No. 5 Gophers hold off Michigan State in series opener

No. 5 Gophers hold off Michigan State in series opener

Published Nov. 3, 2017 11:17 p.m. ET

The Spartans pushed back in the third period, but some late magic from freshman Casey Mittelstadt and sophomore linemate Rem Pitlick powered the No. 5-ranked Gophers to a key win at home.



Mittelstadt forced a key offensive zone turnover early in the third period, setting up Pitlick and helping the University of Minnesota men's hockey team to a 3-1 win over Michigan State in Minneapolis.

The Gophers opened the scoring at 3:22 of the first period, when sophomore defenseman Ryan Lindgren jammed home a rebound.

Junior forward Brent Gates Jr. scored on the power play in the second period to make it 2-0 Gophers, but MSU answered on a power play of their own early in the third period.

Mittelstadt and Pitlick had the answer, pushing the Gophers' lead to 3-1 at 5:50 of the third.

Junior goaltender Eric Schierhorn made 26 saves for the Gophers, who outshot the Spartans 27-26.

The two teams meet again Saturday at 4 p.m.

ADVERTISEMENT
share