Gophers men’s hockey team rolls 6-1 against Ohio State for split of Big Ten series

Three power-play goals and the goaltending of Liam Souliere helped the No. 3 Gophers men’s hockey team rebound with a 6-1 victory over No. 11 Ohio State on Saturday at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

“It just was not a good look to us last night,” coach Bob Motzko said. “Tonight, absolutely the other way around from the first shift. All four lines, all the defensemen, Liam was great in net, and give our guys credit, we responded. I hope it’s a lesson for us, and I hope that’s a game to get us going now.”

The Gophers (18-4-2, 9-2-1 Big Ten) scored three times in the first eight minutes.

A penalty on the Buckeyes for too many players on the ice put the Gophers on the power play just 86 seconds into the game. Mike Koster quickly converted the opportunity to open the scoring with 17:18 left in the first period.

A little over five minutes later, Mason Nevers and Connor Kurth scored 15 seconds apart to give the Gophers a 3-0 lead with 12 minutes left in the first period.

Less than two minutes into the second period, the Gophers went on the power play again, and Koster again converted to make it 4-0.

Jimmy Snuggerud made it 5-0 with a power-play goal with 6:05 remaining in the second period.