No. 14 Cornell scores three goals late to upset No. 5 North Dakota, 4-3; No. 9 Minnesota, No. 13 Notre Dame hold serve in B1G; BU routs ASU

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Boston University ended Arizona State’s two-game winning streak with a 7-1 victory on Friday to start a two-game weekend set in Boston (photo: Kyle Prudhomme/BU Athletics)

It was Friday’s only game between two nationally-ranked teams and the tilt between No. 5 North Dakota and No. 14 Cornell lived up to its billing.

Cornell scored three goals in the final 10:34 of regulation to overcome a 3-1 deficit and earn a much-needed 4-3 victory to open a two-game series in Grand Forks.

For the first 54 minutes, North Dakota never trailed. Mark Senden got North Dakota on the board at 15:32 of the first for a 1-0 lead through 20.

Cornell evened the game on the power play at 3:02 of the second but Ashton Calder had the answer with a power play tally of his own at 14:38 of the middle frame.

North Dakota appeared to get the necessary insurance at 5:59 of the third on a Jake Schmaltz goal. But Cornell had yet another response at 9:26 when Jack O’Leary closed the gap to 3-2.

That’s when the fireworks began. Max Andreev tied the game with his eighth goal of the season with 7:11 remaining. And while riding the momentum, Kyler Covich gave Cornell its first lead with 5:49 left.

Both teams took separate five-minute majors late, the first by North Dakota hurting its comeback chances but the was matched by Cornell in the closing seconds setting up two late draws of consequence that the Big Red survived.

The win for Cornell was almost crucial after the Big Red dropped to 25th in the PairWise last weekend getting swept at Arizona State.

SCOREBOARD  |  DCU/USCHO.com POLL  |  PAIRWISE RANKING

No. 9 Minnesota 4, Michigan State 1

The Golden Gophers remained perfect in the New Year with a solid 4-1 road victory over Michigan State on Friday.

Ben Meyers scored twice for Minnesota and added an assist. Sammy Walker opened the scoring for the Gophers, while Nash Nienhuis scored the only tally for the host Spartans in the opening period.

Jack LaFonatine was solid in goal for the Gophers stopping 24 shots, including 10 in the game’s final period.

No. 13 Notre Dame 4, Penn State 2

Landon Slaggert broke a 2-2 tie with 6:58 remaining in regulation and teammate Max Ellis added an empty-net goal late as Notre Dame grabbed a 4-2 road victory over Penn State in a key game for both Big Ten and PairWise positing.

Ellis scored twice on the night, including the game’s opening goal 37 seconds into the second period. After Grant Sillanoff gave the Irish a 2-0 lead at 3:01 of the middle frame, Penn State responded with goal by Adam Pilewicz 82 seconds later and a late-period goal by Tyler Paquette evened the game heading to the third.

Ryan Bischel earned the victory in goal for Notre Dame stopping 38 of the 40 shots he faced.

Boston University 7, Arizona State 1

The Terriers, looking for a second-half run to give themselves a chance for an NCAA Tournament bid, exploded over final 40 minutes of the game, scoring three times in the second and four more in the third to earn a 7-1 victory over Arizona State.

It’s a rough start to a road trip for the Sun Devils who will play seven straight games against Division I opponents away from the confines of home.

Seven different players recorded goals for BU and no single player recorded more than two points on the night despite the offensive explosion.

All told, 11 of the 19 skaters for BU recorded a point, while goaltender Drew Commesso earned the victory with 26 saves.

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