Box Score

MINNEAPOLIS, MN –  Freshman forward Josh Jooris' scored his second goal of the night at :42 of overtime to lift No.12/14 Union (11-5-2) to a 3-2 win over No. 19 Minnesota (9-8-2) in front of 8,941 fans at Mariucci Arena.

 

Senior forward John Simpson set up the play with a wide-angle shot that deflected into the slot. Jooris' turn-around rebound beat Minnesota goaltender Kent Patterson low to seal the victory for the Dutchmen.

 

The win was head coach Nate Leaman's 123rd victory behind the bench at Union, giving him the all-time school wins record. Leaman, who has a 123-122-34 record in eight seasons, was previously tied with Charlie Morrison, who compiled a 122-146-9 record at Union from 1978-1988.

 

Union had to come-from-behind twice in the contest, as their opponent scored first for the fifth consecutive road game. After a defensive zone turnover, Taylor Matson fed Jacob Cepis, who fired a wrist shot in the slot that beat sophomore goaltender Keith Kinkaid between the pads at 17:30 of the first period, giving the Golden Gophers a 1-0 lead.

 

John Simpson struck back on the power play in the second period. Simpson took a feed from freshman defenseman Mat Bodie in the neutral zone, and used the wide Olympic-sized rink to his advantage, skating through traffic into the Minnesota zone. Simpson's wrist shot beat Kent Patterson over his right shoulder at 10:07 to tie the game at 1-1. With the assist, Bodie extended his season best point streak to five games.

 

Minnesota regained the lead on a power play shortly after Nolan Julseth-White was whistled for a tripping penalty late in the second period. Minnesota defenseman Aaron Ness fired a shot from the point that was stopped by Kinkaid, but forward Mike Hoeffel fired the rebound into an open net at 16:43 to give the Golden Gophers the lead.

 

The lead would be short-lived however, as Union would even the game just 13 seconds later, as freshman forward Josh Jooris scored falling down on a backhander in the slot to even the score at 2-2 at 16:56.

 

The teams skated to a scoreless third period, as Kinkaid and Patterson each made key stops to send the game into overtime.

 

For the game, Union outshot Minnesota 30-25 and went 1-for-3 on the power play. The Golden Gophers were 1-for-2 with the man advantage.

 

Union will face Bemidji State tomorrow afternoon at 4:05 p.m. to decide the winner of the Mariucci Classic.