Goalie provides shot in the arm for Gophers vs. UMD

Gophers coach Don Lucia said deciding between Kent Patterson and Alex Kangas to start in goal on Friday was a tough call.

He did not make the decision until the morning of the game, when he put Patterson's name on the board. Pretty good choice in hindsight.

Patterson, a 6-1 junior, made 37 saves -- two shy of his career high -- as the Gophers edged Minnesota Duluth 3-2 before an announced crowd of 9,805 at Mariucci Arena. It was easily the Gophers' most impressive victory of the season, especially after being swept at Minnesota State Mankato last weekend.

UMD (12-3-2, 9-3-1) arrived in first place in the WCHA and rated No. 2 in the national polls. The Bulldogs were averaging 3.94 goals per game and converting on 24.7 percent of their power plays -- that's second- and seventh-best, respectively, among Division I teams.

Patterson stonewalled UMD, except for two power-play goals. Among his biggest saves, he stopped Justin Fontaine with 40 seconds left from close range on the left side, sliding across the crease just in time.

"Patterson came up big for them," Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said. "He stopped a couple breakaways and made a big save on Fontaine.

"The Gophers played hard, but I was pleased with our third period."

"Obviously, they wanted to win, too," said Patterson, who improved his record to 7-2-1 and lowered his 2.66 goals-against average. "The Connollys [Jack and Mike] and Fontaine have great skills," he said, referring to the Bulldogs' top line, all of whom have 20-plus points.

Patterson said his teammates blocked a lot of shots, and got back on the defensive end to keep UMD from getting too many great chances. "They sold out the whole game," he said.

"Kent Patterson played pretty darn well," Lucia said, "and he has all season. The one game he didn't, against Michigan State, it turned out he had the flu. So we will give him a mulligan in that game."

Senior captain Jay Barriball gave the Gophers a 3-1 lead with his 10th goal of the season at 13:36 of the second period. The goal, his first in seven games, proved to be the game-winner.

Fourth-line players Nick Larson and Nico Sacchetti had the other goals for the Gophers.

Gophers defenseman Cade Fairchild appeared to suffer a shoulder injury in the first period and did not return.