Playing in his 100th career game for the Maroon and Gold, Jaxon Nelson provided the game-winning goal at nearly the exact midway point of the contest. Fellow senior Close shut the door on the Irish (4-4-2 overall, 1-2-1 B1G) over 60 minutes completing the Big Ten sweep on a night when Minnesota (7-3-0 overall, 3-1-0 B1G) unveiled its conference championship banner from 2021-22.
It was a slower start to the contest compared to Friday night and the Irish had the best chance early as Close was tested via a rebound from inside the goal crease. The Gophers came right back down the ice putting pressure on ND when Logan Cooley cut to the middle and found Jimmy Snuggerud for a shot along the right wing. The teams headed back to the locker room deadlock, 0-0, through 20 minutes.
Minnesota nearly took the lead four minutes into the second frame as Aaron Huglen started a 3-on-1 rush up the left side. His low shot to the far post was kicked aside by the ND goaltender that kept the action scoreless. Matthew Knies was slashed after the whistle and the Gophers earned their first man advantage of the night, but were unable to convert the opportunity.
Two minutes later, Nelson slipped in behind the Notre Dame defense and Bryce Brodzinski found him on a centering pass at the 10:15 mark. The senior went forehand-backhand in the blink of an eye and hit the back of the net, giving Minnesota a 1-0 advantage. The play immediately went under review for a check earlier in the sequence and the Irish were assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct. The Gophers made the visitors pay when Knies pushed it to a two-goal lead after a Snuggerud shot trickled behind the goaltender on the power play. Knies made a diving swipe that got the puck completely across the goal line with 6:29 to play in the period and Minnesota carried a 2-0 lead into intermission.
The Gophers delivered a critical penalty kill just three minutes into the final frame, maintaining the two-goal cushion, and limited the Irish to eight shots for the remainder of the game. Cooley buried an insurance marker with three seconds left on the clock and Minnesota finished off the sweep, 3-0.
Noteworthy
Close turned in his second shutout of the year and stopped 46-of-47 shots during the weekend ... Knies has tallied a goal in five of his last six games played and has scored in six of Minnesota's seven home games this year ... Ryan Johnson recorded a pair of assists and now has seven-career games with multiple points ... Nelson joined Bryce Brodzinski (115), Ryan Johnson (112) and Jackson LaCombe (112) as the fourth active player to reach the 100-game milestone ... LaCombe was held without a point for the first time this season, snapping a career-long, nine-game point streak.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"Well, exactly what we knew, it was going to be a battle," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "We got the first one and we got a power-play goal. And then it kind of turned into an arm-wrestling match. We won some battles and lost some. Close was good when we needed him."
Next Up: Home vs. Penn State (Nov. 10)
Minnesota continues its four-game homestand welcoming the nationally-ranked Nittany Lions to 3M Arena at Mariucci for a B1G series presented by Marathon starting Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. on Bally Sports North.
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