Notre Dame Hockey: Irish Outdo Minnesota Golden Gophers 4-3 in OT

Irish goalie Owen Say recorded 30 saves

Game Summary (Irish 4, Gophers 3)

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish closed their series against the Minnesota Golden Gophers with a 4-3 OT victory Saturday in Minneapolis. This followed a series opener during which the Irish struggled to get up to speed in the first period and fell to Minnesota 5-2.

First Period

The Gophers went straight at the Irish net from the puck drop, and Irish netminder Owen Say chalked up six saves in less than five minutes. Notre Dame turned right around and nabbed the first point of the game with a goal from Ian Murphy. Minnesota’s Jimmy Snuggerud found the back of the net to tie it up little more than five minutes later. The two squads spent a total of zero minutes in the penalty box in the opening period and the Gophers outshot the Irish 14-11 in the first.

Second Period

Irish forward Carter Slaggert snapped the tie to bring it to 2-1, Irish, less than three minutes into the second, and Minnesota’s Luke Mittelstadt evened it back out with a second goal for the Gophers nearly three minutes after that. A hooking call on the home team’s Beckett Henderson provided the Irish the first power play goal opportunity of the night, but Notre Dame failed to capitalize.

Cole Knuble reclaimed the Irish lead near the middle of the period.

As the end of the second period approached, a penalty for each team came and went, and Minnesota goalie Liam Souliere denied a handful of Irish scoring opportunities. This time around, the Irish outshot the Gophers 15-9.

Third Period

As the final period in regulation neared its halfway point, Minnesota’s Matthew Wood scored to bring things to a 3-3 tie. A slashing call on Knuble followed, but the Minnesota power play did not snap the score.

OT

It was Notre Dame’s Blake Biondi who had the last word and scored a little more than a minute into OT to bring it to 4-3 Irish.

Scoring

Notre Dame: Ian Murphy at 12:17 in the 1st with assists from Henry Nelson and Danny Nelson

Minnesota: Jimmy Snuggerud at 07:27 in the 1st with assists Brodie Ziemer and Erik Pahlsson

Notre Dame: Carter Slaggert at 17:35 in the 2nd with assists from Hunter Strand and Jimmy Jurcev

Minnesota: Luke Mittelstadt at 14:30 in the 2nd with an assist from Erik Pahlsson

Notre Dame: Cole Knuble at 09:06 in the 2nd with assists from Brennan Ali and Ian Murphy

Minnesota: Matthew Wood at 12:46 in the 3rd with assists from Oliver Moore and Connor Kurth

Notre Dame: Blake Biondi at 01:14 in the 4th with assists from Cole Knuble and Axel Kumlin

Penalties

Minnesota: Beckett Hendrickson for hooking at 13:08 in the 2nd

Minnesota: Oliver Moore for tripping at 04:49 in the 2nd

Notre Dame: Justin Janicke for holding at 04:00 in the 2nd

Notre Dame: Cole Knuble for slashing at 12:08 in the 3rd

Goalies

Notre Dame: Owen Say, 30 saves

Minnesota: Liam Souliere, 28 saves

Moving Forward

The Irish will take on the Lindenwood University Lions at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24, in South Bend. Stream the game with Peacock.

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