University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, February 13
South Bend, IN
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
10-18-2, 6-12-1
2
at
2
Notre Dame
5-20-4, 1-15-1
1
2
3
OT 1
OT 2
F
Minnesota
2
0
0
0
0
2
Notre Dame
0
0
2
0
0
2
Team Stats
MIN
UND
Shots
33
30
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
4
4
Penalty Mins
8
8
Faceoffs Won
25
34
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
2
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
8
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
1
A
1
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Brad Rempel
'U' Claims Shootout Win at Notre Dame
2/13/2026 9:15:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Series opener finishes in 2-2 tie
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Minnesota men's hockey team walked away with a shootout victory Friday night during a 2-2 tie at Notre Dame in a Big Ten Conference matchup from Compton Family Ice Arena. John Mittelstadt and Brodie Ziemer scored first-period goals before the home side scored twice in the third to force overtime.
The Golden Gophers (10-18-2 overall, 6-12-1 B1G, 22 points) let a two-goal lead slip away as the Fighting Irish (5-20-4 overall, 1-15-1 B1G, 6 points) battled back to force overtime. Ziemer and Javon Moore buried goals in the shootout and goaltender Luca Di Pasquo stopped 2-of-3 Notre Dame attempts to pick up the extra B1G point on the road.
An odd-man rush less than two minutes into the contest nearly gave the visitors a perfect start as Teddy Townsend pushed the attack for a one-timer by Jimmy Clark that rang off the right post. While that chance would not go, the Maroon and Gold were strong in its defensive zone and used blocks by Mason Moe and John Whipple to keep Notre Dame from an official shot until more than eight minutes had elapsed. Minnesota's relentless forecheck paid off as Moore jumped off the bench to intercept an Irish pass and flipped the puck over to Mittelstadt. The senior buried the quick shot over the goalie's outstretched glove for the 1-0 lead at the 8:51 mark.
The Gophers quickly doubled the advantage just 26 seconds later as Ziemer showed off his slick hands in front of the goal, slipping a shot past the Notre Dame goaltender, his former Team USA teammate at the IIHF World Junior Championship. Moore started the play again by forcing a turnover at the blue line before Brody Lamb threaded a perfect feed to the stick of Ziemer and the sophomore did the rest. After building the two-goal edge, a post-whistle penalty on the home side gave Minnesota its first power play with 6:40 remaining in the opening frame. The opportunity was erased and the Gophers carried the 2-0 margin into the locker room through 20 minutes.
The speed of Minnesota remained on full display opening the second stanza as Moore generated another rush towards goal that had to be kicked aside. The Irish fought back to test Di Pasquo, where the junior remained in control between the pipes. A generous man advantage for the home team gave Notre Dame its first power play in the middle of the frame and with time winding down on the 5-on-4, a brilliant, sliding pad save by Di Pasquo shut down the power play. Another penalty on the Gophers put the Irish right back to having an extra skater that was yet again negated.
The Maroon and Gold offense went back to work with sustained pressure in the Irish zone that tested the netminder. A third penalty was called on Minnesota in the period, this time with 2:29 showing on the clock, but thanks to timely saves by Di Pasquo and blocks from Cal Thomas and Luke Mittelstadt, the man advantage was killed off. The Gophers weathered a late push to maintain the two-goal margin at the end of the second period.
Just 46 seconds into the final frame, the Irish got life for the first time Friday, converting a centering pass after a failed clearance from Minnesota, making it 2-1. Three minutes later, the visitors earned their second crack at a power play and despite five shots on target, could not convert. Less than a minute later, a hit to the head of a Gopher resulted in another opportunity for a 5-on-4 that went unsuccessful.
Notre Dame pinned the Maroon and Gold inside its zone for an extended stretch, and the visitors needed a critical blocker save from Di Pasquo to relieve the pressure but could not stop the next wave. With 6:21 to play in regulation, the Irish scored the equalizer on a backdoor pass. It was a back-and-forth battle for the remainder of the period with neither side able to find the winning tally, in part to a quick poke check by Di Pasquo, and the contest went to overtime.
Both teams put two shots on target in the extra session that did not find the back of the net and for the second time this season, Minnesota headed to a shootout. After Tanner Ludtke's opening shot hit the left post, both Ziemer and Moore went five-hole on the Irish netminder before Di Pasquo shut the door on the final attempt, sealing the shootout victory of a 2-2 tie.
Noteworthy
Di Pasquo put together another impressive outing where the junior turned away 28 shots ... Mittelstadt snapped the Gophers' longest goal drought as he found the back of the net for the first time since last season at home against Notre Dame on Jan. 17, 2025, a span of 43 games ... It was the Eden Prairie, Minn., native's first point of 2026, and fourth of the campaign, after last reaching the scoresheet in a two-point effort versus Penn State on Nov. 21, 2025 ... Ziemer will not stop producing around the goal, potting his 20th this year, which ranks third in the NCAA, thanks to six goals over his last six outings and a now career-long, six-game point streak ... He is the first Minnesota sophomore to reach 20 goals since Jimmy Snuggerud did it in 2023-24, while his 14 goals during B1G action are the most among all league skaters ... The product of Chaska, Minn., has 22 points in the past 18 games to become the first Gopher to reach the 30-point mark in 2025-26 ... After posting just one point over his previous eight appearances, Moore put together his fourth multi-point outing of the season behind a pair of first-period helpers and also scored on his first collegiate shootout attempt ... The freshman pushed his assist total into double digits with 11 and has 16 total points ... Lamb stretched his career-long point streak to eight games as he tallied his 15th helper this year, totaling 29 points overall ... The senior captain has recorded 10 points on five goals and five assists in the scoring run ... After losing 11-straight shootouts entering the campaign, the Gophers have now won both in 2025-26, converting 4-of-5 attempts ... Without its power-play quarterback LJ Mooney, who missed the first game of his career due to injury, Minnesota's top-ranked man advantage was 0-for-3 Friday, while the penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"Well, it's two shootout wins this year; we haven't done that in a long while, so we'll take it. Our guys played their tails off tonight," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We're going to continue to work toward finding confidence offensively. We turned the puck over in the first minute of the third, and then that gave Notre Dame some life. And unfortunately, that has been our bugaboo; let teams back in with turnovers, but our guys fought their tails off tonight."
Next Up: Away vs. Notre Dame (Feb. 14)
Minnesota closes its trip to Notre Dame with a Valentine's Day battle Saturday evening at 5 p.m. (CT), streaming live on Peacock. Audio coverage will also be carried via the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
The Golden Gophers (10-18-2 overall, 6-12-1 B1G, 22 points) let a two-goal lead slip away as the Fighting Irish (5-20-4 overall, 1-15-1 B1G, 6 points) battled back to force overtime. Ziemer and Javon Moore buried goals in the shootout and goaltender Luca Di Pasquo stopped 2-of-3 Notre Dame attempts to pick up the extra B1G point on the road.
An odd-man rush less than two minutes into the contest nearly gave the visitors a perfect start as Teddy Townsend pushed the attack for a one-timer by Jimmy Clark that rang off the right post. While that chance would not go, the Maroon and Gold were strong in its defensive zone and used blocks by Mason Moe and John Whipple to keep Notre Dame from an official shot until more than eight minutes had elapsed. Minnesota's relentless forecheck paid off as Moore jumped off the bench to intercept an Irish pass and flipped the puck over to Mittelstadt. The senior buried the quick shot over the goalie's outstretched glove for the 1-0 lead at the 8:51 mark.
The Gophers quickly doubled the advantage just 26 seconds later as Ziemer showed off his slick hands in front of the goal, slipping a shot past the Notre Dame goaltender, his former Team USA teammate at the IIHF World Junior Championship. Moore started the play again by forcing a turnover at the blue line before Brody Lamb threaded a perfect feed to the stick of Ziemer and the sophomore did the rest. After building the two-goal edge, a post-whistle penalty on the home side gave Minnesota its first power play with 6:40 remaining in the opening frame. The opportunity was erased and the Gophers carried the 2-0 margin into the locker room through 20 minutes.
The speed of Minnesota remained on full display opening the second stanza as Moore generated another rush towards goal that had to be kicked aside. The Irish fought back to test Di Pasquo, where the junior remained in control between the pipes. A generous man advantage for the home team gave Notre Dame its first power play in the middle of the frame and with time winding down on the 5-on-4, a brilliant, sliding pad save by Di Pasquo shut down the power play. Another penalty on the Gophers put the Irish right back to having an extra skater that was yet again negated.
The Maroon and Gold offense went back to work with sustained pressure in the Irish zone that tested the netminder. A third penalty was called on Minnesota in the period, this time with 2:29 showing on the clock, but thanks to timely saves by Di Pasquo and blocks from Cal Thomas and Luke Mittelstadt, the man advantage was killed off. The Gophers weathered a late push to maintain the two-goal margin at the end of the second period.
Just 46 seconds into the final frame, the Irish got life for the first time Friday, converting a centering pass after a failed clearance from Minnesota, making it 2-1. Three minutes later, the visitors earned their second crack at a power play and despite five shots on target, could not convert. Less than a minute later, a hit to the head of a Gopher resulted in another opportunity for a 5-on-4 that went unsuccessful.
Notre Dame pinned the Maroon and Gold inside its zone for an extended stretch, and the visitors needed a critical blocker save from Di Pasquo to relieve the pressure but could not stop the next wave. With 6:21 to play in regulation, the Irish scored the equalizer on a backdoor pass. It was a back-and-forth battle for the remainder of the period with neither side able to find the winning tally, in part to a quick poke check by Di Pasquo, and the contest went to overtime.
Both teams put two shots on target in the extra session that did not find the back of the net and for the second time this season, Minnesota headed to a shootout. After Tanner Ludtke's opening shot hit the left post, both Ziemer and Moore went five-hole on the Irish netminder before Di Pasquo shut the door on the final attempt, sealing the shootout victory of a 2-2 tie.
Noteworthy
Di Pasquo put together another impressive outing where the junior turned away 28 shots ... Mittelstadt snapped the Gophers' longest goal drought as he found the back of the net for the first time since last season at home against Notre Dame on Jan. 17, 2025, a span of 43 games ... It was the Eden Prairie, Minn., native's first point of 2026, and fourth of the campaign, after last reaching the scoresheet in a two-point effort versus Penn State on Nov. 21, 2025 ... Ziemer will not stop producing around the goal, potting his 20th this year, which ranks third in the NCAA, thanks to six goals over his last six outings and a now career-long, six-game point streak ... He is the first Minnesota sophomore to reach 20 goals since Jimmy Snuggerud did it in 2023-24, while his 14 goals during B1G action are the most among all league skaters ... The product of Chaska, Minn., has 22 points in the past 18 games to become the first Gopher to reach the 30-point mark in 2025-26 ... After posting just one point over his previous eight appearances, Moore put together his fourth multi-point outing of the season behind a pair of first-period helpers and also scored on his first collegiate shootout attempt ... The freshman pushed his assist total into double digits with 11 and has 16 total points ... Lamb stretched his career-long point streak to eight games as he tallied his 15th helper this year, totaling 29 points overall ... The senior captain has recorded 10 points on five goals and five assists in the scoring run ... After losing 11-straight shootouts entering the campaign, the Gophers have now won both in 2025-26, converting 4-of-5 attempts ... Without its power-play quarterback LJ Mooney, who missed the first game of his career due to injury, Minnesota's top-ranked man advantage was 0-for-3 Friday, while the penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"Well, it's two shootout wins this year; we haven't done that in a long while, so we'll take it. Our guys played their tails off tonight," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We're going to continue to work toward finding confidence offensively. We turned the puck over in the first minute of the third, and then that gave Notre Dame some life. And unfortunately, that has been our bugaboo; let teams back in with turnovers, but our guys fought their tails off tonight."
Next Up: Away vs. Notre Dame (Feb. 14)
Minnesota closes its trip to Notre Dame with a Valentine's Day battle Saturday evening at 5 p.m. (CT), streaming live on Peacock. Audio coverage will also be carried via the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
Highlights: Gophers 2, Notre Dame 2
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