Big Ten Hockey: Notre Dame starts off Tournament Quarterfinal With 1-0 victory over Minnesota

The University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers met in Minneapolis to start the best of three Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal round. The guys in gold and blue played some of their most aggressive offense and some of the team’s youngest talent had the spotlight.

First Period

The Irish wasted no time setting the tone in the first period. Notre Dame outshot Minnesota 11-2 to begin the game, but failed to capitalize on a power play after Golden Gopher Blake McLaughlin headed to the box for hooking. The period ended with a scoreless standing.

Second Period

That Notre Dame momentum transitioned into the next period and the Irish continued to outshoot the Gophers. The Irish did miss another opportunity to score against shorthanded Gophers after a five minute major from Minnesota’s Matt Staudacher. Irish freshman Trevor Janicke made up for it and put his guys on the board as the second period drew to a close.

Third Period

A five minute major for Notre Dame’s Spencer Stastney gave the Irish momentum a pretty good slap to the face, but it was not enough to give the Gophers an edge. Minnesota goaltender Jack LaFontaine exited the net, but the Gophers just could not get past the Irish and Notre Dame locked in the win.

Game Summary

Scoring

Notre Dame: Trevor Janicke at 16:24 in the 2nd with assists from Colin Theisen and Mike O’Leary

Penalties

Minnesota: Blake McLaughlin for slashing at 16:13 in the 1st

Minnesota: Matt Staudacher for interference at 06:07 in the 2nd, game misconduct, 5 minute major, with Nathan Burke serving

Notre Dame: Cam Burke for cross-checking at 13:37 in the 2nd

Notre Dame: Spencer Stastney for checking from behind at 10:36 in the 3rd with Alex Steeves serving

Goalies

Notre Dame: Cale Morris, 12 saves

Minnesota: Jack LaFontaine, 25 saves

Moving Forward

The two squads will meet again Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET in Minneapolis. To catch the game, watch with Fox Sports North Plus.

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