Gophers Embarrassed in 6-2 Long Island Loss
Minneapolis, MN – After a blistering start and an early 1-0 lead, the Gophers somehow found a way to lose one of the most inexplicable games in its storied history.
Long Island University (5-5-0 Overall), who had come up close against other big name teams this year like Boston University and Penn State, finally broke through against a big-time team, taking the lead with two goals late in the first and not looking back, eventually skating to a massive 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-8-1, 2-2-0-0 B1G).
Minnesota took it to LIU in the opening minutes of the game, building a 9-1 lead in shots midway through the first period and opening a slim 1-0 advantage on the scoreboard on Brodie Ziemer’s fifth goal of the season at 10:21.
LIU came back and tied the game 1:31 later on a nice rush up the left wing and a shot that beat Gopher goalie Luca Di Pasquo. The Sharks took a 2-1 lead (and didn’t look back) with 2:01 left in the first on a goal off a scrum in front of the net.
Despite the shots and scoring chances, Long Island increased the lead to 3-1 midway through the second period on a power play tally, and took the 3-1 lead into the 3rd.
Minnesota came out fast in the third period and generated some quality chances to try and get back into the game. Erik Pahlsson took a LIU turnover from point-blank and tried to dangle the LIU goalie, but a big save kept the puck out. On the ensuing clearing attempt, LIU’s long, bouncing dump-in skipped past Di Pasquo and into the net to effectively seal the game at 4-1 Sharks.
The Gophers’ Javon Moore tipped the puck into the net with 7:28 left in the third to give Minnesota a smidge of life, but two more LIU powerplay goals in the waning minutes put the game officially out of reach.
Coming off of the Notre Dame sweep, this series was a chance for the Gophers to continue righting the ship. As it stands, this loss to a team that just turned D1 a few short years ago is one of the more embarrassing efforts in recent Gopher memory. Minnesota will attempt to avoid the sweep against the Sharks Saturday at 5PM.