Reedy’s Hat Trick Lifts Gophers past Ferris State
Minneapolis, MN – Scott Reedy waited 16 games to score his first goal of the season.
Then, the floodgates opened.
The sophomore forward netted a hat trick Friday night, propelling the Gophers (6-6-4 Overall, 3-2-3 B1G) to a 5-3 win over the Ferris State Bulldogs (4-14-1, 2-9-1 WCHA).
To say Ferris State has struggled recently would be an understatement – the Bulldogs are 0-10-1 in their last 11 contests, their last win coming against Michigan State on November 3rd. When Reedy got the Gophers on the board just 1:53 into the first, it seemed like it might be another long night for Ferris State.
However, Bob Daniels’ team was ready to fight, and the Bulldogs struck back quickly, scoring at 3:20 and again at 11:47 on the power play to take a 2-1 lead. Minnesota’s Brent Gates tied the game at 2-2 with a power play goal at 14:42 of the first, but Ferris State took another lead with just 59 seconds remaining in the opening frame to go up 3-2 entering the break.
The Gophers had started Mat Robson, the junior goalie who had been nearly unbeatable before the break, but senior Eric Schierhorn came on in relief to start the second, and shut Ferris State down for the rest of the game.
Behind Schierhorn’s goaltending, the Gophers clawed back into the game and into the lead. Rem Pitlick sniped a shot past Bulldog goalie Roni Salmenkangas at 4:10 of the second to tie it at 3-3, and Minnesota took a lead it would not relinquish with Reedy’s second goal of the game just a few minutes later at 6:18.
Minnesota played a solid if not spectacular third period, and Reedy added his third goal (the final goal of the game) at 16:15 of the final stanza, receiving a great pass from Sammy Walker on a two-on-one. The hat trick was the first of Reedy’s career, and he rightfully earned the #1 star of the game from the assembled media.
Final shots on goal were 32-22 in favor of the Gophers.
Eric Schierhorn improved to 2-3-0 on the year, stopping all 15 Ferris State shots he faced over the second and third periods. Mat Robson allowed three goals on seven shots in the first before exiting early.
The two teams face off again Saturday at 7PM.
Notes:
The Gophers dressed seven defensemen for the contest, and Robbie Stucker, who was listed as the extra defenseman took advantage of the playing time, assisting on all three Reedy goals.
Reedy had been playing as the extra skater prior to the Christmas break, but it appears he now has a regular shift on a line with Nathan Burke and Sammy Walker. The other forward lines were Sheehy-Gates-Pitlick, Novak-McLaughlin-McManus, and Romanko-Wait-Ramsey.
The win gives the Gophers two wins in a row for just the second time all year. They previously beat St. Lawrence and Michigan State in back to back contests before falling to the Spartans the next night.
The Gophers improve to .500 on the season with the win, are unbeaten in their last five games (2-0-3), and are 4-1-3 in their last eight.
Minnesota plays every weekend from here to the end of the season, with Big Ten action picking back up in earnest next week when the Gophers host Penn State.