Nelson helps extend U's season with two late goals to beat Nebraska Omaha 3-2
SIOUX FALLS – Fittingly, the farm kid from southwestern Minnesota kept the Gophers' hockey season alive on the South Dakota prairie.
Jaxon Nelson, the senior center from Magnolia, Minn. — a 40-mile drive away — scored the tying goal at 9:15 of the third period and netted the winner with 4:13 to play as the Gophers rallied to defeat Nebraska Omaha 3-2 on Thursday night in the second NCAA Sioux Falls Regional semifinal at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.
The Gophers (23-10-5) will face top-seeded Boston University (27-9-2), which beat Rochester Institute of Technology 6-3 in the first semifinal, for the championship at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
On the winning goal, the Gophers pounced on a turnover by the Mavericks in their defensive zone. Bryce Brodzinski fed his center with a pass that Nelson tipped past UNO goalie Simon Latkoczy.
Earlier in the third, Brodzinski fed Nelson from behind the net, and Nelson beat the goalie to tie it 2-2.
The Gophers withstood a late flurry with the Mavericks pulling Latkoczy for an extra attacker. Minnesota goalie Justen Close made 34 saves for the win, including a clutch stop with 10 seconds left.
Jimmy Clark also scored for the Gophers, his first goal since November.
Joaquim Lemay scored a power-play goal to give UNO a 1-0 lead in the second, and Ty Mueller put the Mavericks (23-13-4) up 2-1 at 4:28 of the third. Latkoczy made 36 saves.
The teams battled for control of the puck in the first four minutes of the first period, with the Mavericks registering the only shot on goal. Then the Gophers forced a center-ice turnover, and Rhett Pitlick put a shot on Latkoczy that he turned aside at 4:13.
Minnesota started driving possession in the Mavericks zone midway through the first, and Jimmy Snuggerud's hard shot from the slot forced Latkoczy to make a shoulder save at 9:46.
Close came up big with a point-blank save at Jack Randl at 12:20. The Mavericks went on a power play six seconds later when Brodzinski was whistled for slashing. The Gophers killed the penalty with Close making two saves.
With 55 seconds left in the first, Gophers defenseman Ryan Chesley was called for elbowing Randl during an open-ice hit as Randl skated toward the Gophers net with his head down. UNO coach Mike Gabinet challenged the call for a major penalty for head contact, and after a review, officials gave Chesley a five-minute major.
The Gophers got out of the first period tied 0-0 and had 4:05 left on Chesley's major to start the second. Joaquim Lemay made sure Minnesota didn't emerge unscathed. His shot through traffic on beat Close for a power-play goal and 1-0 lead at 1:51 of the second.
Minnesota limited the damage, killing off the rest of the penalty as Close made six saves. He also was called upon to make three more saves shortly after the penalty expired as the Mavericks built a 19-5 advantage in shots on goal.
Now the goal for the Gophers was to regroup and mount an offensive attack, and they started to do just that. Snuggerud at 7:06 and Connor Kurth two seconds later had shots on Latkoczy during a six-shot surge in the span of 2:05.
The Gophers got their first power play when Lemay cross-checked Oliver Moore at 12:54 during a flurry in front of the Mavericks net. Minnesota got two shots on goal as UNO killed the penalty.
Finally, the Gophers tied it 1-1 at 18:01 of the second. Kurth stole the puck at the Mavericks blue line and fed Clark, who patiently waited and found his spot to beat the Slovakian netminder. By the end of the second, the Gophers had a 26-25 edge in shots on goal.
Nebraska Omaha took a 2-1 lead at 4:28 of the third when Randl fed Mueller with a cross-crease pass, and Mueller beat Close.
Minnesota responded for a 2-2 tie at 9:15 when Nelson took a pass from Brodzinski and beat Latkoczy.
