By Virg Foss
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- That resounding thud sound heard coming from Ralph Engelstad Arena late tonight?
It was the sound of one of the nation's two unbeaten teams going down to its first, Cornell University (now 4-1-1) getting thumped 7-3 with a spirited performance by the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's hockey team.
Cornell came into the game having allowed a nation-leading five goals in six and had killed 29 of 30 power plays for the opponents.
The Sioux popped in three power-play goals in seven chances and roared to their highest goal total of the season in the non-conference game played in front of 11,383 fans.
Junior defenseman Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) led the Sioux with a goal and four assists while sophomore forward Matt Frattin (Edmonton, Alberta) had his first college hat trick, plus an assist.
Linemates Evan Trupp (So., Anchorage, Alaska) and Jason Gregoire (Fr., Winnipeg, Manitoba) matched joined Genoway and Frattin with huge offensive nights; Trup had a goal and two assists and Gregoire tallied three assists. The Sioux upped their season record to 5-7-1 in beating the Big Red for the fourth time in five overall meetings.
"It was nice to see two guys (Genoway and Trupp) with smiles on their faces coming back to the bench after they scored a goal,'' UND head coach Dave Hakstol said.
"Matt Frattin, we've seen it over the past couple of games, scoring a couple of goals,'' Hakstol said. "Tonight he got three.''
Frattin scored his first on a rebound at 3:55 of the first period, his goal coming 12 seconds after Locke Jillson had given Cornell a 1-0 lead.
Frattin got his second goal at 7:17 of the third period, scoring off right wing with a high shot to the short side over the shoulder of Cornell goalie Ben Scrivens to give the Sioux a 5-3 lead.
Frattin completed the hat trick at 18:56 of the final period, deflecting Genoway's shot past replacement Cornell goalie Mike German on a power play.
It might have been UND's finest overall performance of the season, and was certainly appreciated by the roaring fans.
Senior right wing Ryan Martens (Selkirk, Manitoba) and senior left wing Ryan Duncan (Calgary. Alberta) added power-play goals for the Sioux. Martens tied the game at 2-2 with his far-side wrister at 17:08 of the first period and Duncan put the Sioux ahead to stay with his short-side stuff of a pass from Brad Miller (Sr., Alphraetta, Ga.) at 6:07 of the second period.
Just as encouraging was the fact that the Sioux scored four goals with sides even at 5-on-5. UND had gone just over 282 minutes without a 5-on-5 goal until unloading on the Big Red.
"I thought we moved the puck around really well, got the puck deep, and made the right plays,'' Trupp said.
The Trupp line with Frattin and Gregoire on the wings was especially productive, accounting for 10 total points on four goals and six assists.
"I've thought we had chemistry all this whole time,'' Trupp said. "I've thought we've been a good line since we've been together. We just haven't been able to bury our chances enough as we did tonight.''
Genoway's goal was the first of the season by a regular Sioux defenseman. He moved in quickly from the point to take a feed from Chris VandeVelde (Jr., Moorhead, Minn.) from behind the net and surprise Scrivens with his shot.
"I just tried to get it on net quick,'' Genoway said. "I think it went down, it was such a hard shot. It was a rainbow-like shot. That was not the hardest shot I've ever let go.''
But it counted and staked the Sioux to a 4-2 lead just 51 seconds into the third period. After Cornell's Riley Nash chopped the lead to 4-3 on a breakaway goal, Frattin triggered a run of three Sioux goals to end the game to ensure the victory.
Cornell came into the game ranked No. 12 nationally, while the Sioux were unranked.
"It was a step forward, it's huge,'' Genoway said. "It's been a frustrating year.''
Still, he knows there's a rematch looming with a strong Cornell team Saturday night. "We've only got one (win) or a tie on a weekend,'' Genoway said. "It depends on what we do tomorrow night. We've got to keep taking a step forward, we can't take a step back.''
Hakstol said he put the Sioux through a tough week of practices this week. "Coach challenged us to get pucks to the net and get to the net on these guys,'' Genoway said. "The bounces just kind of went our way, but you could tell they are a good defensive team. Everytime you got to the blue line, there's a three-man wall.''
Still, the Sioux found a way to make the wall come crumbling down. The Sioux had 36 shots on goal to 24 for Cornell, 15 of UND's shots coming in the telling four-goal closing period.
Cornell used its superior size to play a physical game, and the Sioux showed the results after the game. Genoway came in for the post-game press conference with a wad of cotton stuffed into his bloody nose and Frattin sported an ice bag.
"It was a battle all the way through,'' Hakstol said. "In the third period, things started to come a little easier in the third period. We got a couple late ones that stretched the lead. But it was anyone's game through 50 minutes.''
SIOUX NOTES: The Sioux blanked Cornell on its four power plays, though the Big Red did have eight shots with a man advantage . . . Frattin was credited with three shots on net, all resulting in goals . . . Darcy Zajac (Jr., Winnipeg. Manitoba) and Duncan led the Sioux in shots on goal with five each while Genoway had four . . . Duncan's goal came on a 5-on-3 power play . . . This is the first time since the 1995-96 season that Cornell has made a regular-season trip to the western part of the country . . . Sioux freshman goalie Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) finished with 21 saves . . . Scrivens had 21 for Cornell and German 8 after he came on to replace Scrivens after Frattin's goal made it 5-3 ... Genoway has eight points in his last three games. His five points tonight were the most by a Sioux defenseman since Travis Roche had six against Minnesota on Nov. 10, 2000. Genoway's game-winner was the fifth of his career, tied for third all-time among Sioux defensemen.
