MANKATO, Minn. ? Sophomore forward Brad Miller (Alpharetta, Ga.) scored three goals and added an assist to lead the UND men's hockey team to a 5-4 win over Minnesota State on Friday.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Sioux, who are now 4-3-0 overall and 2-1-0 in the WCHA. Minnesota State fell to 2-3-0 overall and 1-2-0 in the WCHA.
North Dakota jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one period, but MSU came back to tie the score, 3-3, in the second period.
Miller then scored an unassisted goal late in the second period to give the Sioux a 4-3 lead after two.
The Mavericks' Travis Morin scored a power play goal at 6:39 of the third to tie it 4-4, but Miller scored the game winner on a tip-in at 11:53 while the Sioux were on the power play.
UND opened the scoring when Ryan Duncan (So., Calgary, Alberta) scored at 5:34 of the first after a pass from Miller while the Sioux were on a 5-on-3.
Miller made it 2-0 when he fired a rebound into a wide-open MSU net after a Chris VandeVelde (Fr., Moorhead, Minn.) wraparound shot was stopped by Dan Tormey.
The Sioux upped their lead to 3-0 when Chay Genoway (Fr., Swan River, Manitoba) fired a backhander past Tormey at 13:44 while UND was on the power play. It was Genoway's first career goal.
UND outshot the Mavericks 15-6 in the first period, but MSU turned the tables in the second period, outshooting the Sioux 12-1 in the first 7:30 of the second stanza and 19-9 overall in the period. Included were three straight goals.
Minnesota State cut the score to 3-1 on a power play goal by Mick Berge at 2:52 of the second period, and tied it with two goals in a 21-second span during a 4-on-4 situation.
The first of those was scored by Trevor Bruess at 14:14, with the next coming on a breakaway by Jon Kalinski at 14:35.
UND freshman goalie Anthony Grieco (Brampton, Ontario) made his first career start and stopped 34 of 38 shots. MSU outshot the Sioux, 38-32, in the game.
The teams will wrap up their series Saturday with a 7:07 p.m. game.
NOTES: Miller's four-point game was a career high. His hat trick was the second of the season for the Sioux, who also had a hat trick earlier in the season from Jonathan Toews (So., Winnipeg, Manitoba) ... Miller now has a team-high seven points (four goals, three assists) on the season ... Friday's attendance was 3,611.
Contact: Dan Benson
