Notre Dame hockey: Gopher frosh light it up

SOUTH BEND -- Jeff Jackson knew a pushback was coming Saturday night.

After his No. 4 Notre Dame hockey team upended No. 1 Minnesota on Friday, holding the Gophers’ high-scoring offense down a second game in a row proved to be too tall of a task.

Freshmen scored all five Minnesota goals to help the Gophers salvage their first trip to South Bend in 33 years. Hudson Fasching scored twice, and Jake Bischoff had the game-winner in the third period as the Gophers snapped Notre Dame’s 11-game home winning streak with a 5-4 victory at Compton Family Ice Arena.

“I expected them to be better, and I don’t think we were as good,” Jackson said. “That combination, obviously, was not a good one.”

After dropping game one Friday night, 4-1, the top-ranked Gophers avoided the sweep and improved to 6-1-1, while the Irish fell to 7-3-0.

For the second night in a row, the Gophers came out charging hard, but Irish goaltender Steven Summerhays, who stopped 31 of 32 shots on Friday, didn’t have the same success on Saturday.

The Gophers got the puck deep in ND’s zone and had Summerhays moving from pipe to pipe, and the senior Irish goalie wasn’t fast enough to stop Cammarata and Fasching.

Both Minnesota rookies scored wrap around goals from behind the net to give the Gophers a 2-0 lead halfway through the first period.

“It was a point to try and play more corner to corner,” said Minnesota coach Don Lucia. “And we got to the net a bunch more than we did (Friday) night.

“It’s not easy for a goalie when the puck’s behind him, and the guys made some good plays.”

Cammarata’s goal came on the power play, just the fifth in eight Gopher games this season. It was an important marker after Friday’s poor special teams showing when the Gophers went 0-for-4, and also let in two by Notre Dame.

Notre Dame got one back on a one-timer from the top of the right circle by Shayne Taker, but the Gophers responded quickly, looking for another wrap around. Summerhays stuffed that try, but Nate Condon fed Justin Kloos across the slot, and Summerhays couldn’t recover in time.

Mario Lucia got Notre Dame’s deficit back to 3-2 against his dad’s team by banging a Vinnie Hinostroza rebound into a wide open net with 16.6 seconds left in the first period.

Fasching scored his second of the game at 7:09 of the second period to make it 4-2, but Notre Dame managed to tie it just before the period ended.

Lucia got his second goal of the game in the same fashion as the first, pouncing on a choice rebound at 13:38 of the second.

“All I had to do was put them in,” Lucia said. “Those easy goals are gifts, but I’ll take them.”

The penalties began to pile up for Minnesota, including a five-minute major on Tom Serratore for kneeing Hinostroza. That sent the Irish freshman limping to the locker room, but ND took advantage. Stephen Johns scored on a 5-on-3 power play with 1.5 seconds left in the second period to make it 4-4.

But the freshman defenseman Bischoff came up big for the Gophers with a wrist shot from the left circle that got through Summerhays with just over 11 minutes to play.

“We thought we had the momentum going into the third,” Johns said. “But we couldn’t capitalize and they got a few lucky bounces going their way.”

Notre Dame played without senior forward Mike Voran, who suffered a lower body injury Friday night. He was replaced by freshman Ali Thomas, who was making his collegiate debut. Now add Hinostroza to the Irish injury list, joining Thomas DiPauli and Eric Johnson who have both missed multiple weeks so far. Depth is fast becoming an issue.

On a night when a lot of things didn’t fall Notre Dame’s way, the Irish were still right there heading into the final period.

“We didn’t play our ‘A’ game tonight, and we still had a chance to win,” Jackson said. “That says something for our team. At least we know that, when everybody’s going, we can compete with the best teams in the country.”

At Compton Family Ice Arena

FIRST PERIOD

MINN - Taylor Cammarata (Mike Reilly, Seth Ambroz) PP, 7:46; MINN - Hudson Fasching (Kyle Rau) 10:29; ND - Shayne Taker (Vinnie Hinostroza) 12:35; MINN - Justin Kloos (Nate Condon, Cammarata) 15:04; ND - Mario Lucia (Hinostroza) 19:43. Shots on goal: ND 15, MINN 14; Penalties: ND 2-4, MINN 0-0.

SECOND PERIOD

MINN - Fasching, 2 (Rau, Sam Warning) 7:09; ND - Lucia, 2 (Stephen Johns, Hinostroza) 13:38; ND - Johns (Jeff Costello, Robbie Russo) PP, 19:58. Shots: MINN 10, ND 9; Penalties: MINN 4-11, ND 4-8.

THIRD PERIOD

MINN - Jake Bischoff (Cammarata, Connor Reilly) 8:57. Shots: MINN 10, ND 9. Penalties: ND 3-6, MINN 3-6.

Shots: MINN 34, ND 33; Saves: ND 29 (Steven Summerhays), MINN 29 (Adam Wilcox); Power plays: ND 1-4, MINN 1-4; Penalties: MINN 7-17, ND 7-14; Records: ND 7-3-0, MINN 6-1-1; Attendance: 4,862.