‘U’ Closes Out Big Ten Slate with 2-1 Win
MINNEAPOLIS – The Gopher Hockey program closed out the Big Ten regular-season schedule with a 2-1 victory over No. 16 Notre Dame on Saturday at 3M Arena at Mariucci as Minnesota locked up a winning record in conference play for the fifth time in six years of Big Ten play.
Minnesota (14-15-4 overall, 11-10-3-0 Big Ten) found goals from Tyler Nanne and Scott Reedy while Mat Robson made 26 saves to pick up the victory in goal for the Maroon & Gold.
Nanne put the Gophers up early with a first period goal at 8:53 when he was left all alone at the top of the slot and scored his fourth goal of the year. Rem Pitlick and Brent Gates Jr. found the junior defenseman out in front. Nanne and Gates both tied their single-season career highs for points on the play as Nanne picked up his 10th point of the season and Gates picked up his 26th. Pitlick, who saw his career-long 13-game point streak come to an end on Friday, bounced back with his team-leading 38th point of the year and has still not been held without a point in back-to-back games this season.
Notre Dame (17-12-3, 10-10-2-2) evened things up 4:50 into the second period with a goal from Alex Steeves – the only blemish on Robson’s night.
The Gophers answered back minutes later with the eventual game-winning goal off the stick of Reedy, who has now picked up goals in three of the last four games. The sophomore forward picked up his sixth goal of the season at 9:28 of the second period off assists from Garrett Wait and Ryan Zuhlsdorf.
Robson moved to 11-11-4 on the year with the win, making 26 saves on 27 shots. Cale Morris took the loss for Notre Dame, making 15 saves on 17 shots to move to 13-11-3.
Minnesota closes out the regular season next weekend with a nonconference series against Arizona State (March 1-2) at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. CT on FOX Sports North. Tickets are available at GopherSports.com.
Notes: The Gophers were outshot 17-27 in the win…the Maroon & Gold improved to 3-1-0 this season against Notre Dame…Minnesota is 2-0-0 when Wait records a point…Minnesota’s penalty kill units were 1-for-1 in the win while the power play did not have an opportunity in the series finale (tonight’s game was the second time this season without an advantage for the Gophers after a 5-1 win at Notre Dame on Jan. 11).