HOUGHTON, Mich.--North Dakota once again relied on a tried and true formula on its way to a 4-2 WCHA win at Michigan Tech tonight at John MacInnes Ice Arena.
A balanced scoring attack? Check. Four different scorers accounted for UND's four goals.
An opportunistic power-play? Check. Three of UND's goals came with the man advantage.
A rock-solid defensive effort? Check. UND allowed only two goals and yielded just 23 MTU shots on goal.
It has turned out to be an effective recipe early in the season that has resulted in a 5-1-1 overall record and a 3-1-1 league mark for the third-ranked Fighting Sioux, who entered the night two points out of first place in the WCHA standings.
After a week off to absorb a one-goal loss at Alaska Anchorage in their last action, the Sioux came flying out of the gates tonight, dominating play territorially in the first period and outshooting the Huskies 13-5.
UND, however, had nothing to show for it until sophomore forward Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) re-directed a Danny Kristo (Fr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) point shot on the power-play with 23 seconds left in the period.
The Sioux built a 2-0 lead 4:56 into the second period on an outstanding individual effort by sophomore forward Evan Trupp (Anchorage, Alaska).
With the two teams playing 4-on-4, Trupp created a turnover in front of the MTU, stickhandled through a Husky defenseman and got a shot off while falling to the ice. Trupp's initial shot was stopped, but he was able to knock home his rebound out of mid-air while on his knees for his second goal of the season.
The Huskies cut the lead in half just over 10 minutes later while on the power-play when John Kivisto blasted a point shot that eluded a heavily-screened Brad Eidsness (So., Chestermere, Alberta).
Dobson's goal ended a MacInnes Arena shutout streak for Eidsness that spanned 115 minutes and 11 seconds.
UND regained its two-goal lead with another power-play tally with 1:49 left in the middle frame. Senior defenseman Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) led a rush up the middle of the ice into the Husky zone before slipping a pass to Chris VandeVelde (Sr., Moorhead, Minn.), who was streaking up the left wing. VandeVelde cut in front of the net and went forehand to backhand to beat MTU goalie Kevin Genoe for what would prove to be the game-winning goal.
Although Michigan Tech was able to kill a 5-minute Sioux man advantage to start the third period, UND's power-play eventually struck for a third time to effectively seal the win. Kristo, manning the point, ripped a one timer that beat Genoe upstairs for his first collegiate goal.
The Huskies would pull to within two on a late goal by Eli Vlaisavljevich but the lead was insurmountable by that point.
"We were able to find our way through the game and eventually build a game and close it out well," said UND head coach Dave Hakstol.
Eidsness finished with 22 saves for UND while Genoe countered with 37 stops in a busy night.
UND went 3-for-7 on the power-play and killed all but one of Michigan Tech's six chances with the man advantage.
The two teams will do battle again Saturday night, with the opening faceoff schedule for 7:37 p.m. Central time.
Notes: Genoway finished with a pair of assists and leads the team with nine points this season. He also led all players tonight with eight shots on goal ... Senior forward Darcy Zajac (Winnipeg, Manitoba) extended his career-best point streak to five games with an assist on Gregoire's first period goal ... Linemate Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks) had his career-best four-game point streak snapped.
- Go Sioux -
