Minnesota captain Tyler Sheehy wanted to prove to himself that he and his team could work harder than the service academy visiting 3M Arena at Mariucci.
At the end of the night he was happy.
Having lost five of six to close out the first half, the Gophers returned home from the holiday break by outpossessing, outworking and opening with a 3-0 shutout win over Army.
Sheehy began the game with his sixth goal of the season. Fellow junior Eric Schierhorn stopped all 13 shots faced for his 11th career shutout.
“For the majority of the game tonight we were working pretty hard and getting pucks back, things like that and doing the little things that coaches really like us doing,” Sheehy said. “It ended up working out for us.”
Missing forward Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Ryan Lindgren due to the World Juniors, Minnesota (11-9-1, 4-7-1-1 Big Ten) juggled some lines against the Black Knights from West Point. The defense spent all week in practice rotating defensive pairings so that everyone would be familiar with one another.
Rem Pitlick, who normally plays with Mittelstadt, was reunited with Sheehy. The two skated for much of last season. This time around, he helped set up Sheehy’s goal 10:01 into the first period.
Pitlick found the Burnsville native open near the faceoff dot and Sheehy was able to do the rest, unleashing a wrist shot past Army (8-9-2, 6-7-2 Atlantic Hockey) goaltender Jared Dempsey.
“I love playing with Rem,” he said. “He’s real easy to play with. I’ve said it a ton of times, but tonight playing with Tom (Novak) and Rem, it was an easier game. They’re so good and able to find an open area.”
Sophomore forward Luke Notermann made his season debut after not skating during the first half.
Freshman defenseman Clayton Phillips, meanwhile, made his collegiate debut.
Phillips, who enrolled at Minnesota a semester early, provided a spark on the power play, leading the Gophers blue line in shots with four in spite of sheltered minutes and matchups. He also broke up an Army odd-man rush late in the game.
“He had three days of practice,” head coach Don Lucia said of the freshman. “There were some tutorials on how we want to play. It’s not all that much different, but (Phillips) did a good job adapting.
“He’s a good player. He skates well. He moves the puck and that’s what he does well.”
With regular goaltender Cole Bruns scratched, Dempsey made 30 saves for the Black Knights, which entered Friday tied with Holy Cross in Atlantic Hockey for the fewest goals given up per game (2.63).
“We just need to keep playing hard and things will go our way”
The freshman was tested throughout the night, with the home team outshooting 33-13 and controlling possession. His biggest stop came on a Sheehy breakaway at the end of the second period to keep Army within one.
However, the Black Knights could not find an equalizer.
Minnesota’s penalty kill went 4 for 4 Friday while not allowing a shot on goal. The Gophers blocked 21 shot attempts. For those few which got through, Schierhorn did the rest.
“I thought he looked real sharp,” said Lucia about Schierhorn. “He fought through some screens tonight and they had a couple where they hit the side of the net at the end, but I thought he stood tall and did his job, not giving up a goal. It’s great for him to start the second half like that.”
Jack Sadek and Leon Bristedt, on an empty-netter, added insurance goals in the final four minutes.
Minnesota and Army play again Saturday night at 7:00 pm. Sadek, having spent the two-week break seeing friends and family along with skating outdoors, couldn’t wait to get back. Now that he has, the sophomore defenseman shares Sheehy’s outlook for the second half.
“We just need to keep playing hard and things will go our way,” he said.
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