Down by two goals, Gophers men's hockey roars back to sweep Ohio State

Gophers, as creatures go, are known for digging holes.

Fittingly, that's what the hockey-playing Gophers did Saturday, digging themselves a big hole before finding a way to dig themselves out in a 5-2 victory over Ohio State in the regular-season finale.

Aaron Huglen and Matthew Knies scored 13 seconds apart to erase a 2-0, second-period deficit built on two ill-advised major penalties, and Logan Cooley potted the go-ahead goal with 31 seconds left in the middle frame as top-ranked Minnesota beat the No. 8 Buckeyes. Bryce Brodzinski and Ryan Johnson added third-period goals, Johnson's into an empty net on Senior Night in front of 10,140 at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

"We let our emotions get away from us for a few minutes, and thank goodness we were able to overcome it," Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. "You can't do that in the playoffs."

The Gophers (25-8-1, 19-4-1 Big Ten) completed their regular season on a four-game winning streak and as Big Ten champions will have a bye into a conference tournament semifinal on March 11 at Mariucci. Ohio State (18-13-2, 11-11-2) had Minnesota in a hole by scoring twice on a five-on-three advantage that bridged the first and second periods but could not hold the lead.

Justen Close made 28 saves for the Gophers, who outshot Ohio State 33-30.

A physical game swung Ohio State's way late in the first period when the Gophers' Jimmy Snuggerud boarded the Buckeyes' Jake Wise and received a five-minute major penalty. In the ensuing fracas, Knies got a five-minute major for contact to the head of Ohio State's Mason Lohrei, who received a minor for roughing. That gave the Buckeyes two minutes of four-on-three power play and three minutes of five-on-three.

The Gophers killed the four-on-three portion, but Ohio State's Cole McWard scored on the five-on-three with 3.4 seconds left in the first period for a 1-0 lead. The Buckeyes had 1:07 of five-on-three to start the second, and the Gophers killed 1:06 of it, but Lohrei snapped a shot past Close for a 2-0 lead.

"Pretty brutal penalties for me and Snuggs there," said Knies, who apologized to his teammates between periods.

They recovered, though, with goals by Huglen and Knies knotting the score 2-2.

Huglen made it 2-1 at 8:13. Rhett Pitlick pounced on a turnover behind the Buckeyes net and fired a crisp pass to Huglen, who beat goalie Jakub Dobes. After the Gophers won the ensuing faceoff, Snuggerud took a hard shot on net, and Knies — who was playing in front of his future boss, Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas — slammed home the rebound off Dobes' pads as the crowd roared its approval.

When asked if Knies and Snuggerud were fueled by anger from their penalties, Motzko responded, "Yeah. They had no choice."