From Las Vegas to Duluth, Gophers men’s hockey adventure continues

The Gophers men’s hockey team took its show on the road to Las Vegas for two season-opening tournament days last weekend and came home with a split.

Now the Gophers head north for two games against Minnesota Duluth, a rarity in recent years, when the teams would play one game in Minneapolis and one in Duluth.

The Gophers do so after beating Air Force 7-1 in the season opener and taking a 2-1 overtime loss to Omaha off the Strip in Vegas.

The two games in Duluth offer a road trip for Gophers fans, who traveled in good numbers to Las Vegas and will do so in bigger numbers Friday and Saturday.

Junior forward Connor Kurth predicted it’ll be “rowdy” inside Amsoil Arena.

“That’s what you play hockey for,” Kurth said. “We have the best fans and they’ll travel, but it’s almost more fun going into the a hostile environment knowing they hate you and trying to quiet them down right away. It’s fun. That’s what college hockey is all about.”

Kurth scored three times — a goal in each period — and added an assist in the Air Force rout. He was assisted on two of them by linemates Jimmy Clark and Matthew Wood.

The Gophers outshot Omaha 54-18 the next night but lost 54 seconds into overtime.

“We played strong hockey,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. “The one thing, our depth really showed. We really don’t fall off in any of our lines. That’s what we hope we can develop. Connor Kurth gets the big night one night. The next night, can it be our power play? Can it be the next line? Which player can? We have to develop that. We have the ability to do that and have someone step up for us.”

Out of the desert, next stop Duluth.

Motzko was asked if the Vegas trip with its beautiful weather is a lot like a weekend in Duluth.

“I’ve never even seen a July in Duluth like that,” he said.