MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The No. 12 University of Notre Dame hockey program fell, 3-0, to No. 3 Minnesota Saturday night to conclude the weekend series.
The first period saw lots of back-and-forth action with few whistles. Ryan Bischel continued to stand tall in net, turning aside all nine shots faced. The Irish also jumped in front of five pucks through the first 20 minutes of play to keep the rival Gophers off the scoresheet
Notre Dame peppered the Minnesota end with shots late in the opening period but were unable to break the scoreless contest as they headed to the locker room knotted 0-0 after the first.
The Gophers looked to have scored off a turnover in the Irish zone at 10:15 of the second stanza. After a lengthy review of a previous hit the goal stood and Notre Dame was assessed a five-minute major.
On the ensuing penalty kill, the Gophers scored again to make it 2-0. Bischel made a series of saves but a shot trickled through the five-hole and a Gopher tapped the loose rebound in.
Notre Dame saw their first powerplay opportunity with under two minutes left in the second period but were unable to capitalize as they skated to the intermission down by two goals.
Despite firing 11 pucks on net in the final period, the Irish were unable to break the Gophers netminding and an empty net tally sealed their fate Saturday night.
UP NEXT
The Irish are back in action next weekend with a home series against Michigan, Nov. 11-12.