Gophers win border battle series opener against No. 16 Wisconsin
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