Gopher men’s hockey falls in OT, splits weekend at Arizona State

After Friday’s one goal win at Arizona State, Gopher men’s hockey coach Bob Motzko wasn’t pleased saying, “We’ll be better tomorrow.” But his team lost an offensive shootout Saturday when Robert Mastrosimone gave the Sun Devils a 6-5 overtime win.

The teams each scored five even-strength goals in regulation, sending the game to overtime tied 5-5.

Sprung on a breakaway, Mastrosimone got a couple whacks at the puck to send it under Gopher goalie Justen Close.

2nd-ranked Minnesota had goals in the game from Arizona-native Matthew Knies, Rhett Pitlick, Brock Faber, Jimmy Snuggerud and John Mittelstadt – who had given the Gophers a 5-4 third period lead.

Arizona State’s Dylan Jackson score the tying goal with 3:09 left in regulation

The Gophers head to Michigan State next weekend.

Summary below courtesy of University of Minnesota Sports Information

TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 2 Golden Gophers men’s hockey team held a one-goal lead late in the third period but could not finish off the sweep at Arizona State Saturday night falling in overtime, 6-5, inside Mullett Arena.

A wild second period saw a combined five goals in a seven-minute span and twice after falling behind by a goal, Minnesota (11-5-0 overall) responded less than a minute later to even the score each time during that stretch. John Mittelstadt put the visitors in front, 5-4, three minutes into the final frame only to see the Sun Devils (8-7-0 overall) erase the deficit in the closing stages to force overtime and scored on a breakaway in extra time for the winner.

The teams battled in the neutral zone beginning the contest and it was the home side that struck first at the 8:16 mark, taking its first lead of the series. The Gophers responded five minutes later as the hometown kid Matthew Knies pulled Minnesota even. The sophomore did not miss from the slot where he makes a living, batting the puck out of midair on a juicy rebound. Logan Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud earned assists on the play, starting the rush up the ice as the visitors continued to push the tempo as all three players recorded multi-point efforts.

The pressure paid off as Aaron Huglen forced a turnover in the offensive zone and he and Rhett Pitlick worked a give-and-go that Pitlick tipped past the goalie with 3:09 remaining in the frame. The Gophers carried that 2-1 advantage into the locker room through one period. Despite Minnesota controlling the play early in the second, ASU got the equalizer 6:21 into the stanza and added its third goal of the night just 1:21 after for a 3-2 edge.

The man wearing the ‘C’ alongside the ‘M’ on his chest tied the game 47 seconds later when Brock Faber cut to the slot and ripped a shot over the blocker of the ASU netminder. The Sun Devils briefly regained the lead as the frantic action continued, but it only took 38 seconds for Snuggerud to find the back of the net, making it a 4-4 game. Charlie Strobel nearly put the Gophers in front in the closing seconds of the second period as he caught the home team on a bad line change.

Minnesota sustained an attack opening the final frame and the freshmen line capitalized at the 3:17 mark as Mittelstadt buried a rebound off a Brody Lamb shot. ASU turned to the physical game trying to get the Gophers out of sync, but the visitors stayed true to their style and utilized critical goaltending from senior Justen Close. The Sun Devils finally broke through with 3:09 to play in regulation, sending the contest to overtime, where they ended the game and snapped Minnesota’s four-game win streak.

Noteworthy
Knies briefly tied Snuggerud for the team lead with his ninth goal of the season before the Chaska, Minn., native added his 10th a period later … It only took 16 NCAA games for Snuggerud to reach double-digit goals and thanks to his assist in the opening period, he now has multiple points in four-straight outings … The Gophers’ newcomers accounted for seven of the team’s 14 points on the night … Minnesota allowed the first goal of the game for just the fifth time this year … With the result Saturday, the Gophers suffered their first-ever loss to the Sun Devils, moving to 7-1 in the all-time series.

Next Up: Away at Michigan State (Dec. 2)
For the second time in three weeks, the Gophers play in the state of Michigan as they return to B1G action against the Spartans for a two-game series Dec. 2-3.