By Virg Foss

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The most spectacular play in hockey nearly put a dazzling end to UND's 2-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association overtime tie against St. Cloud State tonight.

Sioux senior captain Chris Porter (sr., Thunder Bay, Ont.) was pulled down by St. Cloud State defenseman Justin Fletcher as Porter broke hard toward the net with the mission in mind of providing a dazzling finish for UND as the final seconds ticked off in overtime.

Porter never got a shot off against St. Cloud State goalie Bobby Goepfert (40 saves), and the Sioux felt they should have been awarded a rare penalty shot.

Did UND coach Dave Hakstol want a penalty shot called? "Absolutely,'' Hakstol quipped. "With one second to go, that's our best chance to score.''

As it was, the Sioux could have won it in regulation play, only to have a goal by Jonathan Toews (so., Winnipeg) at 12:14 of the third period disallowed. The goal would have given the Sioux a 3-2 lead. Referee Bill Mason ruled that Toews kicked the puck in, and the replay seemed to back up his call.

The disallowed goal came second after Sioux sophomore T.J. Oshie (Warroad, Minn.) hit the post flush on a blast, with the puck eventually coming back to Toews in front.

Porter, who is off to the fastest scoring start in his four years the Sioux with four goals and six assists in 10 games, thought he should have been awarded a penalty shot in the final second of overtime.

"In my mind, ya, I think so,'' Porter said. "I thought I had a step on the defenseman. Obviously he took me down and prevented a scoring chance. But Mason (the referee) looked at the videotape during a little time out them. and said he made the right call. There's nothing we can do about it now.''

The Sioux, who poured 42 shots on goal in outshooting the Huskies 42-28, needed to rally twice to get the tie and take three out of a possible four points from the Huskies in the series.

UND had given up just one first-period goal through the first nine games, but the Sioux were touched by a pair of goals by the Huskies in the first 20 minutes tonight.

Ryan Lasch struck first for St. Cloud, banging in a goal-mouth feed from Dan Kronick on a Huskies power play at 10:40 to put the Sioux down 1-0;

Two Sioux defensemen, junior Robbie Bina (Grand Forks) and freshman Chay Genoway (Swan River, Man.), jumped into the play three minutes later to tie it at 1-1.

Genoway carried the puck into the zone on the left wing, then feathered a perfect pass to Bina in front, with Bina going high on his shot for just his second goal in 73 career games. Bina's only other college goal came in 2003 at Denver University.

Less than a minute later, St. Cloud went back on top at 2-1 at 14:38 when Lasch, an impressive rookie wing from Lake Forest, Calif., whipped a pass from behind the net to Kronick for his quick put-back past Sioux freshman goalie Anthony Grieco (Burlington, Ont.) Grieco, with his second straight strong game, stopped 26 of 28 St. Cloud shots after giving up just one goal Friday in UND's 3-1 win.

The tying goal for UND came midway through the second period with Porter delivering it.

Freshman defenseman Taylor Chorney (Hastings, Minn.), had his point shot deflected by traffic as the Sioux worked the tail end of a power play.

The deflection bounced right to Porter, though, who went up high to beat Goepfert for his fourth goal of the season.

An entertaining and wide-open third period was highlighted by the disallowed goal for the Sioux and the teams combined for 27 shots on goal in the period, 14 by the Sioux.

In overtime, the Sioux outshot the Huskies 4-1 despite having to skate off a holding penalty on freshman defenseman Zach Jones (Lisle, Ill.)

"I don't know if we're satisfied with the tie,'' Porter said. "It's nice to come out of the weekend with three points. ''

The three points is enough to keep the Sioux (4-1-1, 9 points) in first place in the WCHA heading into a bye next weekend. The Sioux don't swing back into league play until Nov. 17-18 at Alaska Anchorage. UND moved to 6-3-1 overall.

"Our goal tonight was to get two points,'' Porter said. "Hats off to them (St. Cloud). They played great. Tight checking, and Goepfert played really well for them.''

Hakstol was pleased with UND's performance. "I liked the way our team played tonight,'' he said. "I thought we had a decent first period, but I thought our second and third periods were very good. It's tough to lose a point, but we also gained a point and played very well doing it.''

UND had a major edge in shooting chances, with 91 shot attempts to 49 for the Huskies. St. Cloud players blocked 30 Sioux shots, though, before they reached the net.

With a two-point game, Porter, known more for being a mucker, is now tied for the team lead in scoring with 10 points in 10 games.

It's the best Hakstol has seen Porter play. "He's using his God-given talent,'' Hakstol said. "He skates extremely well, he's strong and he shoots the puck. He's one of those guys who the simpler his game is, the more effective he is.''

And Saturday night, Porter's effectiveness led to the 2-2 tie and nearly ended the overtime session with a penalty shot that was not awarded.

"I think he's matured as a player,'' Hakstol said. "He's been a guy we can count on virtually every night.''

Contact: Jayson Hajdu