The Gophers started fast, kicked it into high gear in a four-goal second period and hung on for dear life to beat Wisconsin 6-4 on Tuesday night in South Bend, Ind., to win the Big Ten hockey tournament. Now coach Bob Motzko and his team awaits Sunday night's NCAA tournament selection show (6 p.m., ESPNU) to find out where they'll be playing next. Here are three takeaways from Minnesota's performance in winning the conference tournament for the first time since 2015.
1. Mac the Knife
The Gophers, playing in their third game in as many days, would need a jolt of energy against the Badgers, who had a bye into the semifinals. Enter Blake McLaughlin.
The junior forward from Grand Rapids, Minn., was the best player on the ice Tuesday night – even outplaying likely Hobey Baker Award winner Cole Caufield. McLaughlin got things started by scoring the Gophers' first goal on a strong move to the net in the first period, added a pair of assists in the second and sealed the victory with the empty-net goal with 24 seconds left in the third period.
"We had a whole bunch that rose to the occasion, but Blake took it to another level tonight,'' Motzko said. "It was pretty special to watch.''
On his empty-net goal, McLaughlin just wouldn't leave the ice.
"He'd been out there for almost 45 seconds on the pulled goalie, and he just looked at me and said, 'I'm staying out there,' '' Motzko said. "He was going to get it done, and he scores. That was a terrific effort by him.' ''
If McLaughlin looked comfortable in Notre Dame's Compton Family Ice Arena, that's no surprise. He's made it into Mariucci East, having scored seven goals and assisted on four in his 10 games there. McLaughlin and linemates Sammy Walker and Scott Reedy were especially dominant in the second period.
"We talk about it all the time: The golden line is the goal line,'' McLaughlin said. "The forecheck is the motor of this team right now. Once we had our forecheck and ground game going, that's when we really got the pace moving. Once we got it to the golden line, that really helped us. Just keep getting pucks down and winning those one-on-one battles.''
2. They're dancing, but where?
By winning the Big Ten tournament, the Gophers (23-6) secured an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. They presumably would have received one of the 10 at-large bids had they lost.
Two big questions remain: Will they be a No. 1 seed, and where will they play?
Since there has been very few games between conferences in this COVID-19-impacted season, the PairWise Ratings have been mostly taken out of the equation in comparing teams in the mathematical formula. Instead, the NCAA men's hockey committee must rely largely on their members' opinions to pick and seed the teams.
The Gophers would seem to be one of the four No. 1 seeds. If that's the case, they won't be going to the Midwest Regional in Fargo because NCHC regular-season and tournament champion North Dakota must be assigned there as the host team, and the Fighting Hawks are a lock to be a No. 1 seed. The other regionals are in Loveland, Colo. (West), Bridgeport, Conn. (East) and Albany, N.Y. (Northeast). My guess is that either the Gophers or Minnesota State Mankato will be assigned to Loveland. Also, don't rule out a possible second-round rematch with Wisconsin. The Badgers would seem to be in line for a No. 2 seed, and it wouldn't be surprising to see them in the same regional as the Gophers.
Coaches like Denver's Matt Carle and Penn State's Guy Gadowsky used postgame news conferences to make their teams' NCAA tournament cases. Motzko wasn't going to start politicking for a No. 1 seed.
"Whatever. I learned a long time ago: I don't care where we go, I don't care what seed we are,'' he said. "… Our body of work is pretty good. Send us where we need to go, and we'll get ready to go.''
2. Emotional night for LaFontaine, seniors
Gophers goalie Jack LaFontaine made 46 saves on his way to being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The senior and transfer from Michigan reflected on what the experience meant to him.
"I'll tell you in two days,'' LaFontaine said when asked how it felt to win the tournament. "I really don't know right now. This is my first time in truly winning anything. … We take a lot of pride in the fact that this program belongs at the top. At the end of the day, we're trying to set a culture for years to come. This accomplishment does that, and I know we have a lot more to give. We're coming up on a great time as a college hockey player. The [NCAA] tournament is such a cool opportunity.''
Motzko was thrilled for his seniors: LaFontaine, Brannon McManus, Cullen Munson, Scott Reedy and Sam Rosinni.
"You could see it on the ice at the end of the game and when we greeted the team in the locker room at the end of the game,'' he said. "Those seniors, there was a really neat look on their face. There's a whole lot of banners in Mariucci Arena that were put up long before we were there, and those seniors now get to join the banners knowing that they've done something. And we're not done.
"… I'm real proud of that group,'' he added. "I didn't recruit them, I inherited them. I told from Day One, 'You give me your hear, I'll give you my heart.' Those kids have battled for us. I couldn't be more happy and proud of that group.''
