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.
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."
