MINNEAPOLIS – Nathan Airey collected his first collegiate shutout with a 32-save performance and the No. 4 Minnesota men’s hockey team trounced sixth-ranked Michigan, 6-0, at 3M Arena at Mariucci Friday night, scoring three goals in each of the first two periods.
Matthew Wood scored twice for Minnesota (14-2-1 overall, 7-0-0 B1G), as one of six players that had multi-point performances to dominate the Wolverines (10-4-1 overall, 4-1-0 B1G) and stay unbeaten in Big Ten Conference action. Connor Kurth had a goal and two assists, while Oliver Moore had three helpers as the Maroon and Gold won its seventh-straight series opener against Michigan.
The home side came out with a strong surge and tested the visiting netminder early and often with nine of the game’s first 10 shots covering five minutes, getting a well-deserved ovation in front of its packed student section. The sustained pressure from Minnesota led to the first power-play chance of the night at the 8:28 mark but it expired without converting. After killing off the penalty, Michigan was able to generate some offense and rang a shot from the point off the crossbar only to see the Gophers jump on the board, scoring twice in a 55-second span.
An outlet pass from Cal Thomas started the play up ice and Wood was rewarded for driving to the net as he pounced on a loose puck in the crease with 7:29 remaining in the opening frame. The junior created traffic for a shot by Moore and lifted the eventual game winner over the goaltender. Minnesota quickly doubled its advantage less than a minute later thanks to a patented snipe off the stick of Jimmy Snuggerud. Sam Rinzel swiped the puck from the Wolverines in his own defensive zone and led the charge before dropping a pass to Snuggerud at the top of the circle. The Chaska, Minn., native wired home his milestone 50th career goal.
Seconds after the Gophers’ second power-play was denied, it was Aaron Huglen that made it a 3-0 margin at the 16:10 mark. Luke Mittelstadt slipped a pass to the senior and Huglen wasted no time in ripping the puck from the left faceoff dot to the back of the net and Minnesota carried the three-goal cushion into intermission.
The Maroon and Gold did not let the break stop its momentum as Wood delivered again, this time in the first minute of the second period. The product of Nanaimo, B.C., buried his second goal of the night following a tape-to-tape pass from Moore that allowed him to find open space behind three Michigan defenders, stretching the lead to 4-0. After matching minors were called, the Wolverines were assessed another penalty, and the Gophers briefly skated with a rare 4-on-3 advantage, but again could not convert the opportunity.
The offense piled on five minutes later when August Falloon made it a 5-0 game before reaching the halfway point of the night. The freshman fought for a rebound in the crease and kicked the puck to his stick where he put away the goal as the clock read 10:08 in the second period. It was barely a minute later when Kurth pushed the advantage to six, chipping a shot over the goalie’s shoulder during a 2-on-1 with Rinzel.
Trailing by six goals, the visitors started to increase their physicality and that led to a power play at the 11:28 mark that was negated by the Gophers. The Wolverines went back to the man advantage late in the stanza as the home team was called for a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct. With penalty time carrying into the final frame, Minnesota shut down the entirety of the power play without conceding. The home side was content to let the game come to them through the third period and played shut-down defense to limit the visitors.
The Gophers had to erase another man advantage in the closing minutes and did so by blocking shots as they did all night, ending with a season-high 25 blocks.
Airey remained poised in net and shut down the dangerous Michigan offense through the final buzzer, registering a career-best 32 saves. The sophomore made 14 saves in the third period to remain perfect on the year with a 9-0-1 record.
Noteworthy
Wood buried his fifth and sixth goals of the season, recording his first multi-goal effort, and became the second player for the Maroon and Gold to reach 20 points behind seven points over his last seven outings … After being held without a point last weekend, Snuggerud found the back of the net with his eighth goal this year, pushing his team-leading point total to 21, becoming the 62nd player in program history to reach 50 career goals … Huglen continued his strong play to begin a series where he has a point in seven of eight Friday outings, totaling nine of his 11 points in 2024-25 … The senior has points in three-consecutive games and is the ninth Gopher to reach double-digit scoring this season after his second multi-point performance … Kurth ended a three-game scoring drought, his longest of the season, in a major way as he registered his fourth game of at least three points … He now has 19 points, two shy of his career best, and was a plus-4 on the night, improving his NCAA-leading plus-minus rating to a plus-22… All Falloon does is produce and the St. Cloud, Minn., product scored his second goal of the year and has four points in nine games as a rookie … Moore put together the third, three-assist effort of his tenure and pushed his point total to 15 this season … Rinzel was a factor on both ends of the ice Friday as he put up two assists, tying for the NCAA’s scoring lead by defensemen with 17 points, and joined Mike Koster with a team-best four blocked shots … Luke Mittelstadt tallied two assists and now has eight this season behind his second multi-point game over his last four appearances … In just his third game back after missing a month due to injury, Cal Thomas recorded his fourth assist of the year … Nick Michel finished with his second assist in just his fifth outing as a Gopher … The Maroon and Gold scored at least five goals for the 10th time this year and eclipsed six for the sixth time … The Gophers’ 21 first-period shots was the third time with 20 or more in the opening frame of a game this season as it happened versus Omaha (10/12/24) and at Minnesota Duluth (10/18/24) … Minnesota snapped a five-game streak where its opponent scored the opening goal … Both teams finished the night going 0-for-3 on the man advantage.
Coach Motzko’s Comments
“It was a tale of two games tonight; sums up our whole first half,” Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. “We looked like a great hockey team, then we started losing bodies and we had to duct tape and hay bale the lineup for the second half of the game and we gut it out. I give our guys a ton of credit.”
Next Up: Home vs. Michigan (Dec. 7)
Minnesota and Michigan close the conference series presented by M Health Fairview Saturday evening at 5 p.m. with live coverage available on FOX9+ and B1G+ as well as the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK. Fans are encouraged to join the Gophers as they “Ice Out” 3M Arena at Mariucci by wearing white as all of those in attendance will receive a free rally towel courtesy of Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union.
