports North PLUS.

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