Hot goalie gives U a chance, and Gophers turn it into a tie

DULUTH - Gophers goalie Kent Patterson prefers to face plenty of shots. Whenever the opposition is Minnesota Duluth that is never a problem.

Patterson made 40 saves, including five in overtime, as the Gophers and No. 4-ranked UMD played to a 2-2 tie Friday night at Amsoil Arena in front of an announced crowd of 6,764.

"That's been Kent all year; he gives us a chance every night," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. In two previous games against the Bulldogs (17-5-4, 12-4-3 WCHA), he stopped 41 and 37 shots.

"I always love being busy," said Patterson, a junior whose 2.55 goals-against average dropped a tad more. "It is a lot better than being bored in the nets when you are getting shots [only] every so often. [Shots] keep your mind going, keeps you in the game."

Patterson had to be sharp because UMD goalie Kenny Reiter, in his past two starts, had shut out Wisconsin 2-0 and Michigan Tech 5-0. He had 36 saves against the Gophers.

The U (11-10-4, 8-8-3) is 3-1-2 against teams ranked in the top 10. In mid-December at Mariucci Arena, the Gophers beat then-No. 2 UMD 3-2 in the series opener as Patterson made 41 saves and tied the Bulldogs 2-2 the second game with Patterson stopping 37 shots.

"The pace of the game definitely comes up [against UMD]," Patterson said. "We are both skilled teams. We are both fast teams. And, when we play each other, we want to be physical."

Senior defenseman Cade Fairchild, the only Gopher who grew up in Duluth, gave the visitors a 1-0 lead midway through the first period. His shot on a power play from the left point clanged off the crossbar.

The game's other three goals came in the second period. UMD's Justin Fontaine scored on a rush when Gophers senior Nico Sacchetti, back trying to help Patterson, fell near the net and kicked the puck in with his skate for a 1-1 tie at 5:46.

Barriball broke the tie three minutes later. After being thwarted on a breakaway, the Gophers captain took matters into his own hands on the same shift. He stole the puck, skated to the net and scored through the five-hole.

At 10:42, exactly 90 seconds later, it was tied once more at 2-2 on Mike Connolly's rebound goal. He needed three quick shots for his 14th goal.

"It came back to him, we didn't box him out," Lucia said. "He is a good player for a reason. It was on the right player's stick [for them.]"