Gophers Win Big Ten Tournament Title, Head To NCAAs
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The University of Minnesota men's hockey team beat Michigan 4-2 Saturday night to win the Big Ten Tournament championship and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Gophers learned of their seeding on Sunday. They'll head to New Hampshire this weekend and face Minnesota-Duluth on Friday in the Northeast Regional. Minnesota and UMD have played four times this season, and the Bulldogs have won three times.
Minnesota won its first playoff championship since 2007 with the win over Michigan. Travis Boyd led the Gophers with two goals, include one an empty net late in regulation to seal the victory. Kyle Rau had a goal and an assist, and Leon Bristedt had two assists in the win.
Trailing 2-1 in the second period, Rau scored on a pass from Hudson Fasching to tie the game 2-2 at the 10:34 mark. It was Rau's 20th goal of the season.
Justin Kloos scored the game-winning goal at the 9:29 mark of the third period on the power play. Adam Wilcox made 24 saves in net for the win, the 73rd of his career.
The Gophers and Bulldogs face off at 4:30 p.m. Friday in New Hampshire.
