Gophers lose to rival North Dakota 3-1 in Vegas

Published Oct. 28, 2018 1:51 a.m. ET

Like many boarding departure flights from the city of Las Vegas, the Minnesota Gophers will head home with a loss.

Revisiting an old rivalry with North Dakota in Sin City, the Gophers (1-1-1) managed just one goal against the Fighting Hawks in a 3-1 loss.

The game was scoreless after 20 minutes of play. Minnesota struck first in the second period on a Brent Gates goal. Ten minutes later, North Dakota tied it, and the Fighting Hawks took the game with a pair of third-period goals, one being an empty-netter with 41.6 seconds left.

Colton Poolman scored the first two goals for North Dakota, and Joel Janatuinen added the tally on the empty net.

Gophers goaltender Mat Robson stopped 30 shots in the loss. Fighting Hawks goalie Adam Scheel was tested fewer times, as he made 20 saves in North Dakota’s win.

UP NEXT

The Gophers head back to their home state for a home-and-home series against Mankato next weekend. The Mavericks are 5-1 overall after sweeping Alaska 4-0 and 3-1 this weekend.