Minnesota
Gophers skate to 2-2 tie with Boston College; win in shootout
The No. 12 Golden Gophers men’s hockey team skated to a 2-2 draw with No. 11/10 Boston College from 3M Arena at Mariucci Friday night. Javon Moore and Brodie Ziemer scored in regulation before LJ Mooney and Tanner Ludtke found the back of the net to claim the non-conference shootout victory.
Nathan Airey had another impressive outing in goal for Minnesota (1-2-1 overall, 0-0-0 B1G), finishing with 29 saves against the Eagles (1-1-1 overall, 0-0-0 Hockey East). The junior also stopped both BC attempts in the shootout.
From the outside, the Gophers’ celebration after winning the shootout may have seemed excessive, but for the Maroon and Gold faithful, the moment was a long time coming. The team had missed its previous 28 shootout attempts and lost 11-consecutive shootouts dating back to February of 2020 at Notre Dame. Mooney snapped the streak on the first attempt of 2025-26 and Ludtke ripped home the winner.
The home side had to weather early pressure from Boston College and Airey delivered five saves in the opening five minutes. After holding off the surge, the Gophers thought they took the lead at the 12:58 mark, only to have the goal waved off and a penalty called instead. Momentum immediately shifted to the visitors as they converted the man advantage on a one-timer from the left circle.
Minnesota quickly answered to pull even with 6:32 left in the opening period as Moore buried a juicy rebound from near the goal line for his first collegiate tally. Jacob Rombach started the play on a shot from the point that rang off the crossbar before a strong forecheck gave Mason Moe a chance that was blocked. Moore controlled the rebound and fired it past the sliding goalie, tying the score, 1-1.
The Maroon and Gold went to its first power play less than a minute later as the Eagles took a post-whistle penalty. The opportunity was erased before a second minor penalty to BC gave the Gophers a late man advantage that carried over into the second period as it remained a 1-1 tie. The power play unit was unable to capitalize again, but thanks to the visitors continuing to battle after whistles, they were called for their third penalty.
This time it cost the Eagles as Ziemer tucked home the go-ahead goal 5:52 into the middle frame. The sophomore walked along the goal line and snuck a shot under the netminder’s pads for a 2-1 advantage via the Gophers’ first power-play goal this season. Shortly after taking its first lead of the series, Minnesota got caught in its own zone and a deflected pass went to an open skater, who fired in the tying goal. The home side correctly challenged for offside earlier in the sequence, negating the goal and getting a roar from the 3M Arena at Mariucci crowd, sending the team to the locker room with a 2-1 edge through 40 minutes.
The Gophers started the third period looking to put the game away as they skated with a purpose. An unfavorable penalty to the home team allowed BC its third power play and this time Airey and his defense shut down the attack. The Eagles brought a sense of urgency late in the action and with less than five minutes to play in regulation and scored to tie the contest, 2-2. A Minnesota skater was tripped in the offensive zone, generating an odd-man rush for the visitors that they converted. The Gophers made another strong push at the end of the game but could not find the winning tally, sending the game into overtime.
Both sides had chances in the extra session with the Gophers controlling most of the play. The goaltenders, as they did all series, were sharp to the end and the game officially ended in a 2-2 tie. In the shootout Mooney and Ludtke each stepped up and scored goals, while Airey shut down BC.
A rest area along Interstate 94 in Minnesota has been closed to trucks until about Independence Day to accommodate an almost $3 million improvement project.
The eastbound I-94 Enfield rest area between St. Cloud, Minnesota and the Twin Cities between Wright County Road 8 and Highway 25 is now closed to cars and commercial vehicles as crews resurface the entrance and exit ramps, and update nearby sidewalks.
According to KNSI, the full closure is just the first phase of the project. The rest area will reopen to passenger vehicles only the week of May 11th. During that time, the truck parking area will remain closed as crews repave the lot.
The truck parking lot will reopen the week of June 30th, right around Independence Day. During that time, the passenger vehicle area will be shut down to allow for the resurfacing of the lot. The Minnesota DOT expects the rest area to be fully open by late July. The entire project is expected to cost $2.9 million.
Drivers heading east on I-94 are encouraged to use the Big Spunk Lake rest area near Avon, or to drive a little farther out to the Elm Creek rest area.
Could a UCLA baseball team that’s perfect in Big Ten play get better?
Bruins coach John Savage thinks so, which is a frightening prospect for the rest of a seemingly overmatched conference.
While Savage’s top-ranked Bruins completed a three-game sweep of Minnesota on Sunday with a 5-2 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium — stretching their Big Ten winning streak to 21 games — he said there’s more upside to be realized.
“Offensively, we just really couldn’t get a lot going,” Savage said after his team went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded six baserunners. “We just weren’t able to put a lot together, but when that pitching and defense shows up every day, it gives yourself a chance to win, and that’s kind of what we did all three games, really.”
Those elements were so good Sunday that they overshadowed Roman Martin’s solo homer in the third inning and Will Gasparino’s two-run shot in the sixth.
Bruins left fielder Dean West made three superb catches — two leaping and one diving — and four relievers combined to give up only one run in 4 ⅔ innings. Closer Easton Hawk needed only six pitches to record a 1-2-3 ninth inning while notching his third save in as many days.
Savage credited Minnesota’s pitching after the Golden Gophers (22-17 overall, 5-13 Big Ten) held the Bruins (36-3) to an average of five runs during the series and said many of his team’s offensive struggles were situational.
“We have very, very good offensive players — some of them are in … little ruts right now, but that’s OK,” Savage said. “These guys play a lot and get a lot of at-bats; there’s a lot of ups and downs.”
When it comes to UCLA’s conference record, it’s all been up.
What it means
UCLA’s sweep is further evidence that the Bruins aren’t getting complacent because of their record.
“This culture is really solid, and these guys truly believe in one another and they’re playing for the team,” Savage said. “We’re very fortunate to have this group, and so they love playing together, so there’s no complacency and there’s no reason to because we haven’t done anything; I mean, you’re 36-3, that’s great, but at the end of the day it’s about getting better and playing your best baseball the next 75 days.”
Turning point
Spotting a dominant team an early lead is never a good idea.
That’s what happened when the Bruins struck for two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
West led off with a single to center field, took third on Roch Cholowsky’s double to left and scored on a balk. With one out, Martin hit an RBI infield single off the pitcher’s glove. UCLA was up 2-0, and the Golden Gophers could never catch up.
Did you see that?
Minnesota did not like it when Gasparino admired his home run by lingering in the batter’s box before commencing his trot around the bases.
There was consensus in both dugouts because Savage also didn’t care for it.
“I thought he probably stayed in the box a little too long for me,” Savage said. “That’s kind of not who we are, and they didn’t like that; I wouldn’t like that either, really.”
MVP
West saved multiple extra-base hits with his catches.
Which was his favorite?
“Probably the diving one,” West said. “I think that was the coolest one. I got to leave my feet and make a play on it.”
Up next
The Bruins will open a five-game stretch of nonconference games when they host Hawaii on Tuesday evening at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Of the many terrible roster decisions Minnesota sports teams have made over the past 30 years, the worst of the bunch may have been trading Randy Moss to the Raiders for the No. 7 pick in the draft and linebacker Napoleon Harris.
Why are we bringing up a trade that happened 21 years ago? Because the New York Giants traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick in this week’s NFL Draft. It was the first time a non-quarterback has been traded for a top-10 pick since the infamous Moss trade in 2005.
Minnesota traded Moss for the Raiders’ first-round pick, Harris, and a seventh-round pick on March 2, 2005. The Vikings used the No. 7 pick on wide receiver Troy Williamson, who never panned out in the NFL. He had 24 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, 37 receptions for 457 yards and zero touchdowns in 2006, and just 18 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown in 2007.
Williams led the league with 11 dropped passes in 2006. Minnesota traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick after the 2007 season, where he played in 10 games over two seasons and totaled just eight catches for 64 yards. He was cut before the start of the 2010 season, and that was a wrap on the former South Carolina speedster’s NFL career.
Moss didn’t put up jaw-dropping numbers with the Raiders for two seasons, but he set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches in 2007 with the New England Patriots. He caught 47 touchdowns in 48 regular-season games with the Patriots from 2007 to 2009.
Whether it was trading Moss to the Raiders, the Timberwolves sending Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics — or drafting Ricky Rubio AND Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry — or the Twins cutting David Ortiz and watching him become one of the greatest players in MLB history with the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota sports teams have a long history of making terrible decisions.
The Bengals, meanwhile, gave up the 10th overall pick for one of the best defensive tackles in the league. They’ll likely get great production from Lawrence, while the Giants are now under pressure to get the 10th pick right. New York also holds the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s first round of the draft.
By the way, the Vikings had two picks in the first round of the 2005 draft. After taking Williamson, they used the No. 18 pick on defensive end Erasmus James. He was just as much of a bust as Williams, playing in 23 games in three years with the Vikings. He had four sacks as a rookie, but injuries wiped out most of his 2006 and 2007 seasons before he was traded to Washington for a conditional seventh-round pick.
James was cut by Washington in December 2009, marking the end of his NFL career.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
-
Oregon5 minutes agoOregon Ducks Safety Target Elijah Butler Nearing Crucial Point in Recruitment
-
Pennsylvania11 minutes agoOfficials react to Pennsylvania abortion ruling, Medicaid ban struck down
-
Rhode Island17 minutes agoNothing Bundt Cakes opens first RI bakery
-
South-Carolina23 minutes agoSLED issues Blue Alert for armed, dangerous woman in Midlands
-
South Dakota29 minutes ago
SD Lottery Powerball, Lotto America winning numbers for April 20, 2026
-
Tennessee35 minutes agoTennessee Senate passes ‘CVS bill,’ reshapes pharmacy business as CVS threatens closures
-
Texas41 minutes agoFitness influencer drowns during swimming portion of Ironman Texas
-
Utah47 minutes agoUtah Jazz win coin flip, guaranteed to keep NBA Draft Lottery pick