The No. 14 University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team made the trip down to Minneapolis to play the first game of a home-and-home series versus the No. 6 University of Minnesota. 

UMN struck early and nearly kept UMD off the board, minus a late goal by junior Carter Loney. The Gophers were up by three just over a minute into the second half. 

Although the game ended nowhere near how the Bulldogs hoped, they impressed on the penalty kill. UMD didn't let UMN run away with the game in the later periods, killing off all four penalties they took.

At first the teams were trading rushes, but UMN got a free rebound with an open net under four minutes into the first period. The Bulldogs tried to follow up with a two-man rush and rebound of their own, but the puck deflected straight to a Gopher defenseman.

Quinn Olson fought off several Gophers along the boards and got the puck out of his own zone and gave the Bulldogs some offensive zone time. A UMN rush was met with a skillful defensive stick check and any shot attempt was negated. 

The Bulldogs got a power play opportunity just under halfway through the period and then again five minutes later. Despite the team's overwhelming success on the power play so far this season, they couldn't come up with an odd-man answer for UMN's early lead. 

UMD looked more confident with possession at the start of the second, but were deflated again by another Gopher goal. It took only one rush for them to find the back of the net again, making it 3-0.

The Bulldogs took all four of their penalties in the second and third period. They killed them all off with a combination of clears, blocks, and goaltender stops. However, their time on the kill negated a lot of potential offensive zone time. At the end of the first period, they had eight shots on goal. In the following two periods, they totaled seven.

While UMD had managed to slow the Gophers' roll, they still hadn't found the key offensively. The third was another challenge, but the Bulldogs started out killing 1:52 of a penalty. They couldn't convert on their third power play or a 3-on-1 rush. 

After nearly thirty minutes of play since their last goal, UMN broke through again. With four minutes left in the game, Loney scored his first of the season with a swift backhand move, finally getting UMD on the board. The Bulldogs gave it everything they had, but an empty net goal punctuated the Gophers 5-1 win.

UMD drops the puck against UMN again Saturday, Nov. 4 at 7:07 p.m. at AMSOIL Arena.