Gophers Hockey: Minnesota defeats Bemidji State 6-3 on the road

On a night that saw multiple upsets throughout college hockey, Bemidji State took a 1-0 lead against #3 Minnesota just 3:35 into the game when Danny Mattson scored on the power play  just after Michael Brodzinski (San Jose Sharks draft pick) got out of the box.

Unlike #1 Miami and #2 Wisconsin, who both lost Friday, that was as bad as it got for the Gophers.

Sixty-one seconds later Travis Boyd (Washington Capitals) shot a backhander past Beavers goalie Andrew Walsh to tie the game and Minnesota (3-0-0) never looked back. The Gophers went on to defeat Bemidji State (0-2-1) 6-3 on the road at the Sanford Center in the first of a two-game non-conference series.

The quick responses were the story of the night. The Beavers scored two power play goals on Adam Wilcox (Tampa Bay Lightning), who made 18 saves. On both of those, Minnesota came back to score within a minute.

Bemidji State was able to tie the game at 2 and get within 4-3 early in the third period, but could not get any closer. The Gophers, who out-shot BSU 37-21 Friday, scored 3 goals in the third period; including one by freshman Hudson Fasching (Los Angeles Kings) 44 seconds into the final frame.

Minnesota's resilience paid off with goals from its top 3 lines. In fact, six different players scored for the Gophers for the second straight Friday. Defenseman Ben Marshall (Detroit Red Wings) scored on the power play to make it 2-1 midway through the first period. He was joined by linemates Sam Warning in the second and Fasching's second goal of the season.

Friday was Warning's second 3 point night in three games this season. The junior forward currently leads the Big Ten with 7 points (3 G - 4 A) and his line, also featuring Fasching and Kyle Rau (Florida Panthers), continues to get scoring chances every time they are on the ice.

Nate Condon's (Colorado Avalanche) first goal of the season tapping in a Justin Kloos pass and Connor Reilly's first collegiate goal on an empty netter completed Minnesota's scoring.

Taylor Cammarata (New York Islanders) assisted on the final two goals for his first two collegiate points.

Besides Mattson, Cory Ward (who has scored 4 of his 11 career goals against the Gophers) and Radoslav Illo scored for Bemidji State.

It wasn't the best night defensively for Minnesota. Undisciplined play let the Beavers have 4 power plays in the first period, including two separate 5x3 advantages. Bemidji took advantage of the first one, but not the second. While the Gophers shut things down in the second period, Wilcox had to make a few difficult saves

Still, Minnesota's speed and offense carried the team on the small Sanford Center ice. That hasn't been the easiest task for the team in past years.

And on a night where normal was turned upside down, Minnesota still stood tall.

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Scoring:

First Period:

BEMIDJI STATE Danny Mattson (1) (Ruslan Pedan, Jeff Jubinville, 3:35 PP)

MINNESOTA Travis Boyd (1) (Connor Reilly, Jake Parenteau, 4:36)

MINNESOTA Ben Marshall (1) (Sam Warning, Justin Kloos, 10:45 PP)

Second Period

BEMIDJI STATE Cory Ward (2) (Mattson, 5:37)

MINNESOTA Sam Warning (3) (Hudson Fasching, Michael Brodzinski, 15:35)

Third Period:

MINNESOTA Hudson Fasching (2) (Kyle Rau, Warning, :44)

BEMIDJI STATE Radoslav Illo (1) (Matt Prapavessis, Brendan Harms, 3:34 PP)

MINNESOTA Nate Condon (1) (Kloos, Taylor Cammarata 4:26)

MINNESOTA Connor Reilly (1) (Cammarata, 18:10 ENG)

Shots:

Minnesota 15 - 8 - 14 -- 37

Bemidji State 6 - 8 - 7 -- 21

Minnesota and Bemidji State play tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on FSN+ and Lakeland Public Television (TPT MN in the Twin Cities).
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Nathan Wells is a college hockey columnist for SB Nation and College Hockey News. You can also follow him on Twitter -- Follow @gopherstate