In what had been deemed a historic opening of the first Big 10 conference hockey game ever played, a couple old rivals went at it Friday at Mariucci Arena, with Minnesota topping Wisconsin 4-1.
The Badgers hit the net first, with a goal by Jospeh LeBate at 6:31 in the 1st period. From then on, it was all Gophers.
Seth Ambroz scored twice for Minnesota, and goaltender Adam Wilcox had 24 saves, ensuring that the No. 1 Gophers would defeat the No. 12 Badgers.
Mike Reilly scored his sixth goal of the season – most among Big Ten defensemen – at 9:23 of the first period to knot the game before Ambroz tallied the eventual game winner at 13:14 with assists fromTom Serratore and Justin Holl, according to GopherSports.com.
Wilcox improved to 9-2-1 on the season with the 24-save performance while Landon Peterson fell to 2-4-1 after making 41 saves for the Badgers.
This weekend marks the inaugural season of Big 10 hockey, with a slew of games between schools that have been rivals for years, just in other sports.
The border battle continues Saturday at Mariucci at 5:10 p.m.
