University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, March 7
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
24-9-4
2
vs
3
Notre Dame
11-23-1
1
2
3
F
Notre Dame
2
1
0
3
Minnesota
1
0
1
2
Team Stats
NOT
MIN
Shots
24
32
PPG
0
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
3
2
Penalty Mins
6
4
Faceoffs Won
30
29
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
4
A
2
+/-
-1
Goals
1
Sh
6
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
1
A
1
Players Mentioned
Goaltender
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's HockeyDefense
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Kelly Lynn
Gophers Give Game One Away to Irish, 3-2
3/7/2025 10:30:00 PM | Men's Hockey
First game of best-of-three B1G Quarterfinals
MINNEAPOLIS - The third-ranked Minnesota men's hockey team gifted Notre Dame a pair of goals and could not recover during a 3-2 loss at home inside 3M Arena at Mariucci Friday night in game one of the Big Ten Conference Tournament Quarterfinals.
The Golden Gophers (24-9-4 overall) fell behind the Fighting Irish (11-23-1 overall) 2-0 in the first 15 minutes but twice were able to close the gap within a goal before suffering just their fifth regulation loss of the season. Matthew Wood and Sam Rinzel tallied Minnesota's goals, while Jimmy Snuggerud picked up a pair of assists, and the tournament's No. 2 seed needs to win Saturday to keep its tournament title hopes alive in the best-of-three series.
After the home side controlled play to start the postseason matchup, a dump-in from center ice fooled the goaltender and it was Notre Dame that took a 1-0 edge 90 seconds after the opening faceoff. Minnesota had to battle back and came inches away from tying the game as Snuggerud rang a shot off the crossbar from a sharp angle along the goal line six minutes into the contest. The Gophers continued to attack through the middle of the frame, generating dangerous chances from all four lines as they tried to pull even. Eventually, the Irish broke the pressure and were able to double their advantage with 4:53 left in the first period.
In the final two minutes of the opening frame, Notre Dame was whistled for having too many players on the ice and the Maroon and Gold capitalized. With 6.4 seconds showing on the clock, Wood tipped home a Rinzel shot from the point during the man advantage, making it a 2-1 game heading into the first intermission.
Two minutes into the second stanza, the Gophers turned the puck over behind their net, leading to an easy finish by the Irish. The visitors regained the two-goal cushion, 3-1, and chased Liam Souliere from the net, bringing in Nathan Airey. Minnesota went on to commit the same infraction as its opponent with six skaters on the ice at the 7:14 mark and gave Notre Dame a power play. The home side quickly erased the man advantage and was able to sustain a forecheck where Wood and Leo Gruba fired quality shots on target.
Minnesota moved to its second power play of the contest with 5:09 remaining in the middle frame, but the 5-on-4 only lasted a minute before it took a penalty of its own. After both teams returned to full strength, the Irish went right back to the penalty box in the last 1:42 of the second period. Notre Dame held a two-goal cushion through 40 completed minutes and 18 seconds of the Gophers' power play carried into the third period before it was wiped away.
It was a battle through a clogged neutral zone during the final frame before the Maroon and Gold was able to generate life, finding the back of the net at the 8:16 mark. Rinzel controlled a backhand pass from Mason Nevers before walking to the top of the slot. The Chanhassen, Minn., product wired a wrister over the netminder's shoulder to push the Gophers within a goal, 3-2. Backed by a renewed sense of urgency in a one-goal contest, Minnesota picked up its attack but could not find the equalizer and dropped game one to the visiting Irish.
Airey played the final 37 minutes Friday and stopped all 13 shots he faced as he took to the ice for the first time in more than a month.
Noteworthy
Rinzel picked up his 19th helper this year to go with his 10th goal, pushing his point total to 29, while six of the points have come against the Irish, including three goals ... It marked the eighth time this season the sophomore has tallied multiple points in a contest ... Snuggerud stretched his point streak to four games, reaching 47 for the year, and has a point in five of the past six outings after his 24th and 25th assists ... The junior now has 10 points in five games versus Notre Dame this season with at least one point in all five meetings and moved to 45th in program history with 131 career points ... Wood collected his 15th goal of the campaign, second on the man advantage, and has put away six goals over his last eight outings to reach 36 total points ... For the third-straight outing, Nevers found his way onto the scoresheet, registering his ninth point this season behind his third assist ... Souliere suffered his first loss in regulation since Dec. 14, a span of 15 outings ... Minnesota has allowed the Irish to score the opening goal in all five meetings this season ... The Maroon and Gold went 1-for-3 on the power play Friday and have scored a man-advantage goal in four-consecutive appearances and five of the last six games overall ... The Gophers had won five-straight quarterfinal games in the B1G Tournament and seven of their previous eight entering Friday's matchup.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"The only thing I am critical of is that we missed the net tonight and in critical situations where we can't do that," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We put ourselves in a position to tie the game many times. You hate the outcome, but the Gophers were pretty good tonight."
Next Up: Home vs. Notre Dame (B1G Tournament Quarterfinals - March 8)
Minnesota needs a win in game two Saturday at 7 p.m. to force a winner-take-all game three when it takes the ice against Notre Dame in the postseason presented by Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union. Fans can tune into the action live on FOX9 and streaming on B1G+, while an audio broadcast can be heard via the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
The Golden Gophers (24-9-4 overall) fell behind the Fighting Irish (11-23-1 overall) 2-0 in the first 15 minutes but twice were able to close the gap within a goal before suffering just their fifth regulation loss of the season. Matthew Wood and Sam Rinzel tallied Minnesota's goals, while Jimmy Snuggerud picked up a pair of assists, and the tournament's No. 2 seed needs to win Saturday to keep its tournament title hopes alive in the best-of-three series.
After the home side controlled play to start the postseason matchup, a dump-in from center ice fooled the goaltender and it was Notre Dame that took a 1-0 edge 90 seconds after the opening faceoff. Minnesota had to battle back and came inches away from tying the game as Snuggerud rang a shot off the crossbar from a sharp angle along the goal line six minutes into the contest. The Gophers continued to attack through the middle of the frame, generating dangerous chances from all four lines as they tried to pull even. Eventually, the Irish broke the pressure and were able to double their advantage with 4:53 left in the first period.
In the final two minutes of the opening frame, Notre Dame was whistled for having too many players on the ice and the Maroon and Gold capitalized. With 6.4 seconds showing on the clock, Wood tipped home a Rinzel shot from the point during the man advantage, making it a 2-1 game heading into the first intermission.
Two minutes into the second stanza, the Gophers turned the puck over behind their net, leading to an easy finish by the Irish. The visitors regained the two-goal cushion, 3-1, and chased Liam Souliere from the net, bringing in Nathan Airey. Minnesota went on to commit the same infraction as its opponent with six skaters on the ice at the 7:14 mark and gave Notre Dame a power play. The home side quickly erased the man advantage and was able to sustain a forecheck where Wood and Leo Gruba fired quality shots on target.
Minnesota moved to its second power play of the contest with 5:09 remaining in the middle frame, but the 5-on-4 only lasted a minute before it took a penalty of its own. After both teams returned to full strength, the Irish went right back to the penalty box in the last 1:42 of the second period. Notre Dame held a two-goal cushion through 40 completed minutes and 18 seconds of the Gophers' power play carried into the third period before it was wiped away.
It was a battle through a clogged neutral zone during the final frame before the Maroon and Gold was able to generate life, finding the back of the net at the 8:16 mark. Rinzel controlled a backhand pass from Mason Nevers before walking to the top of the slot. The Chanhassen, Minn., product wired a wrister over the netminder's shoulder to push the Gophers within a goal, 3-2. Backed by a renewed sense of urgency in a one-goal contest, Minnesota picked up its attack but could not find the equalizer and dropped game one to the visiting Irish.
Airey played the final 37 minutes Friday and stopped all 13 shots he faced as he took to the ice for the first time in more than a month.
Noteworthy
Rinzel picked up his 19th helper this year to go with his 10th goal, pushing his point total to 29, while six of the points have come against the Irish, including three goals ... It marked the eighth time this season the sophomore has tallied multiple points in a contest ... Snuggerud stretched his point streak to four games, reaching 47 for the year, and has a point in five of the past six outings after his 24th and 25th assists ... The junior now has 10 points in five games versus Notre Dame this season with at least one point in all five meetings and moved to 45th in program history with 131 career points ... Wood collected his 15th goal of the campaign, second on the man advantage, and has put away six goals over his last eight outings to reach 36 total points ... For the third-straight outing, Nevers found his way onto the scoresheet, registering his ninth point this season behind his third assist ... Souliere suffered his first loss in regulation since Dec. 14, a span of 15 outings ... Minnesota has allowed the Irish to score the opening goal in all five meetings this season ... The Maroon and Gold went 1-for-3 on the power play Friday and have scored a man-advantage goal in four-consecutive appearances and five of the last six games overall ... The Gophers had won five-straight quarterfinal games in the B1G Tournament and seven of their previous eight entering Friday's matchup.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"The only thing I am critical of is that we missed the net tonight and in critical situations where we can't do that," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We put ourselves in a position to tie the game many times. You hate the outcome, but the Gophers were pretty good tonight."
Next Up: Home vs. Notre Dame (B1G Tournament Quarterfinals - March 8)
Minnesota needs a win in game two Saturday at 7 p.m. to force a winner-take-all game three when it takes the ice against Notre Dame in the postseason presented by Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union. Fans can tune into the action live on FOX9 and streaming on B1G+, while an audio broadcast can be heard via the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
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