GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- UND captain Rylan Kaip (Sr., Radville, Saskatchewan) scored in the third period to lift the Fighting Sioux men's hockey team to a 1-1 tie with St. Cloud State on Friday.
The Huskies led 1-0 after two periods after St. Cloud State forward John Swanson scored a power play goal at 16:43 of the second period.
UND responded at 1:55 of the third. In a strange play, Kaip fired the puck from the blue line off the end boards behind the St. Cloud State net. SCSU goaltender Jase Weslosky then misplayed it, and Kaip batted the loose puck into the net for his seventh goal of the season. Matt Watkins (Jr., Aylesbury, Saskatchewan) and Chris VandeVelde (So., Moorhead, Minn.) assisted on the goal.
That was all the scoring in the game, as the teams played a scoreless overtime.
The Sioux extended their unbeaten streak to 16 games (14-0-2), tying a school record set in the 2002-03 season, when UND had a 13-0-3 stretch.
However, UND's hopes of getting a share of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association title were dashed when Colorado College defeated Denver 5-2 in Denver, Colo., to clinch the league title. The Sioux (23-8-3 overall, 18-7-2 WCHA) clinched sole possession of second place in the league and will play either Minnesota Duluth or Michigan Tech next weekend in the league playoffs.
St. Cloud State kept alive its hopes of earning home ice in the league playoffs. The Huskies (17-4-4 overall, 12-12-3 WCHA) are tied with Wisconsin for the fifth and final home ice spot, while Minnesota is just two points behind SCSU.
The Sioux outshot the Huskies 30-18 on Friday in a game that featured the fewest penalties called in a UND game all season. St. Cloud State was whistled just once in the game for a penalty, while UND had just two penalties for four minutes.
UND goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux (Sr., Grand Forks, N.D.) ended with 17 saves, while Weslosky had 29.
UND's eight-game home winning streak came to an end, but it extended its home unbeaten streak to nine game (8-0-1).
The Sioux and Huskies will conclude their weekend series and regular-season schedule on Saturday with a 7:07 p.m. rematch at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
NOTES: The game was a sellout, with a crowd of 11,644 in attendance.
