Gophers men's hockey blows lead again against St. Cloud State

The visiting Gophers, making their way up Interstate 94 to the Granite City, came into the second game of a home-and-home series with St. Cloud State carrying a chip on their shoulders.

A new night and location did not lead to the other change the Gophers sought. Saturday instead became the latest example in a pattern of failures against in-state opponents.

Despite 30 saves from Eric Schierhorn and a two-goal lead, the Gophers lost 3-2 to St. Cloud State and were swept for the weekend.

With seven minutes left, Huskies sophomore forward Mikey Eyssimont scored what proved to be the game-winning goal seconds after coming out of the penalty box. Before his goal the Gophers had most of a power play neutralized by a penalty that Gophers coach Don Lucia considered a tough call.

"We were a little choppy tonight coming out of our own end. That hurt us a little bit," Lucia said. "I thought the guys had a pretty good battle level throughout. It was a hard-fought game."

After losing Friday, when they gave up a three-goal lead, and Saturday, the Gophers are 1-14 in games against Minnesota schools dating to Nov. 14, 2014. The Gophers have lost six times over the past 12 months when the score has been tied or they held a lead in the third period.

"The last couple years we've had games slip away like this. Obviously it's not fun for us," senior Taylor Cammarata said about the streak. "There's nothing we can do now; just keep working and hopefully nothing like this ever happens again."

St. Cloud State (2-2-0) bounced back, peppering Schierhorn with 11 shots in the second period. Eventually Jack Poehling and Jacob Benson were able to get through and tie the score with goals 53 seconds apart in front of 5,222 fans at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

"That's one of [St. Cloud State's] strengths," Lucia said. "They're a really good transition team. You give teams odd-man rushes, and they're going to make us pay."

While the Gophers had several chances and a pair of power plays in the third, Zach Driscoll stood tall. The freshman goalie made 17 of his 29 saves during the final 20 minutes.

Still, the Gophers were able to take from the weekend that they can play with a top team. Cammarata said the team needs to continue to move forward when playing with a lead.

And then comes execution at the end.