MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The University of Notre Dame hockey team earned the weekend split at No. 3/3 Minnesota Saturday with a thrilling overtime victory.
A dominant overtime, which saw the Irish hold possession of the puck for its entirety, went in favor of the visitors as Owen Say picked up 30 saves in the Notre Dame net en route to the victory.
Minnesota tried to replicate a Notre Dame shot from a night prior just 61 seconds into the game. Nearly identical to the first goal of Friday’s contest, Minnesota thought they could push the puck over the goal line after a shot was saved and trickled behind Owen Say in goal before stopping on the edge of the paint. The junior netminder however sealed the post and closed off the Gophers second attempt to keep the game scoreless early in the first.
For the second consecutive night, the Irish opened the scoring after a deflection by Ian Murphy in front of the net found twine at 7:43 of the first frame.
The Golden Gophers tied it up after a rush up ice with 7:27 to play in the opening period. The shot beat Say five-hole as he slid from post-to-post awaiting the play by the Minnesota winger.
With under a minute to play in the first frame, Say froze the puck off a Minnesota shot and set up one last chance for the Irish to race up ice. With under a second on the clock Blake Biondi fired a shot towards the opposing net that went just wide as the horn blew to signal the end of the first period with the score knotted, 1-1.
The Irish came out fast in the second period with Carter Slaggert finding the back of the net just over two minutes into the stanza to make it a 2-1 game.
The Gophers responded after a turnover in their end resulted in a foot race the opposite way shortly after the Slaggert goal to even the score 2-2.
Just under seven minutes into the second period, Minnesota was called for the first penalty of the evening and the Irish powerplay unit took to the ice. Despite a series of chances from the Irish on the special teams advantage, they were unable to convert and play resumed at five-on-five with the score still tied.
Murphy added to his night after sending a puck into the offensive zone from the near wall where Brennan Ali made a sweeping play of the puck to chip it past the Gopher defenseman to Knuble racing in on goal. The sophomore buried his shot five-hole to give the Irish their third lead of the night.
The Gophers were whistled for their second infraction of the night after Hunter Strand got tripped up along the halfwall in the Irish end late in the second stanza but an entanglement less than a minute later evened out the ice sheet as the Irish were sent to the box for holding the stick. Neither team could capitalize on their shortened powerplay and the Irish carried the one-goal lead into the third period.
Minnesota capitalized on a long shift by the Irish to make it a 3-3 game with 12:46 left in regulation. Less than a minute later the Irish were called for a slash in the defensive zone and would face their second penalty kill of the night.
The Irish were successful on the kill to keep it a tied game halfway through the period as the teams regrouped at the media break with just under 10 minutes to play.
A failed challenge by the Gophers and an Irish timeout to make a change following icing left neither team with a timeout as time wound down in the third.
Notre Dame had one last rush of the ice with under 30 seconds left after Danny Nelson won the draw just outside the offensive zone but the visitors couldn’t break the Minnesota netminder later and overtime loomed in Minneapolis.
The Irish started the extra session strong with Danny Nelson taking the draw and fending off his Minnesota opponent to give the Irish possession from the beginning. Notre Dame held the puck for the entire 3:46 of overtime before burying the game-winner with 1:14 to go in the extra frame when Blake Biondi ripped a shot over Souliere’s blocker for the game-winning tally.
GOALS
- The Nelson brothers skated along the blue line after Danny held the puck in the offensive zone. The younger Nelson then found Henry at the point who fired a shot towards the traffic in front of the net where Ian Murphy deflected it past Liam Souliere in the Minnesota net.
- Carter Slaggert gave the Irish a 2-1 lead at 2:25 of the second period after firing a pass from Hunter Strand short side into the back of the net. Jimmy Jurcev also picked up an assist on the goal to extend his point streak to three games.
- Cole Knuble net his ninth goal of the season off a tipped pass from Brennan Ali in the neutral zone opened the sophomore pair up for an odd-man rush halfway through the second period. Ian Murphy tallied the second assist on the play, intitially chipping the puck through the neutral zone.
- Knuble tallied the primary assist on the final goal of the night as his pass over the stick of the Gophers’ defender found Biondi uncovered at the bottom of the circle for a one-timer over the blocker of Souliere in the Minnesota net. Biondi warded off a Minnesota skater still in the offensive end as Axel Kumlin gathered the puck to keep play onside during the three-on-three session. Kumlin then fed Knuble the puck who skated across the zone before passing it to an open Biondi who buried his chance.
KEY STATS
- With his goal in the second period, Cole Knuble extended his point streak to four games and now boasts two goals and five assists in the last two weekends.
- Recording an assist on the team’s second goal of the night, Jimmy Jurcev boasts three points in his last three games played for a career-long point-streak.
- The former Mr. Hockey Minnesota, Blake Biondi registered his first game-winning goal with the Irish when his overtime shot beat the Minnesota netminder stick side for the 4-3 final.
- Owen Say registered 30 saves between the pipes Saturday as he backstopped the Irish to the 4-3 overtime win against the third-ranked Golden Gophers.
- With the second assist on the game-winner Saturday, Axel Kumlin extended his point streak to four games; a career best with the Irish.
- The overtime winner was Notre Dame’s second conference overtime win of the season, having previously topped Wisconsin in the extra session to open the Big Ten slate.
- Biondi’s five shots on goal Saturday led the team while fellow Minnesotan Henry Nelson’s five blocked shots was a game best between both squads.
- Defensive pair Nelson and Kumlin led the Irish with a plus-two on-ice rating in Saturday’s win.
UP NEXT
The Irish are back home next weekend to close out January with a series against Lindenwood University. The two-game series will be the first meetings in program history between the two squads.