Gophers pounce early, get a road split at Wisconsin | Brainerd Dispatch

After sweeping Notre Dame in Minneapolis last weekend and an overtime loss at Wisconsin on Friday, the Gophers pounced on their arch-rivals Saturday night, Nov. 6, at the Kohl Center, winning 4-1 for a split of their weekend series.

On the way to the win, the Gophers (6-4-0) survived a scare when All-American goalie Jack LaFontaine had to leave the game with an injury for a time. He returned and finished the game with 35 saves.

“Good response tonight. We had a good look about us, good feel. We got a great start and stayed strong,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. “A lot of good performances by a lot of players tonight.”

For the first 18 minutes or so, the Gophers did everything you need to do to dominate a road game. They got quick hit goals from Matthew Knies and Aaron Huglen to lead 2-0 and scored on a power play later in the first to take a commanding lead. Then there was a moment of great concern in the other end of the rink.

LaFontaine stopped a puck that went behind the net. Following the play, Badgers forward Brock Caufield made contact with the goalie, and the impact appeared to push LaFontaine’s right skate back into the goalpost. Rolling over, the goalie laid on the ice holding his upper leg as play was stopped. He was helped from the ice by trainer Jeff Winslow and backup goalie Justen Close finished the period, which included killing a minute of Badgers power play.

“That was tough to watch,” Knies said. “Obviously I was kind of heartbroken that he had to leave the ice.”

LaFontaine returned for the second period and surrendered a Badgers power play goal, but their momentum was short-lived. Just 16 seconds later, the Gophers combination of Walker and Blake McLaughlin answered for a 4-1 lead. That was all Badgers coach Tony Granato needed to see from Badgers starting goalie Cameron Rowe, who was pulled after making 12 saves on 16 shots. Jared Moe, who had beaten the Gophers — his former team — with 44 saves on Friday night, came in and finished the game with 12 saves.

The Gophers got a lengthy test of their penalty kill a short time later after defenseman Matt Staudacher blasted Badgers defenseman Corson Ceulemans into the boards, drawing a major penalty and a game misconduct for contact to the head. Ceulemans left the game and did not return. Gophers forward Jonny Sorenson left the game in the third period after absorbing an open-ice hit from Badgers center Dominick Mersch.

Motzko said he was not at all happy about Staudacher’s hit and added that it might be reviewed, but overall was pleased with the effort and result.

“We came ready to play tonight. We had a good look about us,” Motzko said. “We made plays … We still gave one up on the penalty kill, but we got it done on that five-minute (power play).”

Wisconsin fell to 4-6-0 overall with the loss. Close finished with three saves in his brief stint relieving LaFontaine. The Gophers return to Minneapolis for a two-game series with Ohio State next weekend.

Minnesota 4, Wisconsin 1

Minnesota 3-1-0—4

Wisconsin 0-1-0—1

First period — 1. MIN, Matthew Knies 4 (Mason Nevers, Ryan Johnson), 6:12. 2. MIN, Aaron Huglen 2 (unassisted), 8:09. 3. MIN, Jaxon Nelson 2 (Knies, Ben Meyers), 14:56, (pp). Penalties — Jake Martin, WIS (holding), 13:57; Blake McLaughlin, MIN (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:00.

Second period — 4. WIS, Roman Ahcan 1 (Corson Ceulemans, Brock Caufield), 0:51, (pp). 5. MIN, Sammy Walker 5 (McLaughlin, Bryce Brodzinski), 1:07. Penalties — Matt Staudacher, MIN (5-contact to the head, game misconduct), 2:03; Dominick Mersch, WIS (cross checking), 2:03.

Third period — No scoring. Penalties — None.

Shots on goal — MIN 15-6-7—28; WIS 14-9-15—38. Goalies — Jack LaFontaine, MIN (35 shots-34 saves), Justen Close, MIN (3-3); Cameron Rowe, WIS (16-12); Jared Moe, WIS (12-12). Power plays — MIN 1-of-2, WIS 1-of-2. Referees — Colin Kronforst, Kenny Anderson. Linesmen — Nicholas Bradshaw, Jon. Att. — 12,015.