Three Minnesota third period goals, including an empty netter, helped it post a 4-1 win as the Irish and Golden Gophers split their weekend series at the Compton Family Ice Arena (5,022). After Notre Dame came out and pressured Minnesota goaltender Eric Schierhorn for the first few shifts of the third period, Michael Brodzinski scored what proved to be the game winner for Minnesota at the 6:08 mark.
“We had a couple good chances, their goalie made some good saves,” said Thomas DiPauli, who netted Notre Dame's lone goal in the second period to tie the game at 1-1. “We didn’t generate enough scoring chances like last night though because we didn’t do a good job breaking out of our zone.”
Justin Kloos added an insurance goal at 11:48 and Connor Reilly scored an empty net goal as time expired for the 4-1 final.
“We had some energy to start the third but we were flat before that so it’s up to us to figure that out,” head Coach Jeff Jackson said. “If it becomes habit that’s a problem but that’s the first time I thought we were a little flat all season.”
Cal Petersen made a few big saves throughout the evening, including a glove stop on Vinni Lettieri just over five minutes into the game and a diving save on Tommy Novak with three minutes to play in the third. He finished with 22 saves on the night. In the Minnesota net, Schierhorn finished with 28 saves.
“We just have to get back to work Monday, I thought we missed the net a lot so we have to find a way to get pucks through to the net,” Jackson said.
“We didn’t do a good enough job getting bodies to the net,” DiPauli added. “It’s a teaching point, you can’t take a single shift off against a good team or they will make you pay one way or another so maybe it’s a wakeup call not to get too comfortable.”
Notre Dame (4-2-2, 2-0-0) finished 0-for-2 on the power play, while the Golden Gophers (3-4-0, 0-0-0) also went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
Notre Dame has a quick turnaround this week as it gets set to host Northeastern in a two-game Hockey East series beginning on Thursday, Nov. 12 and concluding on Friday, Nov. 13. Both games will begin at 7:35 p.m., while the American Sports Network will televise Thursday’s contest.
“We had a couple good chances, their goalie made some good saves,” said Thomas DiPauli, who netted Notre Dame's lone goal in the second period to tie the game at 1-1. “We didn’t generate enough scoring chances like last night though because we didn’t do a good job breaking out of our zone.”
Justin Kloos added an insurance goal at 11:48 and Connor Reilly scored an empty net goal as time expired for the 4-1 final.
“We had some energy to start the third but we were flat before that so it’s up to us to figure that out,” head Coach Jeff Jackson said. “If it becomes habit that’s a problem but that’s the first time I thought we were a little flat all season.”
Cal Petersen made a few big saves throughout the evening, including a glove stop on Vinni Lettieri just over five minutes into the game and a diving save on Tommy Novak with three minutes to play in the third. He finished with 22 saves on the night. In the Minnesota net, Schierhorn finished with 28 saves.
“We just have to get back to work Monday, I thought we missed the net a lot so we have to find a way to get pucks through to the net,” Jackson said.
“We didn’t do a good enough job getting bodies to the net,” DiPauli added. “It’s a teaching point, you can’t take a single shift off against a good team or they will make you pay one way or another so maybe it’s a wakeup call not to get too comfortable.”
Notre Dame (4-2-2, 2-0-0) finished 0-for-2 on the power play, while the Golden Gophers (3-4-0, 0-0-0) also went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
Notre Dame has a quick turnaround this week as it gets set to host Northeastern in a two-game Hockey East series beginning on Thursday, Nov. 12 and concluding on Friday, Nov. 13. Both games will begin at 7:35 p.m., while the American Sports Network will televise Thursday’s contest.
