The Gophers secured the sweep Saturday night before the puck even dropped at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Blake McLaughlin made sure of that. The sophomore winger’s routine is to be the very final person off the ice after warm-ups. Ohio State backup goalie Evan Moyse caught on to that, though, and lingered, forcing a winner-takes-all game of rock-paper-scissors by the team benches. McLaughlin won the right to exit the ice last, and the Gophers went on beat the No. 6 Buckeyes 4-1 in front of an announced crowd of 8,426. Combined with Friday’s 6-3 victory, the Gophers’ best offensive showing of the year, and the Gophers have their first sweep in the Big Ten this year. The Gophers improved to 10-10-4 (5-5-4-3 Big Ten) while Ohio State dropped to 15-8-3 (8-6-2-0 Big Ten). Gophers coach Bob Motzko was cautiously optimistic after Friday’s performance, saying offense had been the one missing…
Continue Reading: Gophers hockey establishes pace early, completes sweep over Ohio State
