MINNEAPOLIS — To say Minnesota went into its winter break with a sour taste in its mouth is an understatement.
The Golden Gophers dropped their previous three games, all of which were to Big Ten opponents. The final loss of the stretch was a 4-1 defeat to Ohio State.
Friday’s game against Army was a chance for Minnesota to restart its season. The No. 9 Golden Gophers made the most of their chance as Minnesota defeated Army 3-1 at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
The Gophers (11-9-1, 4-7-1-1) came out Friday already looking like a different team. Minnesota was missing two of its standout players — freshman forward Casey Mittelstedt and sophomore defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Both are representing Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Two Gophers had a chance to step into the lineup with the absence of Lindgren and Mittelstedt. Both freshman defenseman Clayton Phillips and sophomore forward Luke Notermann made their season debuts. For Phillips, it was his first collegiate action as he joined the team this week.
With some new faces stepping in, some familiar ones stood out. Minnesota junior right winger Tyler Sheehy got his team on the board halfway through the first period with a rocket of a wrist shot that got past Black Knight freshman goaltender Jared Dempsey.
Another well-known Gopher, senior goaltender Eric Schierhorn, showed up and made his familiar impact. Though he wasn’t tested much, the netminder stopped all 13 shots he faced.
Minnesota, meanwhile, struggled to extend its lead despite holding onto the puck for the majority of the game. This included three missed chances on the power play.
“I think we were just too cute with the puck,” said Gopher junior defenseman Jack Sadek. “We just have to get more shots on this goalie and get to the net.”
Dempsey continued his strong inaugural campaign. He came into this weekend with a .926 save percentage.
Army (8-9-2, 6-7-2) came in with wins against No. 16 New Hampshire and No. 18 Colgate this month.
“I’ve seen what Army has been able to do this year and the last couple years,” Lucia said. “Right before break, they knocked off two ranked opponents. Their goaltending has been really, really good. We had to work for our goals.”
In the end, the Gophers kept pushing Army and eventually found some positive results. Late in the third period, Sadek gave Minnesota some breathing room with a blast from the point.
“We knew we needed to compete and knew Army was going to be a hard-working team all over the ice,” Sheehy said. “The message was to work harder than they did. It was a disappointing start for us and we wanted to come out and change that.”
Senior forward Leon Bristedt capped off the win with an empty-net goal shortly after. It was a nice moment for a senior that has just three goals this season and missed on a number of excellent scoring opportunities.
“It was nice for Leon to get a goal, even if it was an empty-netter,” Lucia said. “You see how much he’s fought it this year from an offensive standpoint.”
Bristedt is one of many Gophers who have struggled to score this season. Just two Minnesota players came into Friday’s game with more than five goals this season. That’s a stat that’s going to have to change if the Gophers want to put their first-half struggles behind them.
“After getting swept the last time you played, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth for three weeks,” Lucia said. “It’s one game. Hopefully we’ll begin to get some more continuity as we continue to play.”
