Gophers headed for North Star College Cup third-place game after 3-2 loss to Minnesota Duluth

By the end of the second period Friday, Brent Gates was losing patience. The sixth-ranked Gophers had taken a quick lead over No. 2 Minnesota Duluth, then fumbled it away after some critical mistakes and ill-advised penalties.

Despite those lapses, the Gophers trailed by only one goal heading into the third period at the North Star College Cup — prompting a serious talk among Gates and his teammates during the intermission. "We came in the locker room and said, 'Enough is enough,' " the sophomore forward said. "Basically, it's just a mind-set. We can play with teams like that. It was just putting our foot down and deciding we were going to go out there and take it to them."

That set the stage for a third period that left the Gophers feeling good about themselves despite a 3-2 loss. UMD (16-5-4) scored three consecutive goals — one in each period — to run its win streak against the Gophers to seven games and earn a place in Saturday's championship game. But the Gophers (14-7-2) battered the Bulldogs in the third, outshooting them 22-2 to ramp up the tension at Xcel Energy Center.

UMD's superb freshman goaltender, Hunter Miska, withstood the onslaught to give the Bulldogs their fourth victory in a row. They will play St. Cloud State, a 2-1 winner over Bemidji State in Friday's first game, for the title as the North Star College Cup ends a four-year run.

The Gophers will face the Beavers in the third-place game. Though they won't have a chance to play for the trophy, coach Don Lucia saw more to laud than to lament.

"I liked the way we played," Lucia said. "We had 39 shots. We had a great push in the third period against a really good team, a veteran team.

"I felt good about how we came out and competed. I'm really disappointed we didn't win, but we did a lot of good things to give ourselves a chance."

The loss was the second in a row for the Gophers following a seven-game win streak. Gates scored both of their goals, both on power plays, and the Gophers outshot UMD 39-29.

Gates scored the first goal of an evenly played first period, beating Miska from the slot at 5 minutes, 5 seconds. The first Gophers gaffe helped the Bulldogs tie it just before intermission. A too-timid clearing attempt was intercepted along the boards by UMD's Riley Tufte, who carried the puck into the right circle and beat goalie Eric Schierhorn with 1:09 left.

UMD took charge in the second, controlling the play for long stretches and putting heavy pressure on the Gophers defense. The Bulldogs outshot the Gophers 15-5 in the period, holding them to two shots on goal in the final 15:04 and gaining the lead with the help of another Gophers miscue. Two penalties in a span of 18 seconds gave UMD a long five-on-three advantage, leading to Alex Iafallo's power-play goal at 6:48.

The Gophers got an extended stretch on the power play early in the third but could not score. The Bulldogs' Avery Peterson used another mistake to push the lead to 3-1, scoring a breakaway goal off a Gophers turnover. But UMD got only one other shot on goal the entire period.

"We knew [the Gophers] were going to make a push," UMD coach Scott Sandelin said. "But this group has been resilient all year, and they showed it again. We held the fort."

Gates' second goal came with 38.9 seconds remaining. Like Lucia, he saw plenty of positives despite the loss.

"What that showed is we can play with anyone," Gates said. "We played toe to toe with them. Now we have to build on it."