Coach Bob Motzko said the Gophers hockey team has played “three really good games and three really average ones” in the past three weeks.
Things weren’t looking good Friday when Wisconsin took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
Motzko had a simple message for his team: Enough.
It was heard loud and clear, especially by the team’s top line of Brodie Ziemer, Erik Påhlsson and Jimmy Snuggerud. The trio accounted for all of Minnesota goals and 12 of the team’s 14 points in a 5-2 win over Wisconsin on Friday in 3M Arena at Mariucci in front of 10,747 fans, the third-largest crowd in arena history.
Brodie Ziemer celebrates one of his goals for the Gophers against Wisconsin on Friday. (Brad Rempel / Gophers Athletics)
Ziemer and Snuggerud each had two goals and two assists with Påhlsson getting a goal and three helpers.
“Try to get the puck low and get to work. Obviously, we didn’t have a great start, and that was the talk between periods. I thought we did that in the second and third and just kind of made plays off that,” said Snuggerud, who became the third player in Gopher history to reach the 20-goal mark in each of the first three seasons of their career, joining John Mayasich (1952-55) and Dick Dougherty (1951-54).
It was his 19th goal that finally put Minnesota on the board midway through the second period and left about everyone dumbfounded.
Carrying the puck into the Badgers zone, Snuggerud extended his goal-scoring streak to six games by lasering a pinpoint wrist shot from the right dot into the top corner of the far side.
“One of the best shots I’ve ever seen,” Ziemer said.
“Between periods, (director of player development) Paul Martin was standing next to me. I said, ‘I’ve been in this 40 years (between) USHL and college.’ I go, ‘I ain’t ever seen that before.’ I go, ‘You must have saw that in the NHL.’ He goes, ‘I didn’t see that in the NHL.’ That was sick. But he can do that, and he’s feeling it right now. … It’s fun to watch.”
Ziemer scored with 63 seconds left in the frame from low in the slot to even the game.
Påhlsson has a goal and eight assists in his past five games. Three of those games were two-assist performances.
He gave fourth-ranked Minnesota (20-6-3, 11-4-2) its first lead 5 minutes and 43 seconds into the third period.
On an odd-man rush into the Wisconsin zone, Påhlsson kept the puck and his wrist shot from near the right dot split the pads of Badger goaltender Tommy Scarfone.
The Gophers’ fourth goal with 2:32 left capped the performance with a gorgeous passing play.
Ziemer left the puck for Påhlsson, whose one-touch pass went to Snuggerud for an easy redirect. Ziemer added his empty-net goal 20 seconds later.
Liam Souliere made 33 saves for Minnesota in his first Friday start. Usual game one starter Nathan Airey was ill.
Simon Tassy tipped in a shot from Woodbury-native Logan Hensler to give No. 17 Wisconsin (11-13-3, 6-10-1) a 1-0 lead just 3:03 into the game. Ryland Mosey scored on a rebound of Gavin Morisey’s wraparound attempt eight minutes later.
“We’re tired of not having good starts and I think we did it again tonight, and we’ll have to improve on that. We came back strong in the second and third and that’s what we’ll focus on,” Snuggerud said.
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