Jimmy Snuggerud had two goals and an assist and Brody Ziemer scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period to lead the No. 4 Gophers men's hockey team to a 5-3 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.

Snuggerud scored twice in a six-minute span to give the Gophers (12-2, 6-0 Big Ten) a 3-1 lead but the Irish (5-9, 1-7) scored twice in the final six minutes of the period to tie the score 3-3 going into the third period.

Ziemer's goal — assisted by Snuggerud and Sam Rinzel — broke the tie with 6 minutes, 45 seconds remaining.

"We deserved the win tonight," Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. "We got ourselves in a little trouble and Notre Dame got back in it with our two mistakes. We were having a dominating period and could have really put the game away, but that's hockey and we found ourselves in a tied hockey game.

"I give our guys credit; we came back and played our tails off. Now we go home and let's hope we get some home cooking and let our fans get a chance to watch."

Mike Koster's empty-netter with 11 seconds left clinched the victory for the Gophers.

The Gophers outshot the Irish 39-23 but were just 1-for-6 on the power play after going 3-for-5 on Friday, when the Gophers beat the Irish 6-3.

Axel Kumlin had a goal and two assists for the Irish.

The Gophers, who have had just one home game since Nov. 3, will play their next three series — against Alaska, Michigan and Michigan State — at home.