MANKATO, Minn.--It was a game in which Minnesota State could do no wrong while shorthanded.
The 15th-ranked Mavericks killed all eight North Dakota power-plays and got a rare shorthanded natural hat trick from junior forward Zach Harrison in a 5-1 win over the 13th-ranked Fighting Sioux tonight in front of 5,004 at the Alltel Center, the WCHA opener for both teams.
The win lifted MSU to 3-0-0 overall while the Sioux dropped to 0-3-0 for the first time since 1994-95.
Harrison's shorthanded hat trick is just the sixth in NCAA history and the first in 10 years.
His first two goals were particularly devastating for the Sioux.
Trailing 2-1 midway through the second period, UND had begun to assert itself and seemed to have tilted the ice in their favor. But with the Sioux on a power-play, Harrison took advantage of a UND turnover at center ice and carried the puck into the Sioux zone on a 1-on-1. Using the UND defender as a screen, Harrison ripped a wrist shot high to the glove side of Sioux netminder Aaron Walski (Sr., Fargo, N.D.) for a 3-1 lead at the 8:25 mark.
That would be the lone goal of a second period that saw UND out-shoot the Mavericks 13-4 and carry a 24-7 edge in shot attempts.
Harrison's second shorthanded goal ? just 53 seconds into the third period ? proved to be the decisive blow. The Flint, Mich., native stole the puck inside the blueline, make a move to his backhand and beat Walski to put the Mavericks up 4-1.
Harrison capped his memorable in the game's final moments. With two Mavericks in the penalty box and Walski on the bench for a 6-on-3 Sioux advantage, Harrison pounced on a loose puck just inside his own blueline and blindly smacked a backhander the length of the ice that snuck inside the post.
“We're not clicking,” said UND head coach Dave Hakstol. “We're doing a lot of good things, but that doesn't win a hockey game.”
The Sioux finished the game with a 35-22 edge in shots on a goal, including 10 by senior forward Ryan Duncan (Sr., Calgary, Alberta). But UND could not capitalize on its eight power plays, despite throwing 12 shots on goal with the man advantage.
MSU goalie Mike Zacharias, making his 32nd consecutive start, stopped 34 shots for the victory.
Walski made 17 saves in a losing cause.
Senior forward Matt Watkins (Aylesbury, Saskatchewan) scored the lone goal for the Sioux, putting UND up 1-0 just 4:36 into the first period with a rocket of a wrist shot from the high slot that beat Zacharias high to the glove side.
That goal marked the first time this season UND had enjoyed a lead, but it would last less than two minutes. MSU's Geoff Irwin knotted the game at 6:16 of the period, and the Mavericks' Kael Mouillierat added another goal 67 seconds later to give the Mavericks a lead it would not relinquish.
The two teams will hook up again Saturday night at 7:07 p.m.
“It's very early in the year,” added Hakstol. “We need to play better and have some things go right to get back on track.
“We have to settle in, have composure and intensity and make plays.”
