Late Goals Propel Gophers, 3-1

GAME CAPSULE

Sammy Walker scored a pair of goals less than 90 seconds apart in the third period to break open a 1-1 tie and send No. 8/10 Minnesota to a 3-1 victory over Michigan State on Saturday in Minneapolis.

The Gophers (17-11-0, 12-6-0 B1G) took a 1-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game, but ran into further problems solving Drew DeRIdder, who was outstanding for the Spartans, making 32 saves for Michigan State (11-16-1, 5-13-0). After a rough first period where the Spartans struggled to maintain much offensive pressure, MSU came out and scored on the first shift of the second period, with Jesse Tucker popping his second goal of the season to knot the score at 1-1. MSU had its best chances to add to the lead early in the third, where it moved the puck well and had pressure on Justen Close (25 saves), but Walker popped his eighth of the season at the midpoint of the third and then potted another on the power play 90 seconds later for the 3-1 lead, which would hold up as the final score.

Minnesota swept the weekend series and all four meetings of the teams this season.

Michigan State renews the most-played rivalry in college hockey next weekend when it takes on B1G-leading Michigan. The teams will play Friday in Ann Arbor and on Saturday in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena.

STATISTICS OF NOTE

Jesse Tucker scored his second goal of the season and now has four points (1-3—4) in his last three games.
Drew DeRidder made 32 saves on the night.

NOTABLES AND STORYLINES

Jesse Tucker has points in six of the last seven Spartan games. He is now the team's leading scorer (2-17—19)
The Middendorf-Tucker-Davidson line has seven goals and 11 assists in the seven games since its formation.
MSU had 14 consecutive successful penalties killed dating back to the start of the Ohio State series. MSU was 7-of-7 against the Buckeyes and had killed the first seven against Minnesota before the Gophers scored on their eighth chance of the weekend .

GAME SYNOPSIS

FIRST PERIOD: After needing 30 minutes to find the back of the net on Friday, Minnesota scored just 1:39 into the game on a Ben Brinkman goal, the first marker for the defenseman this season and the second of his career. The Spartans looked disjointed in the opening period, outshot 12-4 and struggling to put together much offensive pressure

SECOND PERIOD: Michigan State found the tying goal just 16 seconds into the second period ,when Jesse Tucker scored his second of the year off a feed from linemate Jeremy Davidson, the second goal for that line in the weekend. DeRidder was perhaps at his best during that second period, turning away all 16 shots he faced and keeping his team in the game and in a 1-1 deadlock as they entered the second intermission.

THIRD PERIOD: The Spartans came out with strong play again in the third, buzzing in the offensive zone and creating chances. MSU had the better of chances, over the first half f the period, but Sammy Walker turned a tie ballgame into a 3-1 lead with a goal at 10:39 from the bottom of the right circle, and then again at 12:07 from the left while the Gophers were on the power play. The Spartans pulled DeRidder for the final minute-plus of regulation, but despite an 11-7 lead in shots on net, could not find an answer to the two-goal flurry from its hosts in the middle of the period.

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Team Stats

Jesse Tucker

Jeremy Davidson

Erik Middendorf

Cole Krygier

Players Mentioned

Jeremy Davidson

Drew DeRidder

Jesse Tucker

Players Mentioned

Jeremy Davidson

Drew DeRidder

Jesse Tucker