Gophers Top No. 1 Notre Dame 1-0 in Thrilling OT Finish

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The Gophers came into the weekend knowing they’d have to be at the top of their game to beat No. 1 Notre Dame. They did just that on Friday to take the Fighting Irish to overtime, and seal the deal with a nifty Casey Mittelstadt goal to win 1-0.

“Especially as it went along, we didn’t crack,” said Don Lucia. “We stayed with it. Both goalies were good. You just sense it was going to be a one-goal game. You expect your big-time players to make a play at the end of the game and that’s certainly what happened.”

Despite the rocky start to the season, the Gophers hung tough all game and came out with a badly needed victory.

“Obviously for us, the year hasn’t gone quite how we wanted, so to get this win against the No. 1 team it’s definitely huge,” said Mittelstadt.

Mittelstadt Wins It

Minnesota’s most talented player came up big when it mattered most, deking a defender and tucking in a rebound in overtime to top Notre Dame. Here’s a great look at the game-winner from multiple angles.

“Anytime you score an overtime goal, especially if you’re playing for the Gophers, it’s something you think about growing up quite a bit, so for me that was a special moment,” said Mittelstadt.

It’s pretty amazing, after the game, Mittelstadt could hardly recall how the play developed, a testament to his NHL-level hockey sense on the ice. Kid can make the plays without thinking.

“Honestly, I don’t really remember,” said Mittelstadt. “I think someone stepped up on me and I got by him.”

Another Robson Shutout

Newcomer Mat Robson got another start in net for the Gophers. The sophomore stopped all 25 shots and recorded his second shutout against top-ranked teams this season. In a scoreless game, what’s Robson’s mentality in net?

“Make the next save,” Robson joked after the game. “Don’t give up the first one, basically. You can’t really think about losing or winning. You’ve just got to make that next save.”

Coming into the game, Irish goalie Cale Morris led the country with a .950 save percentage as well as 18 wins. On Friday, Robson got the better of the nation’s top goaltender.

“You definitely know [Morris’] stats coming in, you never really want to be bested at your own position,” said Robson. “You don’t really want to focus on that all game, you need to make your own saves, but he played a great game tonight. I’m just lucky the guys in front of me made it easy on me as well.”

Important Penalty Kill

Minnesota took a tough penalty with 2:49 to go in a 0-0 hockey game. It looked like the Irish had the opening they needed to come out with the victory, but Minnesota’s penalty kill held strong in the final minutes.

“The penalty kill did a great job tonight, especially there at the end with the big one,” said Lucia.

By The Numbers

3 Straight wins for Minnesota over No. 1-ranked teams when playing at Mariucci. The streak includes St. Cloud earlier this year and goes back to 2012 when the Gophers topped Boston College at home.

0 Power play goals for either team as both sides went 0-3 with the man advantage.

4 Shots in the first period for Notre Dame as Minnesota got off to a fast start and didn’t let the Irish get anything going offensively.

Three Stars

3 Mat Robson stopped 25 shots and earned the shutout.

2 Cale Morris was impressive for Notre Dame, stopping 32 of Minnesota’s 33 shots.

1 Casey Mittelstadt created all night and it finally paid off with the overtime winner.

What’s Next

The Gophers will look for the sweep of top-ranked Notre Dame tomorrow evening at 7pm. The game can be seen on FOX Sports North PLUS or you can listen at 1130 KTLK AM. Let’s hear the Battle Hymn, Gophers!
 

Have any thoughts on Robson's performance? The game I saw him in person was the Michigan game where he was yanked after the 1st period. I've mentioned before that I feel the Gophers will only go as far as their goalie will take them, be it Scheirhorn or Robson.
 

Have any thoughts on Robson's performance? The game I saw him in person was the Michigan game where he was yanked after the 1st period. I've mentioned before that I feel the Gophers will only go as far as their goalie will take them, be it Scheirhorn or Robson.

He was positionally solid in a game where Notre dame had limited scoring opportunities and missed a couple of open net rebound chances. For a 0-0 game it wasn't, at least to me, a particularly frustrating one as Minnesota controlled much of the play. And you can't beat getting some excitement back in Mariucci.
 

13-4 at home? Wins over #3 SCSU, #4 Clarkson, oh, and #4 Clarkson again.

Also wins over #16 PSU, #19 UW and 2 vs #20 Harvard.

Seems like there was some excitement there before the win over Notre Dame?

Yes the home losses to Michigan just don't make sense and suck, 15-2 at home sounds SO much better, along with 18-10 overall. Heck, we'd probably be ranked right behind OSU if that were the case, with a chance to pass them up when we play them at home.


But one bad weekend shouldn't reflect so badly on the entire season and shouldn't excuse fans from acting and posting like the season has been nothing but a disappointment when that actually isn't the case.


I have a legit question for you Ignatius, that I hope will show you that I respect your opinion most of the time and may show you that I defer to your better knowledge of some of the finer details about the team.


Sticking to the discussion of the goalie situation, is it possible that the inconsistencies seen in one game to another for much of the season can be traced to who was in goal? Or is it more on the shoulders of the rest of the team? Just curious? I don't want to have to look it up if you already know the answer. :)
 




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