Michigan Win Series Opener Against 9th Ranked Gophers

MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) – Three Gopher freshmen scored but it wasn’t enough on Friday night as No. 9 Minnesota fell to Michigan 5-3 at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
Minnesota (13-11-1 overall, 4-8-1-1 Big Ten) picked up goals from Casey Mittelstadt, Scott Reedy and Brannon McManus in the contest.

Things started fast in the series opener with Michigan (9-10-2, 4-7-2-1) jumping out to an early lead with Dexter Dancs scored 14 seconds in on the game’s first shot on goal. Mittelstadt found the net soon after at 2:21 with his sixth of the year off a feed from Jack Sadek and Ryan Lindgren, but Michigan added two more later in the period when Michael Pastujov scored at 8:13 and Cooper Maroody made it 3-1 at 18:10.

The Big Ten rivals would trade goals in the second and again in the third.
Reedy broke Minnesota’s power-play slump at 3:37 of the second period when he knocked home a loose puck for his fourth goal as a Gopher. Leon Bristedt and Tyler Nanne added assists on the goal. But Brendan Warren reclaimed a two-goal lead for the visitors at 18:01.

McManus pulled the Maroon & Gold back to within one with his fifth of the year at 16:22 of the third period when Tyler Sheehy and Ryan Lindgren set up the Gophers rookie. Warren added his second of the game on a short-handed, empty-net tally at 19:31 to seal the win for the Wolverines.

The Gophers outshot Michigan 27-19 on the night while the power play went 1-for-5 and the penalty kill was 2-for-2. Mat Robson made three saves on six shots to start for Minnesota before Eric Schierhorn came in for a relief appearance. In two periods of play, Schierhorn made eight saves on nine shots to take the loss for the home team.

Minnesota and Michigan conclude this weekend’s Big Ten series on Saturday at 7 p.m.