Minnesota battled back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits and advanced to the Sioux Falls regional final with a 3-2 win over Omaha in the first round of the NCAA men's hockey tournament Thursday night.
Jaxon Nelson scored the tying and game-winning goals in the third period for the Gophers, who will play Boston University on Saturday with a spot in the Frozen Four in St. Paul on the line.
The Gophers trailed 2-1 after Omaha scored at 4:28 of the third period, and that seemed to spark some extra energy for Minnesota as they tied the game 2-2 on Nelson's first goal of the night with 10:45 to play.
Jaxon Nelson ties it again after a Brodzinski forecheck gets the puck loose pic.twitter.com/0BMK0qEY1E
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) March 29, 2024
Nelson's go-ahead goal came with 4:13 to play and it happened when Bryce Brodzinski claimed a loose puck in the Omaha zone after a Mavericks skater slipped. Brodzinski then found Nelson in front of the net for the winning score.
CAPTAIN. CLUTCH.
— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) March 29, 2024
: ESPNU pic.twitter.com/rgesV5GT5e
Omaha applied a ton of pressure on Minnesota with an extra attacker in the final 90 seconds but Justen Close held firm in net to seal another NCAA tournament win for one of the most storied programs in college hockey history.
Minnesota fell behind at 1:51 of the second period when Joaquim Lemay scored on a power play for Omaha. They had the 5-on-4 advantage thanks to a five-minute major penalty on Minnesota's Ryan Chesley for elbowing.
The Chesley elbow, it's not great so they are reviewing pic.twitter.com/Nr9KNUcVeW
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) March 29, 2024
The Gophers tied the game 1-1 with 1:59 left in the second period when Connor Kurth forced a turnover and found Jimmy Clark for the equalizer.
The regional final is set for Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
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