This Valentine’s Day weekend, the Irish host Minnesota in their second series of the season. The teams take the ice Friday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. ET and Saturday, Feb. 14, at 6 p.m. ET at Compton Family Ice Arena. Although the Gophers are not one of Notre Dame’s greatest rivals, the Irish will continue to display their newfound grit as Minnesota looks to contend in the playoffs.
Last weekend, the Irish traveled to play No. 13 Wisconsin in a heated series. Despite losing both games, the Irish took the ranked Badgers to overtime in Friday’s matchup before losing 5-6 on a fortuitous shot from Wisconsin. In the following tilt, the Irish scored early but ultimately fell short in a one-goal deficit as the Badgers scraped by with two wins.
While the Irish were competing against the Badgers, Minnesota was struggling at home against Ohio State, earning two losses itself. The Buckeyes bested the Gophers 6-2 on Friday, Feb. 6, and 2-1 on Saturday, Feb. 7. Notre Dame beat the Buckeyes 6-1 when they traveled to South Bend in late January, and the fact that the Irish did what the Gophers could not in beating the Buckeyes at home is undoubtedly a point of confidence heading into this weekend’s series.
The last time these teams met was in early November, just after the collegiate hockey season took off. Minnesota was the second Big Ten team Notre Dame had played at that point in their season, but it did not let the Gophers run up the score. The Gophers shut out the Irish in their first game on Friday, Nov. 7, 3-0, and won again the following night, 4-1. Despite winning both matchups, Minnesota’s offense left room for improvement. Gopher senior forward Brody Lamb was the only player to score on both nights, as the remaining goals were scattered across the bench. On the other side of the blue line, Notre Dame sophomore goaltender Nick Kempf made 62 saves in the series, forcing the Gophers to work for their goals. The Irish only had 19 shots on goal in the first game, but upped the count to 34 the next night. As the season has progressed, the Irish have become more confident in shooting and in producing offensive chances, priming Notre Dame to put more points on the board the second time around.
The Badgers are 10-18-1 for the season, but only 6-12-0 in conference play. The Irish stand at 5-20-3 overall and 1-15-0 in the Big Ten. The games this weekend are not out of reach for the Irish. The evolution of play from the beginning of the year to now is shocking, and Notre Dame has worked through the awkwardness that comes with being a younger, developing team. If the Irish defense gives Kempf some help around the net, they can limit the overworking of their goaltender and reduce goals while the offense makes creative plays that generate success as confidence grows.
