The Gophers lines were all scrambled up on Friday, but this was still a tough loss to swallow.

Minnesota managed only 25 shots on net in three-plus periods, including 42 seconds of OT. And while Union, which won 3-2, got in deep at times, the Gophers rarely did.

Jacob Cepis and Jay Barriball looked good paired together on the same line. Cepis had one goal, hit a post and also had a grade A chance in front.

Barriball had three shots on goal. Defenseman Aaron Ness blocked five shots, Cade Fairchild four. Goalie Kent Patterson (27 saves) played well enough to win. And that's important because Alex Kangas has a mysterious injury that has lingered into a third week. He tweaked something in a practice Dec. 11 Go and is still out. Kangas was not in uniform Friday.

Doubt The Don was a happy camper after this loss. A tie would have been somewhat acceptable. A loss after leading 1-0 and 2-1 hurts, as Cepis said after the game.

But the good thing is, Cepis said, the Gophers play again on Saturday. They face Ferris State at 7 p.m.

Minnesota had one shot on net the first 10 minutes and was on its heels late in the third period before losing in overtime.

Hopefully, they can get to the net more. Force the opponent to trip and hold. That's how the Gophers scored their second goal on Friday. Jake Hansen drew a penalty rushing the net, Mike Hoeffel scored on a power play. One of two the Gophers had.

Gotta create more chaos.