» Goaltender Cameron Korpi blocked every shot he faced in relief.» Michigan concluded the game with a narrow 31-30 edge in faceoffs.» This defeat marked U-M’s largest loss to the Gophers since 2006. MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The sixth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team suffered a significant 6-0 loss to No. 4 Minnesota on Friday […]
» Goaltender Cameron Korpi blocked every shot he faced in relief.
» Michigan concluded the game with a narrow 31-30 edge in faceoffs.
» This defeat marked U-M’s largest loss to the Gophers since 2006.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The sixth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team suffered a significant 6-0 loss to No. 4 Minnesota on Friday evening (Dec. 6) at 3M Arena at Mariucci during a top-10 Big Ten matchup.
The Gophers (14-2-1, 7-0-0 Big Ten) came out strong, taking command in the initial five minutes of play with a 9-1 advantage in shots on goal through the early part of the period.
Early offensive pressure from Minnesota was overwhelming for Michigan (10-4-1, 4-1-0 Big Ten), which found itself penalized at 8:29 for slashing, thus granting the Gophers their first power play while shots on goal were heavily skewed at 12-1. The Wolverines’ penalty killers were unable to shift the momentum back to even strength while the game remained scoreless.
The Gophers converted their strong start by netting the opening goal at 12:31 with a rebound just off to the side of the crease after a vigorous rush. Less than a minute later, they extended their lead to 2-0 with a sharp shot during a transition at 13:26.
As the period progressed, the momentum continued to favor Minnesota, who scored a third goal at 16:10. In an effort to respond, Michigan saw the shot total spike to 20-2 in favor of the Gophers, and they headed to the locker room trailing by three goals.
The rough beginning for the Wolverines persisted into the second period, where Minnesota quickly added another goal in transition to make it 4-0 less than a minute into the frame.
Michigan focused on generating shots on goal in hopes of narrowing the gap. Approaching the midpoint of the game, Minnesota netted their fifth and sixth goals by crashing the net at 9:52 and 10:55, pushing their lead to 6-0.
Freshman goaltender Cameron Korpi came in to replace Logan Stein, who completed two periods with 20 saves. Korpi managed to keep the Gophers from adding to their tally in the final frame, turning away eight shots.
Minnesota finished with a 39-32 advantage in shots on goal, while the Wolverines edged ahead in the faceoff circle, 31-30. Neither team registered a power-play goal, as the penalty kill units collectively went 6-for-6.
On Saturday night (Dec. 7), these long-standing rivals will meet once more in Minneapolis. The puck drop is set for 5 p.m. CST, and the game will be streamed live on B1G+.
