Gophers rally in 3rd period to take down Alaska 5-2

A four-goal third period fueled the No. 3/4 Golden Gophers’ come-from-behind victory over Alaska, 5-2, in non-conference men’s hockey action Saturday evening inside 3M Arena at Mariucci.

Minnesota (13-2-1 overall) trailed 2-1 entering the final frame before scoring four times to take down the Nanooks (4-7-3 overall). Leo Gruba scored his first NCAA goal for the eventual game winner 5:19 into the third period before Jimmy Clark and Sam Rinzel added insurance goals as the Maroon and Gold remained unbeaten at home this season at 5-0-1.

It was a fast pace to begin the series finale as both teams created offensive chances and the game went more than seven minutes of non-stop action before the first whistle. The speed of Oliver Moore led to a quality look when the sophomore clipped the post from short range as the Gophers had momentum early. That changed in a hurry as the Nanooks broke the tie, scoring at the 11:15 mark by knocking home a loose puck in the slot to jump in front for the second night in a row. Less than a minute later, Minnesota’s Matthew Wood broke free for a breakaway and his shot was snatched out of the air by the glove of Alaska’s netminder. The rest of the period was a stalemate, and the visitors maintained the one-goal edge after 20 minutes of play.

The second period began in a similar fashion as the teams went up and down the ice, but the defensemen of each side were up to the task breaking out pucks. A pair of defensive-zone turnovers allowed the Nanooks free shots where Gophers’ goaltender Liam Souliere made the stop each time, getting a roar from the home crowd. Minnesota scored the equalizer 9:34 into the frame when Moore collected the puck at center ice. He burst to the bottom of the circle and sent a shot towards goal that deflected in off an Alaska player.

The attack continued leading to a wide-open chance from Brody Lamb before the puck rolled off his stick due to a penalty of the visitors in the middle of the stanza. The Gophers earned their first power play, but it went by unsuccessfully. After taking its first penalty of the weekend, Minnesota could not get the kill as the Nanooks regained the lead with a power-play one-timer from the right circle with 4:56 left in the second period. The Maroon and Gold were whistled for another penalty as the clock read 21 seconds and it went to the locker room shorthanded, facing a 2-1 deficit.

It only took 38 seconds into the final frame for the Gophers to get the tying goal as Lamb forced a turnover at the blue line while on the penalty kill, and thanks to another generous bounce off an Alaska player, made it a 2-2 contest. It was all Minnesota from that point as Gruba hammered a slapshot from the right point to the back of the net five minutes later, giving the Maroon and Gold its first lead of the weekend. The offense did not stop there and at the 8:30 mark of the third period, it was Jimmy Clark that had a seeing-eye shot find its way through traffic and past a screened netminder, making it a 4-2 contest.

With both teams called for a penalty late in the period to play 4-on-4, the Nanooks elected to pull their goalie with more than six minutes left in regulation. When the game returned to full strength, Alaska’s extra attacker went away until the final 2:41 when it pulled the goalie again. Sam Rinzel stole the puck near his own goal line and fired a full-ice shot right into the open cage with the clock showing 29 seconds, sealing the Gophers home victory, 5-2.

Souliere made 21 saves in his first appearance in two weeks and picked up his second win in as many starts at 3M Arena at Mariucci this season, improving to 5-2-0 overall.