MADISON, Wis.- Senior captain Justin Kloos scored the overtime winner as the No. 7 Gopher Hockey program topped Wisconsin 4-3 at the Kohl Center on Friday for Minnesota's seventh-straight win.
Eight Gophers had points in the win including multi-point performances from Kloos, Mike Szmatula, Tyler Sheehy and Jack Sadek. Sheehy now leads the Big Ten with 30 points (tying his rookie point total) including a career-high 15 goals this season.
Minnesota has now won seven-straight wins and nine of the last 10 games. The winning streak ties Minnesota's longest since the 2006-07 season.
The Gophers (14-5-2 overall, 6-1-0-0 Big Ten) dominated the first period, jumping out to a two-goal lead after outshooting the Badgers 18-6 in the opening stanza. Leon Bristedt opened the night at 4:30 with his seventh of the year while Szmatula added his eighth at 11:42.
Wisconsin (10-8-1, 3-2-0-0 Big Ten) answered with two-straight goals in the second as Luke Kunin scored 53 seconds into the period and Matt Ustaski evened the contest at 17:02. The tie game didn't last long, however, with Sheehy answering the bell at 19:21 of the second period to send Minnesota into the intermission with a one-goal lead. Trent Frederick rallied the Badgers again in the third at 9:21.
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Kloos scored his 11th career game-winning goal when he found the net at 1:43 of the added session for his 10th goal of the season. Sheehy and Sadek set up the game-winning goal.
The Gophers penalty kill posted another unblemished performance, going 4-for-4 on the night. Minnesota has not allowed a power-play goal during its seven-game winning streak and has now successfully killed 27-straight penalties.
In goal, Eric Schierhorn made 29 saves to move to 14-5-2 on the season. The Gophers outshot Wisconsin 40-32 in the victory and is now 3-0-1 on the year when notching at least 40 shots on goal.
The Maroon & Gold continue the Big Ten campaign on Saturday with the series finale with the Badgers. As part of Hockey Day Minnesota 2017, Saturday's game is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT on FOX Sports North.
-- GopherSports.com
