BEMIDJI, Minn.--Sophomore forward Evan Trupp had a goal and two assists and freshman goalie Brad Eidsness stopped 10 third-period shots to carry the Fighting Sioux to a 4-3 non-conference win over Bemidji State tonight in front of a capacity crowd of 2,414 at John S. Glas Fieldhouse.
The 18th-ranked Sioux improved to 10-10-1 overall heading into tomorrow night's rematch in Grand Forks, while BSU fell to 8-9-0.
Trupp was the offensive catalyst for a Sioux team that had scored just one goal in each of its last two games. The Anchorage, Alaska, native picked up a goal and an assist in a wild third period, then assisted on Ryan Martens' (Sr., Selkirk, Manitoba) game-winning goal in the second period.
Trupp and linemates Chris VandeVelde (Jr., Moorhead, Minn.) and Matt Frattin (So., Edmonton, Alberta) combined for a seven-point night and were particularly dominant during a first period that saw the Sioux outshoot the Beavers 20-9.
VandeVelde opened the scoring just 1:41 into the game, taking a Trupp pass as he streaked into the BSU zone with a step on his defender and beating Beaver goalie Matt Dalton with a backhand-to-forehand move.
The goal was VandeVelde's fifth of the season and just his second in the last 13 games.
BSU quickly took the lead just four minutes later, however, on goals by Matt Read and Ryan Cramer 35 seconds apart.
The Trupp line would pull the Sioux even at the 13:51 mark when Frattin found Trupp all alone in the slot, and Trupp beat Dalton with a low wrist shot for his third goal of the season.
But the lead was once again short-lived. Read sprung Scofield on a breakaway with a perfect blueline-to-blueline stretch pass, and Scofield beat Eidsness five-hole for a 3-2 BSU lead heading into the first intermission.
It took exactly two minutes of the second period for the Sioux to again knot the game. After a strong forecheck, sophomore forward Brad Malone (Miramichi, New Brunswick) took control of the puck behind the Beaver net and centered a pass to freshman Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), who made no mistake in one-timing the feed past Dalton.
UND took the lead for good just 4:11 later while on the power-play. With a faceoff in the BSU zone to the right of Dalton, Trupp went forward on the draw and Martens banged home a Jason Gregoire (Fr., Winnipeg, Manitoba) for what would prove to be the game-winner.
Much like the first period, UND dominated the second frame territorially, owning a 19-6 edge in shots on goal.
With the Sioux protecting their one-goal lead, BSU carried much of the play in the third period but could not solve Eidsness. While UND was able to manage just a single shot on goal in the final period, Eidsness stopped all 10 shots he faced including a brilliant save with his left skate with under a minute remaining and Dalton on the bench for an extra attacker.
After allowing three goals on the first six shots he faced in the first period, Eidsness was solid the rest of the way, kicking aside BSU's final 16 shots for his 10th victory.
Dalton finished with 36 saves for the Beavers, who were outshot 40-25.
UND went 1-for-5 on the power-play and killed BSU's lone man advantage.
Frattin finished with a pair of assists while VandeVelde had a goal and an assist.
The two teams will square off again Saturday night at Ralph Engelstad Arena at 7:07 p.m. in UND's final non-conference games of the season.
Notes: Eidsness made his 18th consecutive appearance in goal, the longest since Aaron Schweitzer appeared in UND's final 18 games during the team's 1996-97 NCAA championship season ... The sellout was BSU's first of the season and first since hosting UND on Jan. 19, 2007 ... Trupp now has seven points (3g, 4a) in his last five games. That streak doesn't include a 3-point exhibition game against the U.S. Under-18 team (Dec. 19).
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