Scott Brown

Third-place games routinely have their merits debated, but Saturday’s WCHA consolation wasn’t simply a matter of going through the motions. With seeding priority in the NCAA tournament on the line, North Dakota (26-10-4) defeated Colorado College (28-11-1) 4-2 behind 33 saves from Hobey Baker finalist Jean-Philippe Lamoureux and three power-play goals, including a key score … Read more

With a berth in the WCHA championship hanging in the balance, Minnesota’s Mike Hoeffel scored his second goal of the game Friday night at 4:47 of overtime, sending the Golden Gophers past Colorado College 2-1 at the Xcel Energy Center Friday. Hoeffel’s goal came on the sort of play that seemed to go against Minnesota … Read more

In the battle of Interstate 35, Minnesota stretched its unbeaten streak against Minnesota Duluth to seven games by defeating the Bulldogs Friday night at Mariucci Arena. The Gophers set the tone with an early goal from Blake Wheeler — one of two for the junior center — and never looked back en route to a … Read more

Puck luck, funny bounces, the phase of the moon. Whatever the reason, it made for an entertaining, high-octane matchup that gave way to a fitting finish as Wisconsin and Minnesota skated to a 4-4 draw Saturday at Mariucci Arena. The Badgers never led but answered every Minnesota goal, and seemed to get stronger as the … Read more

Big rivalries produce big goals, big momentum swings, and occasionally big blowups. Such was the case Saturday night at Mariucci Arena, where North Dakota and Minnesota battled — sometimes literally — to a 1-1 draw in a game dotted with overruns of emotion on the ice. In a contest that had already seen 67 minutes … Read more

For North Dakota, it was another victory in a second-half run that has become a trademark. For Minnesota, it was another frustrating loss in a season full of them. The Fighting Sioux (17-8-1, 14-7-0 WCHA) won 2-1 Friday night before a capacity crowd at Mariucci Arena on Evan Trupp’s overtime goal, moving closer to the … Read more

An entertaining night of hockey saw St. Cloud State overcome a furious Minnesota charge in the third period, as the Huskies scored late to break a 1-1 deadlock en route to a 3-1 win Friday at Mariucci Arena. Garrett Roe tallied twice for SCSU, including the game winner with 1:41 left in regulation, and Jase … Read more

For the second straight night, the second period determined the outcome between Minnesota and Minnesota State. Saturday at Mariucci Arena, it was a four-goal Minnesota surge that turned a one-goal deficit into a comfortable lead as the Gophers beat the Mavericks 5-3 to complete a home-and-home sweep. “The second period was probably the best period … Read more

Riding the netminding prowess of Peter Mannino and a resurgent power play, Denver cruised to a 5-1 win over homestanding Minnesota at Mariucci Arena Friday. Despite being outshot 37-28, the opportunistic Pioneers got 36 saves from their star goaltender and three power-play goals after coming into the evening zero for tneir last 31 tries with … Read more

In a game Ohio State could — and perhaps should — have won Friday, Minnesota netminder Alex Kangas had other ideas. Kangas, a freshman making his first collegiate appearance, stopped 32 shots and Minnesota held on to edge OSU 2-1 at Mariucci Arena. The win gave the Gophers (4-2-0) a series sweep, but only by … Read more

A dominant start for Minnesota was good enough in a rare Thursday game at Mariucci Arena, as the Gophers overcame 30 saves by Joseph Palmer and outlasted Ohio State 3-1 in the teams’ series opener. Ben Gordon, Justin Bostrom and Mike Howe scored for Minnesota (3-2-0), which built a three-goal lead early in the second … Read more

There would be no slow start for Minnesota Saturday. Jeff Frazee made 44 saves and junior blueliner R.J. Anderson scored his first collegiate goal to spark the Gophers to a 4-3 win over Michigan in the title game of the Ice Breaker Invitational at the Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota scored the game’s first two goals … Read more

Friday, both Boston College and Rensselaer endured tough losses. Saturday, with the two meeting in the consolation of the Ice Breaker Invitational, at least one was guaranteed to avoid the “L.” That team turned out to be the Eagles, who controlled play but were unable to take charge on the scoreboard until a series of … Read more

If you blinked, you might have missed it. A stirring comeback gave way to an improbable finish Friday afternoon in the Ice Breaker Invitational at the Xcel Energy Center, where No. 10 Michigan beat second-ranked Boston College 4-3 in overtime on an own goal by BC that sent the Wolverines into Saturday’s championship game. On … Read more

Black and white. Hot and cold. Night and day. That was the story of Friday’s Rensselaer-Minnesota matchup, in which the Engineers leaped out to a 3-0 lead against a jittery and sometimes listless Gopher squad before Minnesota rallied for four unanswered goals — three on the power play — en route to a 4-3 win … Read more

The cameras were ready, the script two-thirds written. One year after suffering one of college hockey’s biggest upsets of all time, Minnesota trailed Air Force in the third period of their NCAA West Regional semifinal. But as the Falcons prepared their version of a story of triumph for the underdog, the Golden Gophers abruptly rewrote … Read more

Philippe Lamoureux and North Dakota had frustrated Minnesota all game, keeping the Golden Gophers in check on the power play and permitting only two goals on 40 shots through over 63 minutes of hockey. That’s when Blake Wheeler took matters into his own hands. Racing down the ice after a loose puck with UND defenseman … Read more