GRAND FORKS, N.D.--The fact that Jake Marto was an all-state player in three sports at Grand Forks Central attests to his all-around athletic talent.
The senior defenseman for the University of North Dakota men's hockey team added the roles of goal-scorer in a clutch situation and backup goaltender with his team in deep trouble tonight at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Marto's second goal of the season at 13:10 of the third period rallied the Fighting Sioux to a 3-3 overtime tie with the Minnesota Gophers, giving the defending Western Collegiate Hockey Association champion Sioux three of a possible four weekend points.
Marto also dropped to his knees to block a rebound try into an open net by Minnesota's Mike Hoeffel with just over a minute left in regulation play.
With Sioux sophomore goalie Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Albert) prone on the ice and out of the play after Minnesota's Taylor Matson hit the post on the initial shot, Marto blocked Hoeffel's bid for a hat trick in front of a sellout crowd of 11,898 at The Ralph.
Neither team could score in the five-minute sudden death, leaving the Sioux at 1-0-1 in WCHA and and 3-0-1 overall and Minnesota a 0-1-1 for the season.
"I think a tie is a fitting end,'' UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "We were sloppy in some areas early on.''
The Sioux gave up a pair of 2-on-1 goals, the first by Jay Barrabal to open the scoring in the first period and the second by Hoeffel to tie the game at 2-2 on a shorthanded rush at 11:23 of the second period.
Hoeffel's second goal of the game came on a Pat White shot that bounced off the end boards, slid under the glove of Eidsness and popped out front for Hoeffel to slap in at 11:52 of the third period for a 3-2 Gopher lead.
That's when Marto came to the rescue. His tying goal came on a seeing-eye wrist shot through heavy traffic that eluded a screened Gopher goalie Kent Patterson at 13:10 of the third period.
Just under six minutes later, Marto made the huge save on Hoeffel to preserve the tie.
"I don't know what really was going on,'' Marto said of his save. "I was just trying to cover in front of the net and I saw Eids was out of the net and out of play. So I kind of went to my knees and I happened to stop it with my shin pad. I was kind of lucky. I guess you're at the right place at the right time.''
Minnesota, outhit, outhustled and outworked in a 4-0 Sioux win Friday, was much better Saturday, even though the Gophers were outshot 34-19 overall. Minnesota, though, had eight shots on net to nine for the Sioux in the third period and in OT.
Marto said it was his biggest save ever. "I've blocked a few shots, but I know Eids is behind me on some of them. That one he wasn't behind me, so yeah, good save, I guess,'' Marto said.
All three Sioux goals tonight were scored by defensemen, as were five of the seven for the weekend. Senior captain and defenseman Chad Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) scored the first two goals tonight for UND, giving him the team lead for the season with three.
Genoway scored twice on power plays, his first coming on a slapper from the left point to tie the game at 1-1 at 2:46 of the second period and his second when he knocked in his own rebound at 6:55 of the second.
"The offense they got we kind of gave to them, the 2-on-1s and stuff,'' Marto said. "That's just kind of how the game goes at times.''
UND sophomore forward Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) credited Minnesota for a stronger effort tonight. "I think they really ramped it up,'' Gregoire said. "Yesterday they weren't as physical as we expected.''
Gregoire missed a golden chance early in the second period when he shot wide of the net off a rebound from a breakaway by Danny Kristo's (Eden Prairie, Minn.). "I kind of want to see the replay and see what happened myself, see what happened,'' Gregoire said. "I kind of fanned on it missed wide.''
Minnesota's flurry with Marto in the middle of it had the fans gasping for air. "Everyone in the building needed some oxygen late in the third period,'' Hakstol said. "They had some great opportunities late in the game. What it boiled down to is that I thought it was a well-played, exciting college hockey game.''
Hakstol said Genoway was a battling an injury or illness this weekend which Hakstol would not disclose. "Chay was playing at less than 100 percent this weekend, I'll just leave it at that,'' Hakstol said. "But he's got the heart of a lion.''
Hakstol had equal high praise for Marto. "I thought Jake was very quietly outstanding Friday night and tonight he had a couple plays that bring a little more spotlight attention to it,'' Hakstol said. "He's just an efficient defenseman in all areas. He can skate pucks out of trouble and he's very intelligent positionally defensively. And hey, right place at the right time, on both the goal and the save.''
Hakstol said Marto's shot must have had "eyes'' to find the back of the net. "Patterson did not see the puck,'' Hakstol said. "If you go back through the weekend, Jake had 4-5 shots that could have caught the corner of the net.''
Eidsness finished with 16 saves a night after posting his second career shutout.
SIOUX NOTES: Kristo led the Sioux in shots on net with six, followed by four each from Genoway and junior forward Evan Trupp (Anchorage, Alaska) . . . Though Genoway scored two goals, he was the only Sioux skater on the ice for all three of Minnesota's goals . . . UND finished with just a 37-34 edge in faceoff wins after winning 42 of 68 on Friday . . . The Sioux were 2-for-6 on the power play with 10 shots with the man advantage, the Gophers 0-for-4 with two shots . . . UND has killed all 15 opponent power plays through four games, including a pair of 5-minute majors . . . UND is unbeaten (13-0-3) in its last 16 home games and is 4-0-2 against the Gophers in their last six meetings and 9-2-2 in the last 13.
Virg Foss covered Fighting Sioux hockey for 35 seasons for the Grand Forks Herald until his retirement. He now reports exclusively on UND home games for FghtingsSoux.com.
