IRISH BOUNCE BACK, STUN NO. 3 GOPHERS 4-3 WITH OVERTIME DOMINANCE

By JOHN FINERAN

A night after being dominated in the first period by No. 3 Minnesota on its home ice in Minneapolis, the visiting Notre Dame hockey team returned the favor what it mattered the most Saturday – in the five-minute overtime.

Except for the first five seconds and ever so briefly a few minutes later, the Fighting Irish would control the puck against the talented Gophers in the extra session. Finally, graduate right wing Blake Biondi, a former Mr. Minnesota Hockey at Hermantown High School near Duluth, beat Gophers goalie Liam Souliere for the game-winner at 3:46 that lifted coach Jeff Jackson’s Irish to a 4-3 overtime victory that silenced the 10,346 fans watching in 3M Arena at Mariucci.

Saturday’s win, which lifted the sixth-place Irish to 3-12-1 and 11 points in the Big Ten and 8-15-1 overall, came less than 24 hours after coach Bob Motzko’s Golden Gophers had used a 24-shot barrage which produced five goals in the first period of a 5-2 embarrassing Irish defeat. And for the first five minutes Saturday night, after Jackson and his staff had refigured the Irish lines and defensive pairings in front of starting goaltender Owen Say, the Gophers looked to be duplicating matters with their 6-0 edge in shots on goal.

But Say, who Friday night relieved starter Nicholas Kempf at the start of second period and turned aside all 22 shots he faced, was a rock again Saturday night, holding the Gophers, the nation’s top goal-scoring team, at bay while his teammates eventually found their own stride. He finished with 30 saves in the game, one less than Souliere.

“We just need to learn to play on Friday nights,” Jackson texted after his team beat a ranked Big Ten Conference team for the second straight Saturday night. The two-point victory came seven days after the Irish knocked off then No. 9 Michigan 7-4 with their best offensive output of the season.

Like it did Friday night in the series opener, Notre Dame took a 1-0 lead Saturday. But unlike Friday when it surrendered those five goals, the Irish never trailed and eventually skated stride-for-stride and almost matched shot-by-shot the Gophers, who fell to 19-5-2 overall. Minnesota dropped into second place in the Big Ten with its 10-3-1 and 31 points, one behind No. 1 Michigan State, which regained first place with a 4-1 victory over No. 10 Michigan in East Lansing.

Graduate right wing Ian Murphy, who replaced captain Justin Janicke on Notre Dame’s first line with left wing Brennan Ali and center Danny Nelson, scored Saturday’s opening goal at 7:43 when he tipped home a blueline blast by sophomore defenseman Henry Nelson of nearby Maple Grove whose shot was set up by brother Danny. Minnesota’s Jimmy Snuggerud tied it at 12:33 when he scored his 15th goal of the season, but the period ended with Minnesota only enjoying a 14-11 edge on shots on goal.

Senior Hunter Strand, who had spent the last two games playing left wing, returned to center Saturday night and made a pretty pass over to sophomore right wing Carter Slaggert, who beat Souliere at 2:25 of the second period for a 2-1 Irish lead. But the Gophers tied it again at 5:30 when a careless pass by Knuble was intercepted by Minnesota’s Erik Pahlsson, who sent defenseman Luke Mittelstadt in for a breakaway goal at 5:30.

Knuble made up for that mistake when he and Ali skated in on a 2-on-1 break and Knuble’s wrister beat Souliere at 10:54 for the 3-2 lead the Irish took into the third period.

But Minnesota tied the game at 7:14 of the third period when Matthew Wood took a feed from Oliver Moore and beat Say. Things looked bleak 38 seconds later when Knuble took a slashing penalty. But the Irish never allowed Minnesota’s potent power play to direct a shot at Say, and the Irish goalie later denied Snuggerud with a right pad save at 18:13 of the period to keep the game tied.

Minnesota center Aaron Huglen won the opening draw In the overtime and managed a shot that Say easily handled. Notre Dame then calmly kept it away from the Gophers, much to the displeasure of the partisan crowd which booed the Irish 3-on-3 strategy.

Souliere made a pad save on Irish defenseman Paul Fischer at 2:56 and then denied Danny Nelson at 3:07 to get a stoppage of play. Jackson sent in Biondi and defenseman Axel Kumlin along with Knuble, who won the draw from John Mittelstadt. The Gophers would eventually get the puck away from the Irish, but Kumlin regained it from defenseman Ryan Chesley and quickly sent the puck to Knuble.

Biondi, who spent four seasons at Minnesota Duluth before transferring to Notre Dame after last season, found room 10 feet to Souliere’s right just above the goal line. Knuble quickly fed Biondi whose quick snap shot beat Souliere, a transfer himself from Penn State, to set off the Irish victory celebration.

Knuble and Murphy each finished with a goal and assist for the Irish, who aided Say’s effort in nets with 14 blocked shots, five by Henry Nelson.

Notre Dame takes a break from Big Ten action next weekend when it hosts independent Lindenwood (5-17-2) at the Lefty Smith Rink in the Compton Family Ice Arena. The Lions skated to a 1-1 tie (and lost the shootout 2-0) at Augustana Saturday night.

NOTRE DAME 4, MINNESOTA 3 (OT)

At 3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis, Minn.

Notre Dame  1          2          0          1—4

Minnesota     1          1          1          0—3

First Period—Scoring: 1. Notre Dame, Ian Murphy 3 (Henry Nelson, Danny Nelson) EV 7:43; 2. Minnesota, Jimmy Snuggerud 15 (Brodie Ziemer, Erik Pahlsson) EV 12:33. Penalties: Notre Dame 0-0, Minnesota 0-0.

Second Period—Scoring: 3. Notre Dame, Carter Slaggert 2 (Hunter Strand, Jimmy Jurcev) EV 2:25; 4. Minnesota, Luke Mittelstadt 1 (Erik Pahlsson) EV 5:30; 5. Notre Dame, Cole Knuble 9 (Brennan Ali, Ian Murphy) EV 10:54. Penalties: Notre Dame 1-2 (1-2), Minnesota 2-4 (2-4).

Third Period—Scoring: 6. Minnesota, Matthew Wood 9 (Oliver Moore, Connor Kurth) EV 7:14. Penalties: Notre Dame 1-2 (2-4), Minnesota 0-0 (2-4).

Overtime—Scoring: 8. Notre Dame, Blake Biondi 8 (Cole Knuble, Axel Kumlin) 3×3 EV 3:46. Penalties: Notre Dame 0-0 (2-4), Minnesota 0-0 (2-4).

Shots on goal: Notre Dame 31 (11-15-2-3), Minnesota 33 (14-9-9-1)

Goalie saves: Notre Dame, Owen Say 30 (13-8-8-1); Minnesota, Liam Souliere 27 (10-13-2-2).

Power-play opportunities: Notre Dame 0 of 2, Minnesota 0 of 2.

Faceoffs won: Notre Dame 30 (9-14-6-1), Minnesota 31 (6-12-12-1).

Blocked shots: Notre Dame 14 (1-5-8-0), Minnesota 10 (2-5-3-0).

Referees: Jonathon Sitarski and Nicholas Bet. Linesmen: Sam Shikowsky and Chad Roethlisberger. Attendance: 10,346 (10,257).

Records: Notre Dame 8-15-1, 3-12-1 Big Ten for 11 points; Minnesota 19-5-2, 10-3-1 Big Ten for 31 points.

BIG TEN STANDINGS, RESULTS AND SCHEDULE: (Numbers in parentheses before school are its standings in this week’s USCHO.com media poll, this week’s USA Hockey-The Rink Live coaches poll and current PairWise rating)

1. (1/1/2) Michigan State 10-2-2, 32 points (19-3-2 overall)
2. (3/3/3) Minnesota 10-3-1, 31 points (19-5-2 overall)
3. (8/8/10) Ohio State 8-4-0, 23 points (15-6-1 overall)
4. 4T. (10/10/12) Michigan 8-6-0, 20 points (14-9-1 overall)
5. 4T. (rv/rv/17) Wisconsin 5-9-0, 20 points (10-12-2 overall)
6. (nr/nr/38) Notre Dame 3-12-1, 11 points (8-15-1 overall)
7. (nr/nr/27) Penn State 1-9-2, 7 points (10-10-2 overall)

Friday, Jan. 17: Minnesota 5, Notre Dame 2; Michigan 3, Michigan State 2 (OT); Penn State 4, Canisius 0 (non-conference); Wisconsin 6, Long Island 3 (non-conference).

Saturday, Jan. 18: Notre Dame 4, Minnesota 3 (OT); Michigan State 4, Michigan 1; Penn State 3, Canisius 2 (non-conference); Long Island 2, Wisconsin 2 (OT) (Wisconsin wins shootout, 2-1) (non-conference).

Friday, Jan. 24: Lindenwood at Notre Dame, 7:05 p.m. (non-conference); Minnesota at Michigan State, 7 p.m.; Ohio State at Penn State, 7 p.m.; Michigan at Wisconsin, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 25: Lindenwood at Notre Dame, 6:05 p.m. (non-conference); Ohio State at Penn State, 5 p.m.; Minnesota at Michigan State, 6 p.m.; Michigan at Wisconsin, 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 30: Michigan State at Ohio State, 8 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 31: Penn State at Michigan, 7 p.m.; Michigan State at Ohio State, 7 p.m.; Wisconsin at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 1: Wisconsin at Minnesota, 6 p.m.; Penn State at Michigan, 8 p.m.

SCHEDULE FOR USCHO.com MEDIA POLL TEAMS AND OTHERS

1. Michigan State (Big Ten) (19-3-2) beat No. 10 Michigan 4-1 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 vs. Minnesota.
2. Boston College (Hockey East) (16-4-1) beat No. 6 Providence 4-1 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24 at Boston University; Jan. 25 vs. Boston University.
3. Minnesota (Big Ten) (19-5-2) lost to Notre Dame 4-3 (OT) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 at Michigan State.
4. Western Michigan (NCHC) (15-4-1) beat No. 14 North Dakota 5-1 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 vs. Miami.
5. Maine (Hockey East) (15-5-3) tied No. 17 Connecticut 2-2 (OT) (Maine won shootout 1-0) Saturday. Next: Friday, Jan. 31 vs. Northeastern; Sunday, Feb. 2 vs. Massachusetts.
6. Providence (Hockey East) (15-5-2) lost to No. 2 Boston College 4-1 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24 at UMass Lowell; Jan. 25 vs. UMass Lowell.
7. Denver (NCHC) (17-5-0) was idle Next: Jan. 24-25 at Minnesota Duluth.
8. Ohio State (Big Ten) (15-6-1) was idle. Next: Jan. 24-25 at Penn State.
9. UMass Lowell (Hockey East) (12-7-2) lost to Stonehill 3-2 (OT) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24 vs. Providence; Jan. 25 at Providence.
10. Michigan (Big Ten) (14-9-1) lost at No. 1 Michigan State 4-1 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 at Wisconsin.
11. Boston University (Hockey East) (13-7-1) beat No. 19 New Hampshire 2-1 (OT) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24 vs. Boston College; Jan. 25 at Boston College.
12. Minnesota State (CCHA) (16-6-2) lost to Michigan Tech 1-0 (OT) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 at Ferris State.
13. Arizona State (NCHC) (13-8-1) beat No. 15 St. Cloud State 5-3 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 vs. Colorado College.
14. North Dakota (NCHC) (12-10-1) lost to No. 4 Western Michigan 5-1 Saturday. Next: Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at St. Cloud State.
15. St. Cloud State (NCHC) (11-11-0) lost to No. 13 Arizona State 5-3 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 at Omaha.
16. Quinnipiac (ECAC) (14-7-2) tied Cornell 2-2 (OT) (Cornell won shootout 2-1) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24 vs. Connecticut in Connecticut Ice Tournament at Fairfield, Conn. (Martire Family Arena); Jan. 25 vs. Sacred Heart or Yale in Connecticut Ice Tournament championship/consolation.
17. Connecticut (Hockey East) (12-8-2) tied No. 5 Maine 2-2 (OT) (Maine won shootout 1-0) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24 vs. Quinnipiac in Connecticut Ice Tournament at Fairfield, Conn. (Martire Family Arena); Jan. 25 vs. Sacred Heart or Yale in Connecticut Ice Tournament championship/consolation.
18. Colorado College (NCHC) (11-10-1) lost to Minnesota Duluth 4-1 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 at Arizona State.
19. New Hampshire (Hockey East) (10-8-3) lost at No. 11 Boston University 2-1 (OT) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 vs. Vermont.
20. Clarkson (ECAC) (13-7-2) lost at Brown 4-2 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24 at St. Lawrence; Jan. 25 at Clarkson.

Also receiving votes

Augustana (CCHA) (13-7-2) tied Lindenwood 1-1 (OT) (Augustana won shootout 2-0) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 at Bowling Green.

Cornell (ECAC) (7-5-5) tied No. 16 Quinnipiac 2-2 (OT) (Cornell won shootout 2-1) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24 vs. Harvard; Jan. 25 vs. Dartmouth.

Massachusetts (Hockey East) (11-10-2) beat Merrimack 5-2 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 vs. Alaska

Wisconsin (Big Ten) (10-12-2) tied Long Island 2-2 (OT) (Wisconsin won shootout 2-1) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 vs. Michigan.

Sacred Heart (Atlantic Hockey) (14-8-4) beat American International 6-3 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24 vs. Yale in Connecticut Ice Tournament at Fairfield, Conn. (Martire Family Arena); Jan. 25 vs. Connecticut or Quinnipiac in Connecticut Ice Tournament consolation/championship.

Bentley (Atlantic Hockey) (12-10-2) lost to Holy Cross 5-1 Saturday. Next: Tuesday at American International; Jan. 25-26 at Princeton.

Michigan Tech (CCHA) (13-9-2) beat No. 12 Minnesota State 1-0 (OT) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24 vs. Northern Michigan; Jan. 25 at Northern Michigan.

Dartmouth (ECAC) (10-6-2) beat Rensselaer 5-3 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24 at Colgate; Jan. 25 at Cornell.

Northeastern (Hockey East) (9-10-3) beat Vermont 3-2 Saturday. Next: Jan. 25 vs. Merrimack.

Bowling Green (CCHA) (12-8-3) lost at Ferris State 4-3 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 vs. Augustana.

Niagara (Atlantic Hockey) (12-10-3) beat Mercyhurst 6-3 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 at RIT.

Omaha (NCHC) (12-10-0) beat Miami 3-1 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 vs. St. Cloud State.

Others to watch

Notre Dame (Big Ten) (8-15-1) beat No. 3 Minnesota 4-3 (OT) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 vs. Lindenwood.

Penn State (Big Ten) (10-10-2) beat Canisius 3-2 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 vs. Ohio State.

Vermont (Hockey East) (8-12-3) lost to Northeastern 3-2 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 at New Hampshire.

Merrimack (Hockey East) (9-12-1) lost at Massachusetts 5-2 Saturday. Next: Tuesday vs. Brown; Jan. 25 at Northeastern.

Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) (9-12-1) beat No. 18 Colorado College 4-1 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 vs. Denver.

Bemidji State (CCHA) (8-12-4) lost to Northern Michigan 3-1 Saturday. Next: Jan. 25-26 at St. Thomas.

Lake Superior State (CCHA) (9-13-2) tied St. Thomas 3-3 (OT) (St. Thomas won shootout 3-1) Saturday. Next: Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at Augustana.

St. Thomas (CCHA) (9-10-5) tied Lake Superior State 3-3 (OT) (St. Thomas won shootout 3-1) Saturday. Next: Jan. 25-26 at St. Thomas.

Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) (11-11-2) beat Bentley 5-1 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 at Air Force.

Robert Morris (Atlantic Hockey) (9-11-3) lost to RIT 3-2 Saturday. Next: Tuesday vs. Canisius; Jan. 24-25 vs. Army.

Air Force (Atlantic Hockey) (11-14-1) lost at Army 4-3 (OT) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 vs. Holy Cross.

Harvard (ECAC) (6-9-2) lost at Union 4-1 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24 at Cornell; Jan. 25 at Colgate.

Princeton (ECAC) (6-10-1) lost to Colgate 6-4 Saturday. Next: Jan. 25-26 vs. Bentley.

Colgate (ECAC) (11-8-2) beat Princeton 6-4 Saturday. Next: Jan. 24 vs. Dartmouth; Jan. 25 vs. Harvard.

Union (ECAC) (13-9-1) beat Harvard 4-1 Saturday. Next: Jan. 25 vs. Rensselaer.

Rensselaer (ECAC) (9-12-2) lost to Dartmouth 5-3 Saturday. Next: Jan. 25 at Union.

Brown (ECAC) (6-9-2) beat No. 20 Clarkson 4-2 Saturday. Next: Tuesday at Merrimack; Sunday, Jan. 26 vs. Stonehill.

Long Island (Independent) (12-10-2) tied Wisconsin 2-2 (OT) (Wisconsin won shootout 2-1) Saturday. Next: Jan. 31-Feb. 1 vs. Stonehill.

Lindenwood (Independent) (5-17-2) tied Augustana 1-1 (OT) (Augustana won shootout 2-0) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 at Notre Dame.

Stonehill (Independent) (8-19-0) beat No. 9 UMass Lowell 3-2 (OT) Saturday. Next: Sunday, Jan. 26 at Brown.

Alaska (Independent) (7-9-5) tied Alaska-Anchorage 3-3 (OT) (Alaska Anchorage won shootout 2-1) Saturday. Next: Jan. 24-25 at Massachusetts.

Alaska Anchorage (Independent) (5-17-4) tied Alaska 3-3 (OT) (Alaska Anchorage won shootout 2-1) Saturday. Next: Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at Alaska.