Gophers open season with 7-1 rout of Air Force

Connor Kurth netted a hat trick as the fifth-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers men's hockey team opened the season with a 7-1 win over Air Force at the Ice Breaker Tournament in Las Vegas on Friday night.

Kurth didn't make Gopher fans wait long for the first goal of the season, scoring on assists by Jimmy Clark and Matthew Wood 1:47 into the game. The Gophers took the 1-0 lead into the first intermission before Kurth doubled their advantage with a goal from Mike Koster at 6:23 of the second period.

Ryan Chesley scored his first of two goals on the night from Jimmy Snuggerud and Oliver Moore at 7:39 of the second period before Sam Rinzel scored on an assist from Wood to put the Gophers up 4-0 at 9:31 of the second period.

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Owen Dubois cut into the lead on a power play goal from Nolan Cunningham and Will Staring at 14:46 of the second period but it would be the lone blemish for Gopher goaltender Nathan Airey, who made 21 saves to get the win.

The Gophers offense continued to roll from there with Beckett Hendrickson scoring from Brody Lamb and Aaron Huglen at 18:14 to cap a four-goal second period.

Kurth completed the hat trick on a goal from Wood and Clark two minutes into the third period and finished the game with an assist on Chesley's second goal of the game 29 seconds later to cap the scoring.

After earning their first win of the season, Minnesota will face Omaha in the championship of the 2024 Ice Breaker Tournament at 9:30 p.m. CT  on Saturday in Las Vegas.