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Gophers men's hockey loses OT heartbreaker to Notre Dame

Blake Biondi lifted the Irish to the sudden death victory Saturday night.
Nolan O'Hara|
Former St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko faces off with the Huskies for the first time as head coach of Minnesota Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis.
Former St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko faces off with the Huskies for the first time as head coach of Minnesota Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis. | Zach Dwyer / St. Cloud Times via Imagn Content Services

Blake Biondi scored 3 minutes, 46 seconds into overtime to spoil the third-ranked Gophers men's hockey team's comeback effort and lift Notre Dame to a 4-3 victory Saturday night at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis.

"We got the response out of Notre Dame we knew we were going to get, and they had a terrific response all night," Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. "They had a few guys that outplayed a lot of our guys. We woke up, had a good third period to get back but that's the lesson. The second half of the year, we're going to be in these every night."

The Gophers (19-5-2) had rallied to tie the game, getting a goal from Matthew Wood 7 minutes, 14 seconds into the third period to knot it at 3-3. Minnesota never led in the game, but had an answer for every goal from the Irish (8-15-1).

After Ian Murphy put Notre Dame up first with his goal 7 minutes, 43 seconds into the first period, Jimmy Snuggerud answered just under five minutes later. When Carter Slaggert scored a go-ahead goal 2 minutes, 25 seconds into the second period, Luke Mittelstadt had another answer 3 minutes, 5 seconds later, knotting it back up at 2-2.

And when Cole Knuble put the Irish back up just over five minutes later, Wood came up with an answer in the third.

Owen Say had a 30-save effort for the Irish on 33 shots. Liam Souliere stopped 27 of 31 for the Gophers.

After splitting the two-game series with the Irish, the schedule doesn't get any easier for Minnesota. Next up is a two-game series against top-ranked Michigan State that begins with a 6 p.m. puck drop Friday in East Lansing, Mich.

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Nolan O'Hara
NOLAN O'HARA

Nolan O'Hara covers all things Minnesota sports, primarily the Timberwolves, for Bring Me The News and Sports Illustrated's On SI network. He previously worked as a copy editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Hubbard School of Journalism. His work has appeared in the Pioneer Press, Ratchet & Wrench magazine, the Minnesota Daily and a number of local newspapers in Minnesota, among other publications.

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