Gophers Lose to Michigan in Opener 6-2

MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) – Steve Johnson and Tommy Novak rattled off late goals for the Gopher Hockey program as No. 20 Minnesota dropped a 6-2 Big Ten contest to No. 6 Michigan on Thursday night at Mariucci Arena. 

After Michigan pocketed a goal in both the first and second periods, the teams combined for six goals in the final five minutes of the third period. The Wolverines (20-4-5 overall, 10-2-3-2 Big Ten) opened the night with six-straight goals including a hat trick from Alex Kile and a two-goal night from Kyle Connor. Max Shuart also scored for the Wolverines.

The Gophers (16-14-0 overall, 11-4-0-0 Big Ten) got on the board at 17:23 of the third period when Johnson scored his third of the year off a setup from Taylor Cammarata. Novak added his fourth goal of the year at 18:28 with assists from Nick Seeler and Jack Glover.

Minnesota outshot the Wolverines 33-24 in the series opener as Eric Schierhorn took the loss for the Gophers, moving to 16-14-0 in his freshman campaign.

The two Big Ten rivals meet in the series finale tonight at 8 p.m., our coverage begins with the pre-game show at 7:30 on 1340 KROC AM.