MINNEAPOLIS – After more than 17 years without scoring 10 goals against an opponent, the Gopher men’s hockey number four did it in rugby matches for the fourth week after a 10-2 victory at Arizona State on Friday afternoon in the 3M Arena at Mariucci .
Minnesota (13-3-0 overall, 9-3-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) scored its sixth whip of the season after winning the series 10-0 on Thursday night. Minnesota last scored 10 goals or more in a game before this week, a 10-3 victory over Minnesota State on January 17, 2004.
Fourteen Gophers count points in the playoffs, including eight multi-point appearances. Blake McLaughlin and Jack Perbix walked the mark with three points each, as both forwards contributed two goals and an assist goal. McLaughlin ended the series with seven points (four goals, three assists).
The state of Minnesota and Arizona (5-13-2) traded goals in the first period before the home team put a small distance between the teams by defeating the Sun Devils 3-1 in second place. The third period was all Maroon & Gold, as the Gophers scored six times in the final frame.
Jared Moe (2-0-0) struck 21 times on 21 strokes to secure the win for Minnesota, while Evan DeBrouwer (3-9-1) suffered the loss to the State of Arizona, while hitting 37 times on 47 strokes .
The Gophers outscored the Sun Devils 47-21 that night.
Minnesota returns to Big Ten play next weekend with a two-game series in the state of Ohio. The action starts on Friday 29 January at 17:00 CT (TV: Big Ten Network; Stream: FOX Sports App; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM / 103.5 FM) with the series final on Saturday 30 January at 4:00 CT (TV : Big Ten Network; Stream: FOX Sports App; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM / 103.5 FM).
Remarkable
A night after counting his first points as a Gopher with two assistants, Carl Fish added his first career goal in Friday’s final to end the series with three points for the Maroon & Gold.
Coach Quotes
“We’ve been seeing it in practice for some time. We know he’s going to be a good player. He’s just getting better,” said Minnesota head coach. Bob Motzko said of first-years Carl Fish. ‘As he gets more comfortable, Carl Fish has the chance to be an excellent player for us. This kid wants to win.