“The kids reacted very well,” MSU head coach Rick Comley said. “They worked very hard. We had a lot of good scoring chances, as they did, and I thought it was a very good game.”

The Gophers (7-5-1 overall) were without their leading scorer, Blake Wheeler, who was hurt in practice Wednesday, according to Minnesota head coach Don Lucia.

“He got a little ding in practice on Wednesday,” Lucia said. “It swelled up on the flight here and we just thought it wasn’t worth the risk to play him tonight.”

Minnesota took a 1-0 lead into the second period, but MSU (8-3-1) was able to tie the game on a goal by freshman forward Andrew Rowe, who drove to the net and beat Minnesota goaltender Alex Kangas.

Comley said that Rowe, who has been in and out of the lineup thus far, could be on the edge of receiving more playing time.

“He can skate and he’s shown the ability to score,” Comley said. “He can beat defenseman to the outside.”

But the tie was short lived, as the Gophers re-took the lead just over two minutes later.

R.J. Anderson sent a shot from the point and got a perfect screen as the puck went over junior goaltender Jeff Lerg’s right shoulder, off the post and into the net.

The two teams would battle from there and MSU came out looking for the tie early in the third period and got it a 2:59 when senior forward Chris Mueller knocked in his second of the season off a rebound of a blocked shot.

“In the first period we couldn’t win any battles,” Comley said. “In the second and third, we did.”

Then, with the Spartans buzzing on a power play later in the period, the Gophers struck shorthanded, as MSU was caught napping.

The Gophers went on a 3-on-2 and forward Mike Hoeffel found himself on the tail end of a beautiful passing combination and he blasted the puck past Lerg.

But Minnesota was in for a dose of its own medicine less than 90 seconds later.

With Rowe in the penalty box for elbowing, Minnesota tried to set up its power play, but junior forward Tim Kennedy intercepted a pass at the point, corralled the puck and darted in on Kangas, beating the goalie with a low shot on the blocker side.

“We talked about their power play earlier this week and they always like to make that extra pass,” Kennedy said. “I knew it wasn’t one of those where I was going to have time to make a move. I had to get down there quick and find a hole.”

The two teams would battle from there, but neither could solve the opposing goaltender.

“As the game got going, it got better and better, especially in the third period and overtime,” Lucia said. “It was the kind of game we needed. We didn’t need too much of an up-and-down game. We were fine to play an ugly road game.”

The Spartans are back on the ice Saturday as they complete the College Hockey Showcase with a game against No. 12 Wisconsin at 7:05 p.m.