#2 Gophers lose series opener to #11 Wisconsin

MINNEAPOLIS – For the second time this season, a Gopher Hockey winning streak was snapped by Wisconsin as No. 2 Minnesota fell 4-1 to the No. 11/12 Badgers on Friday night in the series opener at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

Minnesota (15-4-0 overall, 11-4-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) rallied after allowing an early goal to the Badgers when Sammy Walker notched his 10th goal of the year in the second period off assists from linemates Scott Reedy and Blake McLaughlin.

But a three-goal third period for the Badgers (12-7-0, 10-5-0-0-1-0) carried the visitors to a victory in the series opener and closed the gap between the two top teams in the Big Ten this year to just two points.

Jack LaFontaine (13-4-0) made 29 saves for the Gophers while Robbie Beydoun (7-7-0) made 24 for Wisconsin.

Minnesota was outshot 33-25 in the game while going 0-for-2 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.

Quotes from Coach “We just had too much not go right for us,” Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. “A little bit of our own doing, a little bit of Wisconsin playing very well.”

Noteworthy Walker (six games) and McLaughlin (five games) both matched their career long point streaks in the series opener while Walker is one goal shy of tying his single-season career high from 2019-20.

Up Next: Border Battle Finale Minnesota and Wisconsin meet for the fourth and final time in the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 7:00 p.m.

Photo credit: Brace Hemmelgarn/U of M Athletics