Brock Faber returns, Gophers men's hockey opens series with 4-0 win over Ohio State

The Gophers found out Thursday that defenseman Jackson LaCombe, an offensive force and one of their three Hobey Baker Award candidates, wouldn't be able to play this weekend's men's hockey series against Ohio State because of a lower-body injury.

No immediate worries, though. Mike Koster and Brock Faber more than carried the scoring load from the blue line on Friday.

Faber, back in action from a week off because of an upper-body injury, broke a scoreless tie with a goal in the second period, and Koster, his defensive partner, scored two power-play goals later in the period and contributed two assists as the top-ranked Gophers defeated No. 8 Ohio State 4-0 at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

"Mikey Koster was just great tonight, and he's been playing that way for a while,'' Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. "He's got a heart of gold. He's a competitor.

"The good news: We're gonna get Jackson back sooner than we first thought,'' Motzko added. "It'll be a couple weeks.''

The Gophers (24-8-1, 17-4-1 Big Ten) already clinched the conference regular-season title last week, but Motzko didn't want his players to let off the gas against the Buckeyes (18-12-3, 11-10-2). They delivered, scoring two five-on-three goals and one with a five-on-four advantage to blow open a tight game in front of a crowd of 9,968.

Goalie Justen Close made 23 saves for his sixth shutout for the Gophers, who close the regular season at 4:30 p.m. Saturday against the Buckeyes and will be host to a Big Ten tournament semifinal game on March 11.

Jimmy Snuggerud also scored, and Logan Cooley had three assists as Minnesota outshot Ohio State 38-23.

Koster and Faber, also a Hobey candidate along with sophomore left winger Matthew Knies, were the igniters in a tight-checking game that had been scoreless through nearly 28 minutes.

After taking a pass from Rhett Pitlick in the Ohio State zone, Faber, a future Wild defenseman, swooped in down the right side, cut across the crease and put a shot on Buckeyes goalie Jakub Dobes. He saved it, but the puck bounced right back to Faber, who slammed it home for a 1-0 lead at 12:01.

"He's a big-time player. In big-time moments, he stepped up for us,'' Koster said of Faber. "I don't think they could hold him out this weekend. He was pretty pumped to play.''

Ohio State had trouble staying out of the penalty box, and it eventually cost them.

With Buckeyes defenseman Tyler Duke off for tripping at 15:31 of the second, forward Cam Thiesing joined him in the penalty box 19 seconds later after being whistled for hooking. Koster made the Buckeyes pay, rifling a shot top-shelf for a 2-0 Minnesota lead at 16:14.

The Gophers stayed on a five-on-three because the Buckeyes were called for a bench minor after the goal. Snuggerud then poked in a rebound past Dobes for a 3-0 lead at 16:53. Still on a five-on-four advantage, Koster beat Dobes from the left circle to make it 4-0 at 18:16.

"Obviously, you can't replace a player like Jackson. He's one of the top players in the country,'' Koster said. "We've been preaching all year that we have depth on the back end. All six of us played great tonight, and it was a great team effort.''