Gophers beat Western Michigan, will play Minnesota State at Frozen Four
The Minnesota Golden Gophers punched their ticket to Boston on Sunday night, defeating top-seeded Western Michigan 2-0 in the Worcester Regional Final and advancing to the Frozen Four.
The Gophers got an early boost against a Broncos team playing in the first regional final in program history. After scoring the tying goal against UMass on Friday night, Matthew Knies put Minnesota on the board at 10:10 of the first period.
Minnesota skated with the Broncos through a scoreless second period but it almost wasn't the case. Ronnie Attard appeared to tie the game off a rebound midway through the second. But after a review, Western Michigan was offside on the play, keeping the Broncos off the board and preserving the Gophers' lead.
The Gophers took the 1-0 advantage into the third period and went on the power play when Ethen Frank was called for slashing. Minnesota converted when Aaron Huglen scored off some traffic in front of the net and put the Gophers ahead 2-0.
That was all the support that Justen Close would need. The Gophers netminder stopped all 20 shots on the night and picked up his 14th win of the season. With an empty-net goal by Blake McLaughlin, Minnesota earned its first Frozen Four appearance since 2014.
The Gophers will have company in Beantown after Minnesota State punched their ticket on Saturday with a win over Notre Dame. The top-seeded Mavericks will clash with the Gophers on Apr. 7 with a spot in the national championship game on the line.
