Gophers after playoff loss to Notre Dame: ‘The sky is not falling’
Gophers say 'sky is not falling' after playoff loss to Notre Dame
The Gophers' men's hockey team has to wait two weeks to learn its NCAA Tournament fate after losing to Notre Dame in the Big Ten Tournament at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Bob Motzko called it the perfect scenario for the Big Ten Tournament: Win a share of the regular season title, but keep playing as the No. 2 seed rather than get a first round bye.
After losing a best-of-three series to Notre Dame at 3M Arena at Mariucci, the Gophers’ men’s hockey team now has to wait for two weeks to learn its NCAA Tournament fate. The Gophers were eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament after a 4-1 loss to the Fighting Irish.
"The sky is not falling. It sucks right now, I can tell you that, but we’re going to play again," Motzo said before leaving his postgame news conference Sunday night.
The series
What we know:
The Gophers lost Game 1 of the series 3-2 Friday night. They bounced back Saturday with a 4-2 win, getting two third period goals to take a 3-1 lead. Notre Dame cut it to 3-2 before the Gophers scored an empty-net goal to seal the win.
Sunday, the Fighting Irish got out to a 2-0 lead, and the Gophers never recovered.
‘There’s no more lessons now'
What they're saying:
The Gophers now have to wait to see if they still get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They could’ve helped their cause with a deeper run in the Big Ten Tournament, but they’ve been a top-five team in the nation all season.
They’re focused on winning a national title, but that journey won’t start for two weeks.
"It’s our last lesson, there’s no more lessons now. We’ve got to learn from it, wear it and come out ready in two weeks to compete for the big one," Mason Nevers said.
"The main message is that’s not the one that we’re really out to win. We’re out to win a national championship," Luke Mittelstadt said. "It’s going to suck for a couple days and it’s extremely frustrating."