Gophers Come Back to Beat Badgers for 7th Straight Win

Madison, WI – Jimmy Snuggerud scored two goals, including the game winner late in the third period, as the Minnesota Gophers (8-1-0 Overall (0-1 OT), 3-0-0-0 B1G) came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Wisconsin Badgers (2-7-0 (1-2), 1-2-0-2) by a 3-2 final score. The win was Minnesota’s seventh in a row.

It’s a four-hour drive to Madison, and it seemed like the Gophers might not have gotten off the bus in the first period. Wisconsin got the jump on Minnesota, and it led to an early 1-0 Badger lead. Quinn Finely scored on the powerplay at 13:44 of the first to give the home team a 1-0 lead.

Wisconsin grew their lead to 2-0 early in the second period on a breakaway goal from former MTU Husky Kyle Kukkonen. However, the goal seemed to finally wake up the Gophers, who started to tilt the ice towards the Badger goal. Wisconsin took penalties at 1:53, 4:37, and 7:43 of the middle frame to put Minnesota on the man-advantage for most of the next 10 minutes of the game. Despite that, it was Ryan Chesley on a shorthanded 3-on-1 that put the Gophers on the board at 9:46 to draw within one at 2-1.

Wisconsin put Minnesota back on the powerplay just a few minutes later, and the Gophers finally capitalized. Jimmy Snuggerud one-timed a puck past Badger goalie William Gramme at 14:00 to tie the game 2-2.

It was either team’s game in the third period, and in the end it was Minnesota’s stars that won the day. Snuggerud scored his second of the game and fifth of the season on a beautiful play and pass from freshman center Erik Pahlsson. Pahlsson crossed the blueline up the right wing and cut to the middle, drawing the defenders away from an overlapping Snuggerud who skated to the net. Pahlsson’s against-the-grain pass was one-timed by Snuggerud into an open net to put the Gophers up 3-2 at 12:45 of the third, a lead that they’d protect for the rest of the game.

Nathan Airey got another Friday-night start and played well, stopping 28-of-30 shots in the victory. William Gramme stopped 28-of-31 shots in a losing effort.

Chesley and Snuggerud finished the game on five goals each, good for second-place on the team behind Connor Kurth’s team-leading sixth goal.

Minnesota will go for the road sweep Saturday night against this same Badgers squad. The two teams face off at 6PM. The game can be streamed on BTN+ and heard on AM1130 / FM103.5.