The Minnesota Gophers are back in the Frozen Four for the second year in a row and just two wins away from their first national championship since 2003.
The No. 1 team in the land rolled over St. Cloud State 4-1 in Saturday’s Regional Fargo at Scheels Arena in Fargo, fueled by Logan Cooley and Jackson LaCombe finding each other for a pair of goals.
After the Minnesota hockey powers traded goals – Bryce Brodzinksi for Minnesota and Adam Ingram for St. Cloud – LaCombe found Cooley for a goal and a 2-1 lead at 14:03 of the second period. And then Cooley found LaCombe for a 3-1 lead at 8:16 of the third period. Jaxon Nelson’s empty-net goal was icing on the cake with 31 seconds left in the game.
Justin Close had 28 saves and helped the Gophers kill four of five St. Cloud power plays.
Minnesota (28-9-1) will play Boston University in the Frozen Four. Boston defeated Cornell 2-1 in the Manchester Regional final. The other national semifinal is between Michigan and Quinnipiac.
The Frozen Four will be played April 6-8 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
