The words came out in hushed tones and from disappointed voices Saturday night in a makeshift media room at 3M Arena at Mariucci, as Gophers players and coach Bob Motzko discussed their 4-3 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament championship game for the second consecutive year.
"We made some mistakes that cost us,'' junior defenseman and captain Brock Faber said.
"We've got to be better,'' senior defenseman Jackson LaCombe said.
"I'm tired of learning [this way],'' Motzko said, "but maybe that's going to be one we need.''
In a back-and-forth game between two of college hockey's blue bloods in front of a sellout crowd of 10,305, fourth-ranked Michigan beat the No. 1 Gophers by erasing a 3-2 third-period deficit on goals by Seamus Casey and Dylan Duke.
Brody Lamb, Logan Cooley and Rhett Pitlick scored for the Gophers, who got 27 saves from Justen Close. Rutger McGroarty scored the first two goals for Michigan, and Erik Portillo made 22 saves.
Both the Wolverines (24-11-3) and Gophers (26-9-1) will be No. 1 regional seeds when the NCAA announces its tournament field at 5:30 p.m. Sunday on ESPN. Minnesota secured the No. 1 overall NCAA seed Friday night when No. 2 Quinnipiac lost in the ECAC tournament semifinals. The Gophers almost certainly will be assigned to the Fargo Regional, which will be played Thursday and Saturday. The Gophers' opponent likely will be Canisius, which beat Holy Cross 3-0 in the Atlantic Hockey Association title game.
With the victory, Michigan moved up to No. 3 the PairWise Ratings, the formula that the NCAA uses to fill its 16-team tourney field. The Wolverines finished just ahead of Denver, which will be the No. 4 overall seed.