17th-ranked Sioux blank MTU 5-0, claim fifth straight series

Men's Hockey 1/24/2009 11:00:00 PM UND Athletics Media Relations

Eidsness stops 38 as Sioux and Denver tie 2-2

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- First place was there to be had for the University of North Dakota men's hockey team tonight, but visiting Denver University would have none of that.

The Pioneers rallied twice from one-goal deficits to tie the Fighting Sioux 2-2 in overtime and remain in first place in the WCHA, one point ahead of UND. Had the Fighting Sioux won to complete a weekend sweep, they would have moved into sole possession of first place in the tight WCHA race.

Denver not only overcame two deficits, but the ejection of coach George Gwozdecky in the second period by referee Todd Anderson for his protest of a bench minor called on Denver.

Denver killed the minor penalty successfully, but gave up the go-ahead goal to UND sophomore Evan Trupp on a breakaway at 16:52 of the second period for a 2-1 Sioux lead.

Trupp (Anchorage, Alaska) took a feed from Darcy Zajac (So., Winnipeg, Manitoba) off the side boards, sailed down left wing and beat DU goalie Marc Cheviere 5-hole just three seconds after a Denver power play had expired.

But the Sioux couldnt make the lead stand up. DU freshman defenseman Peter Wiercioch rifled in a screened slap shot at 19:00 of the second period on a power play for his eighth goal of the season, creating the 2-all tie.

Denver, which outshot the Sioux 40-25, had the best chance to win it in overtime. Sophomore center Jesse Martin hit the goal post flush two minutes into OT as Sioux freshman goalie Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta), who was superb with 38 saves, caught a break.

Sophomore right wing Matt Frattin (Edmonton, Alberta) had given UND a 1-0 lead at 4:44 of the first period with his team-leading 12th goal of the season.

Junior center Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead, Minn.) did the grunt work, digging the puck out of the corner and backhanding a pass to Frattin in the circle to slip 5-hole on Cheviere.

Denver tied it at 1-1 when defenseman Chris Nutani's point shot deflected off the body of Pioneer forward Anthony Maiani and past Eidsness at 11:21 of the opening period.

Trupp and Wiercioch then traded goals after Gwozdecky's ejection by referee Todd Anderson and a scoreless third period and overtime followed, keeping the Pioneers in first place in the WCHA by a single point over the Sioux.

Much of the talk, though, centered on the rare game misconduct given Gwozdecky after he walked across the ice toward the penalty box after the bench minor on Denver at 9:33 of the second period.

It appeared as if Gwozecky was going to sit in the penalty box himself to serve the minor, though rules do not allow that.

Gwozdecky denied that. "I was walking to the lockerroom,'' he deadpanned to the media after the game. "I was going to take the long way. Oh no, no, no, I wasn't going to the penalty box. I was going to our lockeroom. I was trying to get the attention of the officials.''

Denver's lockerroom is directly behind the Denver bench, on the opposite side of the rink from the plenalty box.

"I thought he was going to go sit the two minutes himself,'' Weiercioch said. "I think most guys were thinking he was going to take the two minutes and serve it himself. He definitely wanted to make a statement.''

It might have worked. After the unusual move by Gwozdecky that nobody in the rink could recall ever seeing before at any level of hockey, the Sioux were whistled for the next five penalties and Denver was not penalized again. Before Gwozdecky's ejected, all four penalties that were called were on Denver.

"I've never seen that before,'' Eidsness said. "It was a little bit of a spectacle. It might have worked. They got five straight power plays after that.''

Eidsness was brilliant in stopping 38 of Denver's shots, as the Pioneers outshot the Sioux 40-25 after losing to them 8-3 on Friday night.

"Eidsness did a great job tonight of bailing out our team.'' UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "We've given him some good leads to work with lately. Tonight he gave us a chance to get one point.''

The Sioux (10-5-3 WCHA, 15-10-3 overall) kept their recent unbeaten streak alive, now 7-0-2 in their last 10 games. They are 10-2-2 since the first of December.

It was a tie that seemed to satisfy both teams. "We're still proud of the point we were able to take out of this rink,'' Wiercioch, a second round draft pick by Ottawa last summer, said. "Tough place to play, especially with the fans (sellout of 11,856, 10th sellout of the year) and the style that North Dakota plays at home. They're a tough team to play here.''

The Sioux head to St. Cloud State next weekend for another WCHA series before having a week off.

Foss covered UND hockey for 35 seasons for the Grand Forks Herald until his retirement. He now reports on UND home games exclusively for FightingSioux.com. Contact him at virgfoss@yahoo.com

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