At last, Gophers men's hockey earns regulation win over Buckeyes

The Minnesota Gophers men's hockey team had played three straight overtime games against Ohio State entering Saturday, winning all three.

Finally, the Gophers won in regulation, though not by a comfortable margin.

Hudson Fasching tallied three points and Connor Reilly and Leon Bristedt also scored for Minnesota, as it swept its season series against the Buckeyes with a 4-3 victory in Columbus, Ohio.

Vinni Lettieri added two assists for Minnesota (16-13-0 overall, 11-3-0-0 Big Ten), which was tied for the conference lead with Michigan entering the game. Eric Schierhorn saved 20 shots.

Fasching scored his first of the night at 10:18 of the first period on a Minnesota penalty kill. Reilly added to the scoring at 17:37 with his sixth of the year.

Fasching scored his second of the night and 18th of the season 14:40 into the second period. Bristedt scored minutes later to give Minnesota a 4-1 lead.

Ohio State (8-16-2, 3-7-2-1) scored twice in the third period but couldn't tie the game. On Friday, the Buckeyes tied the game at 4 with .1 seconds remaining.

Minnesota has a bye before hosting Michigan Feb. 25-26 at Mariucci Arena.