University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, February 27
Ann Arbor, MI
5:00 PM
University of Minnesota
11-20-2, 7-14-1
2
at
4
Michigan
26-7-1, 17-6-1
1
2
3
F
Minnesota
0
2
0
2
Michigan
1
1
2
4
Team Stats
MIN
U-M
Shots
27
33
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
5
6
Penalty Mins
10
31
Faceoffs Won
19
27
Game Leaders
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
5
A
1
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
1
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: © /University of Minnesota
Gophers Close Trip to No. 2 Michigan with Split
2/27/2026 7:30:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Moore, Hendrickson tally 'U' goals
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Golden Gophers men's hockey team ended their trip to No. 2 Michigan with a series split, falling 4-2 inside Yost Ice Arena Friday night.
Minnesota (11-20-2 overall, 7-14-1 B1G, 25 points) got goals from a pair of sophomores, Javon Moore and Beckett Hendrickson in a contest that was tied 2-2 heading into the third period. The Wolverines (26-7-1 overall, 17-6-1 B1G, 49 points) got the eventual winning goal with 6:29 left in the contest before adding an empty-net tally for insurance.
Goaltender Luca Di Pasquo needed to deliver a paddle save to shut down an early odd-man rush by Michigan but was unable to stop the next shot, a deflection in front of the net, as the home side jumped to a 1-0 lead just 1:50 into the night. The Gophers were able to fight back and test the Wolverines' net before earning the first power play at 8:35. Despite chances on target, the man advantage was erased.
The home team continued to press its offense as the Maroon and Gold got caught inside its own zone late in the frame, leading to a 5-on-4 with five minutes to play in the period. Michigan doubled its advantage 30 seconds into the power play, but the Gophers successfully challenged the play for a missed hand pass.
Another penalty to the visitors gave the Wolverines a two-man advantage for more than 90 seconds, only to see the penalty killing unit step up and deliver in a critical moment to deny the nation's second-best power play. It remained a 1-0 deficit for the visitors at the end of the opening period.
After the Wolverines rang a shot off the post early in the middle stanza, it was Minnesota that buried the tying goal at the 1:42 mark. Jimmy Clark started the rush and pushed a pass to Tanner Ludtke who made the play back to Clark while taking a hit at neutral ice. Clark sped around a defender and cut to the crease where he found Moore alone at the doorstep and the freshman made no mistake for the equalizer. The Gophers fed off the goal and took command of the second, generating a sustained forecheck that had Michigan running around.
A generous penalty with 11:08 remaining in the frame put the Wolverines back on the power play where the Maroon and Gold again came through and shut down the opportunity. The home team kept up the rush and used a perfect pass up the middle of the ice for a breakaway and moved back in front, 2-1, at the 15:16 mark.
With time winding down, Minnesota stayed relentless and an incredible effort by Tate Pritchard to intercept the puck and Erik Påhlsson controlled entering the blue line. He fed a cross-ice pass over to Beckett Hendrickson and the sophomore batted home his own rebound to even the score with 2:39 left on the clock. A late penalty on the Gophers had to be dealt with before the teams went back to the locker room tied 2-2.
As tensions mounted beginning the third period, penalties within 12 seconds of each other six minutes into the frame made it 4-on-4, creating a lot of open ice. Neither team could find the go-ahead tally as the action went up and down the rink before Påhlsson's shot from the left circle deflected off the goalie's glove and rolled along the crossbar until falling away. A turnover with less than seven minutes to go proved costly as Michigan converted at the back door on a broken play for a 3-2 edge at 13:31.
After the ensuing faceoff, a dangerous hit to the head of Moore gave the visitors an important five-minute man advantage for nearly the remainder of regulation. The Gophers controlled the puck and put chance after chance towards goal but could not break through during the extended power play. Having to pull its goalie down the stretch, the Wolverines were able to score into the empty net and salvaged a series split, winning 4-2 Friday.
Di Pasquo closed the trip by making 29 saves in the series finale, including all four he faced during five unsuccessful Michigan power plays.
Noteworthy
Moore stretched his point streak to four games, tying his longest streak of the season, totaling two goals and three points in that span ... His marker Friday was his seventh during the campaign and now has 19 points as a freshman ... After a number of chances all trip, Hendrickson finally found the back of the net, this time scoring his sixth goal of the year and just his second of 2026 ... The Minnetonka, Minn., product has a point in three of the last four series, posting 18 points overall ... For the second time in the series, Clark picked up an assist and has a point in three-straight outings to reach 16 points behind his 12th assist ... Ludtke made it two nights in a row in reaching the scoresheet as he collected a helper and now has eight assists and 13 total points ... Pritchard is the 11th Gopher to reach double-digit scoring as the freshman tallied his sixth assist ... Behind his seventh assist and 12th point, Påhlsson ended a five-game scoring drought ... Minnesota has allowed the opponent to score first in eight of its 12 road games during league play this season.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"That was a heck of a game. I mean, it was a heavyweight tilt tonight. Michigan played like it was their last game of the regular season. They don't want to get caught by Penn State. They wanted to rectify things, but we stood up to every challenge tonight. And we actually, in a lot of ways, played better tonight than we did last night," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We've got one more series, and now we go with the No. 1 team in the country. And we'll keep pushing this thing forward."
Next Up: Home vs. No. 1 Michigan State (Mar. 5-6)
The Gophers play their final series of the 2025-26 regular season next week when they host the top-ranked Spartans of Michigan State March 5-6 presented by Flint Hills Resources. Thursday night's contest will air live on FOX9 at 7 p.m. before the season finale Friday and Senior Night at 7 p.m. on FOX9+. Both games will also be streamed through B1G+ with an audio broadcast available through the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
Minnesota (11-20-2 overall, 7-14-1 B1G, 25 points) got goals from a pair of sophomores, Javon Moore and Beckett Hendrickson in a contest that was tied 2-2 heading into the third period. The Wolverines (26-7-1 overall, 17-6-1 B1G, 49 points) got the eventual winning goal with 6:29 left in the contest before adding an empty-net tally for insurance.
Goaltender Luca Di Pasquo needed to deliver a paddle save to shut down an early odd-man rush by Michigan but was unable to stop the next shot, a deflection in front of the net, as the home side jumped to a 1-0 lead just 1:50 into the night. The Gophers were able to fight back and test the Wolverines' net before earning the first power play at 8:35. Despite chances on target, the man advantage was erased.
The home team continued to press its offense as the Maroon and Gold got caught inside its own zone late in the frame, leading to a 5-on-4 with five minutes to play in the period. Michigan doubled its advantage 30 seconds into the power play, but the Gophers successfully challenged the play for a missed hand pass.
Another penalty to the visitors gave the Wolverines a two-man advantage for more than 90 seconds, only to see the penalty killing unit step up and deliver in a critical moment to deny the nation's second-best power play. It remained a 1-0 deficit for the visitors at the end of the opening period.
After the Wolverines rang a shot off the post early in the middle stanza, it was Minnesota that buried the tying goal at the 1:42 mark. Jimmy Clark started the rush and pushed a pass to Tanner Ludtke who made the play back to Clark while taking a hit at neutral ice. Clark sped around a defender and cut to the crease where he found Moore alone at the doorstep and the freshman made no mistake for the equalizer. The Gophers fed off the goal and took command of the second, generating a sustained forecheck that had Michigan running around.
A generous penalty with 11:08 remaining in the frame put the Wolverines back on the power play where the Maroon and Gold again came through and shut down the opportunity. The home team kept up the rush and used a perfect pass up the middle of the ice for a breakaway and moved back in front, 2-1, at the 15:16 mark.
With time winding down, Minnesota stayed relentless and an incredible effort by Tate Pritchard to intercept the puck and Erik Påhlsson controlled entering the blue line. He fed a cross-ice pass over to Beckett Hendrickson and the sophomore batted home his own rebound to even the score with 2:39 left on the clock. A late penalty on the Gophers had to be dealt with before the teams went back to the locker room tied 2-2.
As tensions mounted beginning the third period, penalties within 12 seconds of each other six minutes into the frame made it 4-on-4, creating a lot of open ice. Neither team could find the go-ahead tally as the action went up and down the rink before Påhlsson's shot from the left circle deflected off the goalie's glove and rolled along the crossbar until falling away. A turnover with less than seven minutes to go proved costly as Michigan converted at the back door on a broken play for a 3-2 edge at 13:31.
After the ensuing faceoff, a dangerous hit to the head of Moore gave the visitors an important five-minute man advantage for nearly the remainder of regulation. The Gophers controlled the puck and put chance after chance towards goal but could not break through during the extended power play. Having to pull its goalie down the stretch, the Wolverines were able to score into the empty net and salvaged a series split, winning 4-2 Friday.
Di Pasquo closed the trip by making 29 saves in the series finale, including all four he faced during five unsuccessful Michigan power plays.
Noteworthy
Moore stretched his point streak to four games, tying his longest streak of the season, totaling two goals and three points in that span ... His marker Friday was his seventh during the campaign and now has 19 points as a freshman ... After a number of chances all trip, Hendrickson finally found the back of the net, this time scoring his sixth goal of the year and just his second of 2026 ... The Minnetonka, Minn., product has a point in three of the last four series, posting 18 points overall ... For the second time in the series, Clark picked up an assist and has a point in three-straight outings to reach 16 points behind his 12th assist ... Ludtke made it two nights in a row in reaching the scoresheet as he collected a helper and now has eight assists and 13 total points ... Pritchard is the 11th Gopher to reach double-digit scoring as the freshman tallied his sixth assist ... Behind his seventh assist and 12th point, Påhlsson ended a five-game scoring drought ... Minnesota has allowed the opponent to score first in eight of its 12 road games during league play this season.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"That was a heck of a game. I mean, it was a heavyweight tilt tonight. Michigan played like it was their last game of the regular season. They don't want to get caught by Penn State. They wanted to rectify things, but we stood up to every challenge tonight. And we actually, in a lot of ways, played better tonight than we did last night," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We've got one more series, and now we go with the No. 1 team in the country. And we'll keep pushing this thing forward."
Next Up: Home vs. No. 1 Michigan State (Mar. 5-6)
The Gophers play their final series of the 2025-26 regular season next week when they host the top-ranked Spartans of Michigan State March 5-6 presented by Flint Hills Resources. Thursday night's contest will air live on FOX9 at 7 p.m. before the season finale Friday and Senior Night at 7 p.m. on FOX9+. Both games will also be streamed through B1G+ with an audio broadcast available through the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
Highlights: Gophers 2, Michigan 4
Friday, February 27
Highlights: Gophers 4, Michigan 2
Thursday, February 26
Highlights: Gophers 2, Notre Dame 3
Saturday, February 14
Highlights: Gophers 2, Notre Dame 2
Friday, February 13