Weekend warriors: Gophers sweep Michigan, tie for first in Big Ten
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Gophers men's hockey team is heating up at the right time.
Just check the Big Ten standings for proof.
After Minnesota was struggling one month ago and sat at fourth place in the conference, some fans wondered what was wrong with the Gophers. Now after four straight wins capped by Saturday's 2-0 victory over Michigan, Minnesota is tied with the Wolverines for first place in the Big Ten.
"It was a weekend we obviously needed," said Gophers coach Don Lucia.
The victory improved Minnesota's record to 16-9-3 overall and 6-2-3-0 in the Big Ten. Michigan fell to 16-10-0 and 8-4-0 in conference play. With four weeks remaining in the regular season, the Gophers and Wolverines will continue to vie for the Big Ten crown it what should be an exciting finish to the year.
Minnesota got goals Saturday from seniors Seth Ambroz and Kyle Rau, while goalie Adam Wilcox stopped all 26 shots he faced to shut out the highest-scoring offense in college hockey. Michigan came into the weekend averaging 4.21 goals per game, tops among all Division I teams. The Gophers held the Wolverines to just two goals in two games at Mariucci Arena after losing by scores of 4-3 and 7-5 in Ann Arbor back in early January.
"Any time you go out there and get swept, you've got to want to send a message to them," said Wilcox, who notched his fourth shutout of the year. "I thought the guys came out really hard. Any time you play a team like Michigan . . . we look at that and that's something we always have in the back of our minds. So to hold them to two goals is a big part of our defensive game and how far we've come within the last month."
One day after Friday's comfortable 6-2 victory, Saturday was close from start to finish for the Gophers. Ambroz opened the scoring just 4:01 into the first period when he snapped a wrister past Wolverines goalie Steve Racine. Unlike the night before when the Gophers had three first-period goals, Minnesota didn't pile it on in the series finale. Despite 26 shots on goal through two periods, Lucia's team took a 1-0 lead into the second intermission.
Perhaps it was a positive for Minnesota to play a close game like Saturday's victory. The Gophers' two wins last weekend were by margins of 4-2 and 6-2. Minnesota hasn't had many low-scoring affairs like its 2-0 win against Michigan.
"It's a good win to have," Lucia said. "It's good for Adam that he was able to close it out. We haven't had a shutout in a long time, and that was a total team effort."
Wilcox did have to withstand a flurry of Michigan shots with just under one minute remaining in the game, but the junior netminder stood tall as he saved 11 Wolverines shots in the final period. That allowed Rau to score the victory-clinching empty-net goal with 20.7 seconds left on the clock.
With Rau's goal -- his fourth of the weekend and 13th of the season -- the Gophers were able to breathe a sigh of relief on the bench after what was a tightly-contested game. It also helped Minnesota's fan base exhale in a similar fashion after watching their team struggle during the early going of the Big Ten season.
A bit of weight has been lifted off the Gophers' shoulders, too. This is the way they expected themselves to play after coming into the year with lofty goals. That potential is starting to come to fruition on the ice.
"We have the ability to do great things," Ambroz said. "We've just got to buy in and do the little things right and do whatever it takes to win."
Minnesota now heads to Penn State next weekend to face an upstart Nittany Lions team currently tied for third place in the Big Ten. Though the Gophers have seemingly found their rhythm, keeping this momentum going through the final few weeks could be the difference between receiving an NCAA tournament berth or missing out on one completely.
"We've got to stick to the game plan," Wilcox said. "We're finding our game at the right time. We'd rather get hot now than back in October and fade out."
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