DULUTH — Minnesota Duluth forward Ben Steeves' low shot to Gophers' goaltender Justen Close's right side evened the score early in the third period — thwarting the Gophers' shot at a sweep of the rival team they haven't seen since the fall of 2021.
Gophers men's hockey ties in series finale with Minnesota Duluth
The Gophers and Bulldogs tied 3-3 in the nonconference game at Amsoil Arena, with UMD winning the exhibition shootout.
November 5, 2023 at 4:06AM
No. 6 Minnesota and No. 14 UMD tied 3-3 after a scoreless 5-minute overtime in the nonconference matchup in front of 7,345 at Amsoil Arena — but bragging rights went to the Bulldogs, who won the shootout 2-0 on Saturday.
The game officially goes down in the record book as a tie.
The Gophers (4-3) came into the series with a low-scoring, three-game losing streak — but put it all together on 5-1 Friday night in front of one of its biggest crowds at 3M Arena at Mariucci. The Bulldogs were undefeated to start the season, until they were swept by Cornell at the end of October, the start of a losing streak that ended with the tie.
The difference between Friday and Saturday, according to Gophers' coach Bob Motzko, was the Bulldogs.
"They had a little orneriness tonight," he said. "You know they had some bite, but we handled it, but it was a much harder-fought game."
Motzko said he liked everything the Gophers did in the game, except for a few unnecessary penalties. UMD twice took advantage with power play goals — one by Cole Spicer in the second period and the final one by Steeves. UMD started overtime with a player advantage, but was unable to capitalize; then the Bulldogs' were a player short, and the Gophers struggled to get the puck past UMD goaltender Matthew Thiessen.
"We're still not where we need to be," said Bulldogs' coach Scott Sandelin, then added: "Good in shootouts, so hopefully that keeps going."
UMD sophomore Jack Smith went in alone on Close, who gave up the rebound. Smith caught it and sneaked it through on the goalie's left side — his first goal for the Bulldogs giving UMD a 1-0 edge midway through the first period.
The Bulldogs maintained the lead into the second period, when Minnesota's Jimmy Snuggerud tied the game.
Two quick goals gave the Gophers' an edge. Minnesota's Aaron Huglen sent the puck bouncing off the inside of the pipe with less than 5 minutes left in the second period, then Jaxon Nelson added another just 23 seconds later to give the Gophers a 3-2 advantage going into the third period.
The Bulldogs' added their own tribute to the many honoring Adam Johnson, a two-year, big-impact player who died last weekend after he took a skate blade to the neck during an Elite Ice Hockey League game in England with his Nottingham Panthers. UMD played a video tribute on the scoreboard — including Johnson's key goals, celebrations, and photographs of him midstride. His portrait was on the big screen during a seven-second moment of silence for the Hibbing native who wore the No. 7 jersey when he played for the Bulldogs from 2015 to '17.
There is a celebration for life planned for Johnson on Monday evening in Hibbing.
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