Ziemer’s Two Goals Help Gophers Salvage 2-2 Tie at UMD

Duluth, MN – When you’re in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.

After an opening-weekend sweep at Michigan Tech and a 7-1 drubbing Friday night in Duluth, the Minnesota Gophers finally found something to build on Saturday.

Captain Brodie Ziemer scored twice and Luca Di Pasquo stood tall in net as Minnesota (0-3-1 Overall) erased a two-goal deficit to tie the #9-ranked UMD Bulldogs (3-1-2) 2-2 at AMSOIL Arena. The Gophers then won an exhibition shootout, giving the Maroon & Gold a chance to celebrate despite remaining officially winless on the young season.

Minnesota played a decent opening period, showing considerably more life than in Friday’s lopsided loss. The Gophers could not get on the scoreboard, though, and UMD made them pay late. Aaron Pionk’s shot through traffic beat Di Pasquo with just 29.6 seconds remaining in the first to send the Bulldogs into the locker room ahead 1-0.

The start of the second had shades of “here we go again,” as Braden Fischer scored on the power play 4:28 into the period to extend UMD’s lead to 2-0. Ziemer, however, put the team on his back. The captain buried a feed from Evan Murr at 6:13 to get Minnesota within one, then struck again exactly six minutes later on the power play. Taking a pass from Wyatt Cullen near the goal line, Ziemer went between his legs for a nifty shot that bounced off a Bulldog defender and into the net, knotting the game at 2-2.

The third period was a battle, with both teams pushing for the go-ahead goal and neither able to find it. Di Pasquo made several important stops to keep Minnesota even, while the Gophers generated some opportunities of their own. After 60 minutes, the teams remained deadlocked.

The ensuing three-on-three overtime was about as entertaining as scoreless hockey gets. With open ice everywhere, the teams traded rushes and quality chances in a frantic five minutes. Both goalies answered the bell, but Di Pasquo was particularly busy, turning away seven Bulldog shots in the extra session to finish with 34 saves. UMD also found iron twice, but neither team could find the winner.

With the tie officially in the books, the teams held a shootout that seemed to matter plenty to the players on the ice. UMD’s Jayson Shaugabay gave the Bulldogs the lead before Cullen answered with a slick stickhandling move to pull Minnesota even. Di Pasquo stopped the next UMD attempt, setting the stage for sophomore winger LJ Mooney. Mooney moved from his backhand to his forehand and ripped a wrister past the Bulldog goalie to give the Gophers the exhibition win.

It won’t change Minnesota’s record, but coming off three straight losses and an abysmal season a year ago, Saturday was a welcome step forward. The Gophers fell behind, fought back, and gave themselves a chance to leave the rink feeling good about their effort. At this point, they’ll take it.

First-year head coach Brett Larson will look for his first official win behind the Gopher bench next weekend, but the schedule offers little relief. Minnesota hosts rival North Dakota for a Thursday / Friday series at Mariucci, with puck drop set for 7pm Central Thursday and 6pm Friday. The Gophers will need to build on Saturday’s performance to get into the win column against the Fighting Hawks.