The Minnesota men’s hockey team walked away with a shootout victory Friday night during a 2-2 tie at Notre Dame in a Big Ten Conference matchup from Compton Family Ice Arena. John Mittelstadt and Brodie Ziemer scored first-period goals before the home side scored twice in the third to force overtime.

The Golden Gophers (10-18-2 overall, 6-12-1 B1G, 22 points) let a two-goal lead slip away as the Fighting Irish (5-20-4 overall, 1-15-1 B1G, 6 points) battled back to force overtime. Ziemer and Javon Moore buried goals in the shootout and goaltender Luca Di Pasquo stopped 2-of-3 Notre Dame attempts to pick up the extra B1G point on the road.

An odd-man rush less than two minutes into the contest nearly gave the visitors a perfect start as Teddy Townsend pushed the attack for a one-timer by Jimmy Clark that rang off the right post. While that chance would not go, the Maroon and Gold were strong in its defensive zone and used blocks by Mason Moe and John Whipple to keep Notre Dame from an official shot until more than eight minutes had elapsed. Minnesota’s relentless forecheck paid off as Moore jumped off the bench to intercept an Irish pass and flipped the puck over to Mittelstadt. The senior buried the quick shot over the goalie’s outstretched glove for the 1-0 lead at the 8:51 mark.

The Gophers quickly doubled the advantage just 26 seconds later as Ziemer showed off his slick hands in front of the goal, slipping a shot past the Notre Dame goaltender, his former Team USA teammate at the IIHF World Junior Championship. Moore started the play again by forcing a turnover at the blue line before Brody Lamb threaded a perfect feed to the stick of Ziemer and the sophomore did the rest. After building the two-goal edge, a post-whistle penalty on the home side gave Minnesota its first power play with 6:40 remaining in the opening frame. The opportunity was erased and the Gophers carried the 2-0 margin into the locker room through 20 minutes.

The speed of Minnesota remained on full display opening the second stanza as Moore generated another rush towards goal that had to be kicked aside. The Irish fought back to test Di Pasquo, where the junior remained in control between the pipes. A generous man advantage for the home team gave Notre Dame its first power play in the middle of the frame and with time winding down on the 5-on-4, a brilliant, sliding pad save by Di Pasquo shut down the power play. Another penalty on the Gophers put the Irish right back to having an extra skater that was yet again negated.

The Maroon and Gold offense went back to work with sustained pressure in the Irish zone that tested the netminder. A third penalty was called on Minnesota in the period, this time with 2:29 showing on the clock, but thanks to timely saves by Di Pasquo and blocks from Cal Thomas and Luke Mittelstadt, the man advantage was killed off. The Gophers weathered a late push to maintain the two-goal margin at the end of the second period.

Just 46 seconds into the final frame, the Irish got life for the first time Friday, converting a centering pass after a failed clearance from Minnesota, making it 2-1. Three minutes later, the visitors earned their second crack at a power play and despite five shots on target, could not convert. Less than a minute later, a hit to the head of a Gopher resulted in another opportunity for a 5-on-4 that went unsuccessful.

Notre Dame pinned the Maroon and Gold inside its zone for an extended stretch, and the visitors needed a critical blocker save from Di Pasquo to relieve the pressure but could not stop the next wave. With 6:21 to play in regulation, the Irish scored the equalizer on a backdoor pass. It was a back-and-forth battle for the remainder of the period with neither side able to find the winning tally, in part to a quick poke check by Di Pasquo, and the contest went to overtime.

Both teams put two shots on target in the extra session that did not find the back of the net and for the second time this season, Minnesota headed to a shootout. After Tanner Ludtke’s opening shot hit the left post, both Ziemer and Moore went five-hole on the Irish netminder before Di Pasquo shut the door on the final attempt, sealing the shootout victory of a 2-2 tie.

For Related Stories: College Sports  Gophers  Gophers Men’s Hockey