HOUGHTON, Mich. ? Freshman goalie Brad Eidsness made 14 saves for his first career shutout and sophomores Matt Frattin and Jake Marto each scored twice in a 5-0 Fighting Sioux victory over host Michigan Tech tonight in front of 2,888 at John MacInnes Ice Arena.
Seventeenth-ranked North Dakota extended its unbeaten streak to six games (5-0-1) and improved to 14-10-2 overall and 9-5-2 in WCHA play.
UND built a 2-0 lead for the second straight night, but 24 hours after seeing such a lead turn into a 3-3 tie, the Sioux ensured a victory with a three-goal third period. Sophomore forward Brent Davidson (Morden, Manitoba) ignited the third-period rally, gobbling up a loose puck just inside the Husky blueline and snapping a shot past MTU goalie Rob Nolan from the faceoff circle at 7:24 for his second goal of the season.
The Sioux then blew it open seven minutes later when Frattin and Marto each notched their second goal of the night in a 30 second span with the two teams playing 4-on-4. First, Frattin beat MTU defenseman Eli Vlaisavljevich wide, eluded a Nolan pokecheck and tucked the puck into the net for his 10th goal of the year at 14:20. Then Marto collected his third of the weekend and fourth of the season with a blast from the blueline that beat Nolan high to the glove side.
Eidsness did the rest, making a handful of spectacular saves late in the game to preserve his first collegiate shutout. The Chestemere, Alberta, native, making his 23rd straight appearance and 17th straight start, improved to 14-7-2 on the season.
The Sioux finished 1-for-7 on the power-play while killing all five MTU chances with the man advantage.
Noland finished with 23 saves for the Huskies, who were outshot 33-14.
Frattin staked UND to a 1-0 lead at the 7:23 mark of the first period, taking a Ryan Duncan (Sr., Calgary, Alberta) pass in stride along the boards and beating Nolan with a wrist shot from the circle.
UND's 1-0 lead lasted late into the second period, when Marto ripped a wrist shot high to the glove side on the power-play with just 43 seconds left in the middle frame.
Sophomore forward Brad Malone (Miramichi, New Brunswick) had a career-high two assists for the Sioux.
UND will return to action next weekend when it hosts Denver on Friday and Saturday at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Notes: Frattin snapped a six-game goal-scoring skid with his two goals ... UND tallied a power-play goal for the sixth straight game ... Marto now has four goals and four assists and is a +11 over his last 12 games ... Sophomore forward Evan Trupp (Anchorage, Alaska) extended his career-long point streak to four games with a second-period assist.
