Minnesota’s captain led the way in the third period when the team needed him most.
In front of a hostile Kohl Center crowd, Tyler Sheehy twice put the Gophers ahead of Wisconsin to help Minnesota return from an idle weekend with a 4-2 road win.
“Coming into this weekend we knew it was going to be high emotions with a rival like Wisconsin so it felt great to play a really, really good game,” Sheehy told reporters postgame. “We competed for 60 minutes and completed it there at the end.”
The Gophers entered the game with a struggling offense having scored four goals in its last three games. The struggles continued before erupting for three goals in the third period alone.
Playing on a line with Tommy Novak and Brent Gates Jr., Sheehy scored the game-winning goal with 4:48 remaining in regulation.
“Fortunately for us, our captain came through,” head coach Don Lucia told reporters.
Winners of four of the last five, Minnesota’s (17-13-1, 8-10-1-1 Big Ten) victories in that span have seen the team go ahead in the third period or overtime.
The Badgers and Gophers traded goals over the first two periods. Despite being outshot 16-9, Wisconsin got its first goal from Matthew Freytag, who had the lone first-period tally to put the home team ahead.
Wisconsin (14-14-4, 8-10-3-1 Big Ten) turned the tide in the second period, outshooting Minnesota 23-11 while the Gophers were the only ones to find the back of the net. Freshman Brannon McManus tipped a shot by senior defenseman Steve Johnson past goaltender Kyle Hayton to tie the game with his seventh goal of the season.
“Fortunately for us, our captain came through”
“(Wisconsin) had some chances to score. I thought both goalies played extremely well tonight,” Lucia said. “They had an open net where a defenseman made a save. We had an open net where we hit a pipe. There were momentum shifts where the game went back and forth.”
Momentum struck Minnesota early in the final frame. Sheehy needed 39 seconds to get his team-leading tenth goal of the season. Gates began the period with a breakaway attempt that was saved, but Sheehy was there to tap home the rebound.
After Matt Ustaski tied the game less than two minutes later, the junior forward one-timed a Novak pass past Hayton, who finished with 35 saves. Darian Romanko added an empty-net goal.
“Those guys, Tommy and Gates, made two good plays there,” said Sheehy. “I feel good about my game and I’m happy about the team getting the win tonight.”
Mat Robson made a career-high 38 saves Friday in his fourth consecutive start.
Taking the first game of a two-game series helps strengthen Minnesota’s NCAA Tournament resume. The Gophers sit ninth in the Pairwise, which mimics the criteria used to determine the NCAA Tournament field. Minnesota also moved up to fifth place in the Big Ten conference standings, passing idle Penn State.
The Gophers are three points back from third and hold two games in hand over both third-place Michigan and fourth-place Wisconsin.
The two teams play again Saturday in Madison. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. Fox Sports North PLUS will show the game on television.
Scratch your Hockey Itch with Giles & The Goalie!
