NCAA Tournament: Three takeaways from Minnesota’s win against UMass

By Owen Gund

Ben Meyers scored with 6:43 remaining in overtime, and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers won 4-3 against defending national champion University of Massachusetts Minutemen in the Northeast Regional semifinal at the DCU Center on Friday.

The senior co-captain scored on a give-and-go play with freshman forward Aaron Huglen to the right of the UMass net. The Golden Gophers came back from two two-goal deficits.

Junior defenseman Ryan Johnson and freshman forwards Tristan Broz and Matthew Knies each scored for No. 5/6 Minnesota (25-12-1), and junior goaltender Justen Close made 20 saves. Meyers also had an assist.

Junior forward Reed Lebster scored twice, and senior forward and former Golden Gopher Garrett Wait also scored. Graduate goaltender Matt Murray made 20 saves for the No. 10/9 Minutemen (22-13-2). Junior forward Cal Kiefiuk and freshman defenseman Ryan Ufko each had two assists.

The Golden Gophers are moving on to face Western Michigan in the Worcester regional final on Sunday at 4 p.m. with a spot in the Frozen Four on the line.

Here are my three takeaways from the game. All opinions are my own.

That is what college hockey is all about

The atmosphere at tonight’s game is why nothing compares to college hockey. The DCU Center was completely packed, and the fans, mostly from UMass, were thunderous all night. The UMass band was fantastic all night long, and at the end of the day, the fans and the bands are what I love most about college hockey.

After not having either at games last year, nights like tonight make me appreciate them even more. It was great to see an old barn like the DCU center packed and rocking. That was my number one takeaway. Now, onto the game itself.

Minnesota is a resilient team

The Gophers faced their biggest test of the year against the defending national champions. They bent, but didn’t break. They went down 2-0 in the first period and 3-1 in the second period, but found a way to battle back, tying it up with a power-play goal in the third period.

Teams need to deliver on special teams to go deep in the playoffs, and Minnesota did that when they cashed in on their only power play of the third period. On the overtime goal, Meyers won a positioning battle in front of the net and snapped home a quick shot over Murray’s blocker.

The Gophers got contributions from all four lines in tonight’s game, and they are going to need their depth once again this Sunday against Western Michigan.

UMass is a hockey powerhouse

After the game, UMass head coach Greg Carvel talked about this senior class’ impact on the team’s culture. The class of 2022, most notably team captain Bobby Trivigno, took this program to new heights. They have two Hockey East titles in the past two seasons and a national title at the end of last season sandwiched in between.

Carvel said tonight that he loves coaching at UMass because he loves working with gritty guys determined to prove themselves. Those are the type of players that UMass has attracted and will continue to attract in the years to come.