A pair of third period goals and a frenzy in the final minutes failed to net the equalizer as the No. 11/12 Gopher men's hockey program came up short in a 3-2 contest with No. 6/5 North Dakota.
A night after Minnesota jumped out to a big lead in a 5-1 series-opening win, Saturday saw the Fighting Hawks do the same as the home squad built a three-goal lead with goals from Gavin Hain in the first period, Mark Senden in the second and another from Senden early in the third.
Minnesota (9-7-0 overall, 5-3-0-0-1-0 Big Ten) answered the final UND goal with a power-play tally from Ben Meyers before Chaz Lucius brought the Maroon & Gold within one later in the period. Meyers and Lucius led the Gophers with a goal and an assist each while Jackson LaCombe and Sammy Walker added assists.
North Dakota (10-5-0, 5-1-0 NCHC) held off the visitors to salvage a split in the 300th meeting between the two long-time college hockey rivals (Minnesota owns a 149-135-16 record against UND).
Jack LaFontaine (9-7-0) made 23 saves for the Gophers while Zach Driscoll (10-5-0) came up with 11 stops for the Fighting Hawks.
The Gophers were outshot 26-13 on the night for their lowest shot total of the season. Both teams were 1-for-2 on the advantage.
Coach's Comments
"I'm disappointed in how we came to play tonight. That's the nuts and bolts of it," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "You have to come ready to play. We did not come with the right jump tonight, and they did."
Noteworthy
Grant Cruikshank skated in his 100th career game on Saturday – the forward is in his first season with the Gophers after three years at Colorado College.
Up Next: First Half Finale
Minnesota returns to Big Ten play and wraps up the first half next weekend with a two-game series at Michigan. The conference tilt starts on Friday, Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m. CT (TV: Big Ten Network; Stream: FOX Sports App; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM) with the finale set for Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m. CT (TV: Big Ten Network; Stream: FOX Sports App; Radio: 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM).
