LOVELAND, Colo. – Minnesota's return to the NCAA championships started off hot on Saturday night as the No. 2 Gopher men's hockey program downed No. 12 Omaha by a score of 7-2 in semifinal action at the NCAA West Regional.
Making its first appearance in the national tournament since 2017, Minnesota boasted points from 13 different skaters including a career-high five-assist night from Brock Faber to tie the school record for single-game assists while Mason Nevers added his first two collegiate goals for the Maroon & Gold.
Known for the program's quick offensive starts this season, the Gophers (24-6-0) played the same tune at the Budweiser Events Center on Saturday night – jumping out to a three-goal lead with tallies from Nevers, Jack Perbix, and Scott Reedy.
Omaha (14-11-1) drew one back late in the first, but the Gophers repeated the three-goal run in the second period with tallies from Ryan Johnson and Ben Meyers along with Nevers' second of the night. The Mavericks scored their second goal early in the third period but Sampo Ranta responded just over a minute later with his team-leading 19th goal of the season, and the Gophers cruised to the 7-2 win.
Hobey Baker Award and Mike Richter Award finalist Jack LaFontaine earned his NCAA-best 22nd win of the season (22-6-0) with a 26-save performance while Isaiah Saville (12-11-1) took the loss for the Mavericks, making 10 saves on 15 shots in 27:13 of work. Austin Roden finished the game for Omaha with 13 saves on 15 shots. The Gophers held a 30-28 advantage in shots for the game.
Faber (five assists), Nevers (two goals), Meyers (one goal, one assist), Ranta (one goal, one assist) and Johnson (one goal, one assist) all recorded multi-point games for the Gophers.
Both teams were scoreless on the power play with Minnesota going 0-for-2 while killing off its lone penalty and holding Omaha to 0-for-1.
Noteworthy
Minnesota improved to 56-38 all-time in the NCAA championships after earning a win in its first national tournament game against Omaha…the performance stands as Minnesota's first NCAA tournament win since a 2-1 win over North Dakota in the semifinals of the 2014 NCAA Frozen Four (April 10, 2014)…tonight's seven goals are the most by the Gophers since scoring seven against Robert Morris on March 29, 2014…Minnesota improved to 5-3-0 all-time against Omaha…Nevers became the fourth player to score his first goal of the season in this year's NCAA tournament…Faber tying the school record with five assists marks the 12th occurrence of the performance in program history and second of the season after Scott Reedy in a 10-0 win over Arizona State on Jan. 21, 2021.
Quotable
Motzko on his first NCAA tournament win as head coach at Minnesota…
"It feels awful good, I can tell you that. But most important, I'm really pleased with how we played tonight…I give our guys an enormous amount of credit."
Ranta on the early lead...
"It was huge. Any time you get a lead early, you put yourself in a good spot. Getting off to a good start is a key. You have to be ready from the get-go, and that's what we have to do tomorrow, too."
Nevers on scoring two goals...
"[It was] unbelievable. It's been a long year, obviously, not scoring yet, with a lot of frustrating nights, but you just have to stick to the process. I've got a great group of guys around me. No better time to score than now, so it felt really good."
Up Next: NCAA West Regional Final
The Gophers will take on Minnesota State on Sunday, March 28 at 7 p.m. CT in the NCAA West Regional final (TV: ESPN2; Stream: Watch ESPN; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM) with a berth in the NCAA Frozen Four on the line. Minnesota is 3-2 all-time against the Mavericks in the NCAA tournament, having last played Sunday's opponent in NCAA tournament action on March 22, 1997 (a 6-3 win for the 'U').
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