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Gophers men, women win with shutouts Friday night

Rhett Pitlick and Abbey Murphy shine for Gophers
Joe Nelson|
Gophers men, women win with shutouts Friday night
Gophers men, women win with shutouts Friday night

It was Rhett Pitlick’s night as the star winger scored two goals before four minutes had ticked off the clock in the first period and Minnesota cruised to a 3-0 win over Penn State at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis. 

Pitlick deflected a puck by the Penn State goalie just 43 seconds into the game and then scored again 3 minutes, 6 seconds later for a commanding Minnesota lead. 

With the cushion, Gophers goalie Justen Close helped blank the Nittany Lions, including when the visitors had a 5-on-3 power play in the second period. Close finished the game with 36 saves. 

Connor Kurth’s sixth goal of the season gave the Gophers a 3-0 lead less than two minutes into the third period. 

Minnesota, ranked No. 9 in the nation, improved to 17-7-5 and 10-5-4 in conference play, trailing second place Michigan State and Big Ten leader Wisconsin. 

In women’s hockey, the Gophers got Abbey Murphy’s 28th goal of the season and that’s it for a 1-0 victory in the Interstate 94 rivalry with St. Cloud State. 

Skylar Vetter made 24 saves in the shutout. 

The U of M women are now 23-5-1 on the season and trailing only Wisconsin and Ohio State in the WCHA race. 

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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Joe Nelson has more than 20 years of experience in Minnesota sports journalism. Nelson began his career in sports radio, working at smaller stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before moving to the highly-rated KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. While there, he produced the popular mid-morning show hosted by Minnesota Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen. His time in radio laid the groundwork for his transition to sports writing in 2011. He covers the Vikings, Timberwolves, Gophers and Twins for On SI.

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