ST. CLOUD, Minn. ? Four different forwards scored a goal and freshman goalie Brad Eidsness made 25 saves to lead No. 12 North Dakota to a 4-2 win and series split over host St. Cloud State tonight in front of a capacity crowd of 6,170 at the National Hockey Center.
UND's victory, coupled with Wisconsin's 1-0 loss to Minnesota Duluth, vaults the Fighting Sioux (16-11-3, 11-6-3) back into second place in the WCHA standings.
One night after being shutout for the first time in two years, the Fighting Sioux raced out to a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by freshman Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and senior forward Andrew Kozek (Sicamous, British Columbia).
Gregoire, who had gone his previous four games without a point, benefitted from a fortuitous bounce when Sioux defenseman Derrick LaPoint (So., Eau Claire, Wis.) directed a puck toward the net that ricocheted off the skate of Gregoire past SCSU netminder Jase Weslosky, staking the Sioux to a 1-0 lead 7:47 into the first period. It was Gregoire's 10th goal of the season.
Kozek made it a 2-0 lead at the 11:26 mark, entering the SCSU zone on a 2-on-2 rush and beating Weslosky cleanly with a wrist shot for his third goal in his last five games.
The Huskies' would make it a 2-1 game heading into the first intermission on a Ryan Lasch goal with 2:46 left in the opening period, Lasch's second goal of the weekend and his 11th in the last 11 games.
“I thought we played as fast in that first period as we did in the first periods against Minnesota and Denver,” said UND head coach Dave Hakstol. “The difference was they (SCSU) played just as fast. Thank goodness we had four lines going tonight because that really kept us going strong throughout the game.”
Sioux senior captain Ryan Duncan (Calgary, Alberta) restored UND's two-goal cushion 7:23 into the second period, scooping up a loose puck at the bottom of the faceoff circle and beating Weslosky low to the blocker side for his 12th goal of the season and the eventual game-winner.
UND would carry the 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
The Huskies again cut the lead in half 4:32 into the third period, this time on a fortunate Husky bounce, when David Carlisle's centering pass deflected off the blade of Sioux defender Joe Finley's (Sr., Edina, Minn.) stick and past the outstretched leg of Eidsness, who had slid across the crease to play the pass.
SCSU pressed for the equalizer, but just five minutes after Carlisle's goal, Sioux freshman forward Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks) followed a rush and banged home a Kozek rebound for his second goal of the season and a 4-2 UND lead with 10:29 remaining.
“That was a huge goal for us,” said Hakstol. “We have to have four lines that are reliable, especially with St. Cloud State's depth.”
UND killed all five Husky power-plays ? including a 5-on-3 in the second period that lasted 82 seconds -- and went a perfect 11-for-11 on the weekend. The Sioux went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
“I thought we did a much better job in our d-zone in two areas,” said Hakstol. “We were much quicker closing on the puck carrier and we were strong on the top of our crease. Brad (Eidsness) had to make the first save and for the most part we were on the puck.”
The Sioux are now idle until returning to action Feb. 13-14 at home against Minnesota State.
Notes: Duncan's game-winning goal was the 16th of his career, tying him for second all-time at UND with former teammate T.J. Oshie (2005-08). Mark Taylor is the school's career leader with 18 game-winning goals ... Duncan also played in his 162nd career game, tying him for ninth on the school's all-time list ... Junior D Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) collected a pair of assists to snap a season-long three-game point-scoring drought.
