COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--Colorado College senior forward Eric Walsky scored four goals to lead the top-ranked Tigers to a 7-4 WCHA win over the Fighting Sioux tonight in a wild contest played in front of 7,327 at Colorado Springs World Arena.
Walsky's four-goal outing enabled the first-place Tigers to erase a 2-1 deficit and improve to 6-1-3 overall and 4-1-1 in league play.
UND, playing with a depleted lineup, fell to 3-5-0 overall and 3-3-0 in the WCHA. The Sioux threw a season-high 47 shots on goal ? their most in three years ? despite playing without defensemen Joe Finley (Sr., Edina, Minn.) and Chay Genoway (Jr., Morden, Manitoba).
The absence of Finley and Genoway forced senior forward Brad Miller (Alpharetta, Ga.) to move to defense for the second straight game, and fellow senior forward Ryan Martens (Selkirk, Manitoba) was also pressed into brief blueline duty.
Additionally, the Sioux lost freshman forward Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) late in the first period to a game misconduct for checking from behind.
“The effort was tremendous,” said UND head coach Dave Hakstol. “I'm very happy with our battle level. It was kind of a wild and crazy 60 minutes.
“We played with a ton of heart tonight. Nobody needs to hang their head for anything they did effort-wise tonight.”
Despite the key absences on the blueline, UND a fired 23 shots at CC goalie Richard Bachman in the first period and staked a two-goal lead on goals by Hextall and senior forward Ryan Duncan (Calgary, Alberta).
However, immediately after Duncan scored with 2:11 left in the period to take the lead, Hextall was penalized for hitting a CC defender after the whistle, giving the Tigers a five-minute power-play.
Just 70 seconds later, Walsky attempted a centering pass that deflected off the skate of Sioux defenseman Jake Marto (So., Grand Forks) and past UND goalie Brad Eidsness (Fr., Chestermere, Alberta), tying the game at 2-2 with one minute left in the period.
While still enjoying the five-minute man advantage early in the second period, CC's Scott McCulloch put the Tigers ahead with a deflection in front of Eidsness at 1:36.
The lead was short-lived, however, as UND's Matt Frattin (So., Edmonton, Alberta) drove wide to the CC net and threw the puck in front to Duncan. Duncan's shot deflected to the side of the CC net, where Chris VandeVelde (Jr., Moorhead, Minn.) grabbed the puck and tucked inside the post, tying the game just two minutes after McCulloch's goal.
The Sioux then grabbed the lead midway through the second period while enjoying the second of back-to-back 5-on-3 opportunities. Freshman David Toews' (Winnipeg, Manitoba) shot at the side of the net was blocked by a CC defenseman, but fellow rookie Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) grabbed the loose puck and roofed a shot from in tight over the glove hand of Bachman.
CC had another quick answer, though, as Walsky notched his second and third goals of the game in a 28 second span only three minutes after Gregoire had put the Sioux on top, giving the Tigers a 5-4 lead heading into the third.
Walsky iced the game with his fourth goal 8:51 into the the third period, knocking home a Chad Rau rebound after the Sioux failed to clear their zone.
The Tigers capped the scoring with a fluky goal at the 5:03 mark. With Eidsness on the bench during a delayed CC penalty, VandeValde gathered the puck at center ice, turned and tried to fire a pass to his own blueline. But nobody was home and the puck slid into the empty Sioux net to make it 7-4 Tigers.
Eidsess made 30 saves for the Sioux and fell to 3-3-0 on the season.
Bachman stopped 43 shots for the Tigers, including 21 in the first period and 15 in the second period.
UND went 2-for-10 on the power-play while the Tigers went 3-for-7.
The Sioux return to action Nov. 14-15 when they host conference rival Alaska Anchorage at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Notes: Toews drew an assist in the second period for his first collegiate point ... UND's 47 shots on goal were its most since recording 51 at Alaska Anchorage on Jan.6, 2006 ... UND's 23 shots in the first period were its most in a period this season ...The UND Alumni Association held a pre-game rally in the arena concourse prior to the game, with an estimated 280 Sioux fans in attendance.
