ST. PAUL, Minn. ? University of Minnesota Duluth goalie Alex Stalock stopped all 31 shots he faced in leading the Bulldogs to a 3-0 victory over North Dakota today in the semifinals of the Red Baron WCHA Final Five at the Xcel Energy Center.
UND, now 24-13-4 overall on the season, will face Wisconsin in the tournament's third-place game on Saturday afternoon.
Stalock was particularly strong in the final two periods, turning aside 14 shots in the second period and 10 more in the final frame. Thirteen of UND's shots came on its five scoreless power-plays, including a five-minute major in the first period.
“I thought they (the Bulldogs) played a very solid team game for 60 minutes,” said UND head coach Dave Hakstol. “We weren't able to change that.”
UMD goal-scoring leader MacGregor Sharp provided the only offense the Bulldogs would need, scoring his 26th goal shorthanded just 5:10 into the game. UND freshman goalie Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) left a Bulldog dump-in behind his own net for a teammate, but Sharp was the first player on the puck and wrapped it around before Eidsness could recover.
The Bulldogs made it a 2-0 game less than three minutes later after Eidsness kicked a Josh Meyers point shot to the right circle, and UMD defenseman Mike Montgomery swept the puck just inside the post for his second goal of the season.
“I felt we did not out-battle our opponent in the first period,” said Hakstol. “That's the difference.”
Stalock, the WCHA's goaltending champion during the regular season, made sure the two-goal lead would stand. The South St. Paul, Minn., native stopped Matt Frattin (So., Edmonton, Alberta) and Brad Miller (Sr., Alpharetta, Ga.) on point-blank scoring opportunities in the second period, keeping a largely pro-UND crowd of 17,729 out of the game.
Stalock enters tomorrow night's championship game having stopped 70 of 71 shots through his first two games of the tournament.
UMD freshman Mike Connolly iced the game with an empty-net goal with 1:53 remaining, his 12th goal of the season.
“Duluth's execution and hunger level was excellent,” added Hakstol. “I didn't think we were quite at that level.
“We weren't far off, but close doesn't count at this time of the year.
Eidsness made 21 saves for the Sioux, who now must turn around and prepare for a 2 p.m. tilt with the Badgers, who lost to Denver earlier in the day in the other semifinal.
Notes: Tonight marked just the second time all season UND has been shutout. The other shutout was a 3-0 loss at St. Cloud State on Jan. 30 ... Sharp's shorthanded goal was the 10th allowed by the Sioux this season ... It is the second straight year UND will play in the third place game ... Eidsness made his 32nd straight start, tying Peter Waselovich's (1973-74) school record for freshmen ... Senior captain Ryan Duncan (Calgary, Alberta) played in his 173rd consecutive game, leaving him two games shy of the NCAA record held by former teammate Chris Porter (2003-07).
