Michigan solidly defeats Gophers men's hockey

Published Mar. 15, 2014 9:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- In a game that meant little in the grand scheme of things, the top-ranked University of Minnesota men's hockey squad suffered a one-sided, 6-2 loss at No. 13 Michigan on Saturday night.

One night after clinching the Big Ten conference's regular-season title, Minnesota found itself in a huge early hole. Host Michigan blitzed the visitors to the tune of four unanswered goals early, and the Wolverines led 5-0 by the game's midway point. Finally, Minnesota dented the scoreboard with its first goal of the night at 2:11 of the second period, when Brady Skjei lit the lamp.

Later, at 2:48 of the final period, Skjei struck again, making the final score a bit more palatable for Minnesota (24-5-6 overall, 14-3-3-0 Big Ten).

Minnesota got 22 saves from backup netminder Michael Shibrowski on the night.

Michigan, meanwhile, got 25 saves from Zach Nagelvoort. The Wolverines were paced offensively by Luke Moffatt, who recorded two goals and one assist.

The Gophers' next game will come next Friday, in the semifinals of the first-ever Big Ten tournament, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Minnesota will head into the league tournament as the top seed and will face the winner of four seed Ohio State and five seed Michigan State on Friday at approximately 7 p.m.