Gophers Open Season with 7-1 Win over Air Force
Las Vegas, NV – It was lucky sevens in the desert to kick off the 2024-2025 season for the University of Minnesota.
Behind a hat-trick from Connor Kurth and two goals from d-man Ryan Chesley, the Minnesota Gophers (1-0-0 Overall) beat the Air Force Falcons (1-2-0) 7-1 to open the books on another season of Gopher hockey. Minnesota faces Nebraska-Omaha in the Icebreaker finale Saturday night.
Kurth led off the scoring for Minnesota, getting the first Gopher goal of the season on a nifty two-on-one pass from new center Jimmy Clark just 1:47 into the opening frame. Incoming transfer Matthew Wood assisted on the play as well, his first point in Maroon and Gold.
Despite several more chances, including a Kurth post, the period ended with a 1-0 Gopher lead. Minnesota broke the game open in the second period, though, with three quick goals from Kurth, Chesley, and Sam Rinzel between 6:23 and 9:31 into the period to turn a narrow 1-0 lead into a 4-0 blowout. Air Force’s Owen Dubois scored the Falcons’ lone goal of the evening at 14:46 on the powerplay to briefly cut the lead to three at 4-1.
The Gophers bunched three more quick goals together between the end of the second period and the start of the third to put the game well and truly out of reach. Beckett Hendrickson scored his first goal in the Maroon & Gold at 18:14 of the second, on another nice passing play by veteran forward Brody Lamb. Kurth scored his third goal of the night two minutes into the third, and Ryan Chesley scored his second of the night just 29 seconds later to put Minnesota up for good at 7-1. Matthew Wood assisted on two of Kurth’s goals as well as Sam Rinzel’s goal to earn the third star of the game honors with 3 points in his first game for Minnesota.
Nathan Airey got the start in net for the Gophers, allowing the lone powerplay tally on 21 Falcon shots. Coach Bob Motzko has discussed that it will likely be a tandem between the pipes for Minnesota with Nathan Airey and Penn State transfer goalie Liam Souliere, so expect Souliere to get his first Gopher start in Saturday’s Ice Breaker finale against Nebraska-Omaha. The “red Mavs” beat UMass in overtime Friday afternoon to advance to the title game.
Coach Motzko has been bullish on this year’s team all summer, and if Friday’s game is any indication, he might just know what he’s talking about. “You’re seeing what these guys have done this summer and what they did in their off-season has really paid off. The entire junior class is just at another level.”
The Gophers take on Omaha at 9:30PM central time Saturday night. Minnesota ended Omaha’s season in a tightly played game in the first round of the NCAA tournament, so expect perhaps a little more juice in this one than you might expect from the second game of the year.