By Randy Johnson

Star Tribune

When you hop aboard the roller coaster that is the Gophers men’s hockey 2017-18 season, you’re going to experience a lot of ups and downs.

On Friday came the climb, when the Gophers played a solid all-around game and beat No. 1 Notre Dame 1-0 in overtime, their second win over a No. 1-ranked team this month.

On Saturday came the fall, when the Fighting Irish scored a pair of power-play goals, controlled play for most of the game and emerged with a 4-1 victory at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The Gophers (16-13-1, 7-10-1-1 Big Ten) fell out of a fourth-place tie and likely would drop into a fifth-place tie with either Wisconsin or Penn State, which were playing Saturday night in Madison.

Conference-leading Notre Dame (20-5-1, 14-2) ended a two-game losing streak and used a suffocating defense and Cale Morris’ 16 saves to end the Gophers’ three-game winning streak. The Irish outshot the Gophers 30-17, holding Minnesota to nine shots through two periods.

Notre Dame went 3-for-6 on the power play, making the Gophers pay dearly for their mistakes.

With 3:48 left in the first, Gophers winger Leon Bristedt ran over Notre Dame goalie Cale Morris, drawing a goaltender interference penalty. Irish defenseman Jordan Gross, a senior from Maple Grove, blasted a slapshot past Mat Robson for a 1-0 lead at 16:41. It was Gross’ seventh point in nine career games against Minnesota.
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