Rinzel scores twice as No. 3 Gophers skate past Notre Dame 6-3

Sam Rinzel scored two of Minnesota’s three power-play goals as the fourth-ranked Golden Gophers took down Notre Dame, 6-3, in the series opener Friday night from Compton Family Ice Arena. With an assist on Rinzel’s first goal, Jimmy Snuggerud picked up the 100th point of his Maroon and Gold career in the road victory.

The Gophers (11-2-0 overall, 5-0-0 B1G) went 3-for-5 on the man advantage to remain unbeaten in Big Ten Conference play with the win over the Fighting Irish (5-8-0 overall, 1-6-0 B1G). Rinzel’s second-career multi-goal outing paced four players with two-point nights as Minnesota scored five or more goals for the seventh time in 2024-25.

It was Notre Dame that struck first at the 1:51 mark as it threw a harmless shot towards goal that snuck in before the Gophers successfully challenged for offsides, erasing the tally. A minute later, the Irish officially took the lead as an offensive-zone giveaway allowed an odd-man rush the other way and a 1-0 edge. The deficit lasted four minutes as Minnesota responded when Brody Lamb caught the home goaltender off guard for the equalizer. Leo Gruba started the play in the neutral zone, allowing Aaron Huglen to chip a pass to August Falloon and the Gophers entered the zone with speed. Falloon threaded the puck to Lamb and the junior snapped a quick one-timer into the back of the net.

Minnesota nearly took the lead in the middle of the opening frame as Snuggerud worked a give-and-go with Brodie Ziemer and the freshman’s shot was kicked away at the last second. After being pinned down in its own zone in the period’s final minute, the visitors were still able to earn a man advantage before heading into the locker room deadlocked, 1-1.

With power-play time carrying over into the second stanza, the Maroon and Gold jumped to a 2-1 lead just 38 seconds into the frame. Rinzel’s shot from the point was tipped by an Irish stick and over the netminder for the go-ahead goal. Less than two minutes later, the Gophers moved to another chance on the man advantage but were unable to convert as their advantage remained one. The Irish needed to come up with a save as Minnesota countered via a 3-on-1 before Notre Dame pounced on a loose puck forcing Nathan Airey to stop a breakaway opportunity. At the 11:05 mark, the home team got its first crack at a power play only to be denied on all of its three shots.

After wiping off the penalty, the Maroon and Gold struck again as Oliver Moore buried a rebound at the top of the crease following Matthew Wood’s drive to the net with 5:24 remaining in the middle period. Huglen’s speed through the neutral zone gave the senior a rare penalty shot as he was taken down from behind. He had the goalie beat but the puck rolled off his stick and wide of the cage and it stayed 3-1 in favor of the Gophers.

Late in the frame, Notre Dame caught the defense puck watching behind the goal line and made it a one-score contest as it had a player all alone in front of the net. As the clock reached 1:36 to play in the second, the Irish were assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for an egregious and dangerous kneeing penalty. The Gophers immediately capitalized as Rinzel followed his same approach from the point, scoring his second of the night to stretch the lead to 4-2 in the final 24 seconds of the stanza.

Huglen was finally rewarded for his strong effort all night, ripping home a power-play tally 1:44 into the third, giving the Maroon and Gold a 5-2 cushion. Mike Koster dropped the puck off to the Roseau, Minn., product and Huglen did the rest, sniping the top corner. Minnesota was forced to stop an Irish power play as it was whistled for retaliation after a major collision and tempers continued to rise as the visitors went right back to the penalty box. The Irish converted the chance to keep the game close before pulling their goalie with 2:32 remaining, but Connor Kurth buried an empty-net goal to secure the Gophers’ victory, 6-3.

After surrendering the early goal, Airey settled into the contest and made 25 saves to stay perfect on the season (7-0-0), winning the eighth-straight start to begin his career.