ANCHORAGE, Alaska ? Junior forward Chris VandeVelde scored his first career hat trick in leading the University of North Dakota to a 6-2 win and a series sweep over Alaska Anchorage tonight at Sullivan Arena.
With the victory, UND clinched home ice in the first round of the WCHA playoffs and remained tied with Denver for first place in the league standings heading into the final week of the regular season.
Sophomore defenseman Jake Marto (Grand Forks) added a goal and two assists while freshman forward Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and senior defenseman Brad Miller (Alpharetta, Ga.) each had a pair of assists for the Sioux, who earned their first sweep in Anchorage since the 2002-03 season.
“I thought we were moving. We had a lot of energy tonight,” said UND head coach Dave Hakstol, who clinched his fifth 20-win season in five years behind the Sioux bench.
After finding themselves trailing 1-0 just three minutes into the game, the Sioux responded with three straight goals to close out the first period.
Senior F Ryan Duncan (Calgary, Alberta) got UND on the board with a shorthanded effort midway through the frame, springing loose on a partial breakaway on a Marto feed and burying a wrist shot from the hashmarks that beat UAA goalie Bryce Christianson high to the glove side. It was Duncan's team-leading 14th goal of the season.
VandeVelde, a Moorhead, Minn. native, added his first of the night on the power-play just four minutes later when a Miller point shot first deflected off the stick of a UAA defender, then ricocheted off VandeVelde's body.
Sophomore forward Brad Malone (Miramichi, New Brunswick) notched the eventual game winner with just 55 seconds left in the period, taking a Darcy Zajac (Jr., Winnipeg, Manitoba) centering pass and beating Christianson with a one-timer inside the far post for his third goal of the season and first in 19 games.
VandeVelde extended the lead to 4-1 with his second of the game 6:59 into the second period, tapping home a Miller rebound while the two teams skated 4-on-4.
UAA's Josh Lunden brought the Seawolves back to within two with a power-play tally at 8:22 of the third period, but Marto sealed the win with the UAA net empty for an extra attacker, intercepting a pass at center ice, gaining the red line and finding the middle of the net with 2:47 left in regulation.
VandeVelde completed the hat trick with 45 seconds remaining, taking a Matt Frattin (So., Edmonton, Alberta) cross-ice pass at the bottom of the right circle and beating Jon Olquist with a wrist shot that rattled off the near post before trickling past the goal line.
“He's playing very strong,” Hakstol said of VandeVelde, who now has 13 goals of the season. “He's keeping his feet moving and he's protecting the puck well. “He's doing well in all areas.”
Freshman goalie Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) made 17 saves in earning his 20th victory, becoming just the third rookie goalie in UND history to reach that plateau.
Olthuis, who replaced Christianson to start the second period, finished with 14 saves. Christianson made five saves.
UND returns home next week to host Colorado College on Saturday and Sunday at Ralph Engelstad Arena. It is the final regular season home series of the season for the Sioux.
Ticket information for the first round of the WCHA playoffs will be released by the UND athletic department early next week.
