GRAND FORKS -- One second isn't much in a 60-minute hockey game.
It proved to be the downfall of the UND Fighting Sioux tonight as Denver University blanked the Sioux 3-0 to earn a split of the weekend Western Collegiate Hockey Association series.
UND senior center Brad Malone (Miramichi, New Brunswick) was called for a 5-minute major for charging midway through the second period of a scoreless game.
The Sioux did a masterful job of killing the penalty, not allowing a shot on goal. But just as Malone's penalty expired, DU's Anthony Maiani found Drew Shore stationed alone on the other side of the crease and hit him with a perfect pass.
The goal, giving Denver a 1-0 lead, came at 16:06 of the period, exactly five minutes after Malone's penalty, so technically it was not a power play.
Jason Zucker added a shorthanded goal at 4:15 of the third period to make it 2-0. Kyle Ostrow wrapped it up with his goal into an empty net with eight seconds left. UND had pulled junior goalie Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) for a sixth attacker with 1 minute, 43 seconds left, leading to Ostrow's goal.
Malone was penalized for a hit on Denver's Jesse Martin as Martin brought the puck up ice along the right wall out of his defensive zone with his head down.
No official signalled a penalty on a play. But when Martin stayed motionless on the ice for an extended period of time, officials gathered and eventually assessed the major penalty.
Martin was taken from the ice to the hospital on a stretcher. Later information from sports information personnel from the two schools was that Martin had full movement in all his extremities.
The loss knocked the Sioux out of a tie for first place in the WCHA with Minnesota Duluth (3-0-1), which moved one point ahead of the Sioux (3-1). UND was bidding for its first 4-0 start in league play since 1996-97.
The Sioux and Bulldogs meet next weekend in Grand Forks.
Freshman goalie Sam Brittain was a big reason for UND's shutout loss. He finished with 33 saves, including 15 in the opening period when the Sioux outshot the Pioneers 15-5. Eidsness finished with 14 saves for the Sioux.
"We played really well on that penalty kill (on Malone's major),'' Eidsness said. "We didn't give them a lot. They made one quick cross-ice pass, and I anticipated their guy to shoot it. He made a pretty good play to go back door. It's frustrating, but when it's not going well sometimes, that's how things go.''
It was a frustrating loss for the Sioux and Eidsness.
"I'm disappointed that we don't come out of here with a win tonight,'' Eidsness said. "I thought our effort was pretty good.''
The Sioux gave Brittain plenty of credit. "I thought he was pretty good,'' Sioux captain Chay Genoway said. "Also, we didn't quite get to some second-chance opportunities, and there were a couple of crossbars. You've got to give their goalie credit. He was pretty good tonight.''
Genoway didn't fault UND's effort. "A loss at home is tough to take,'' he said, "but the effort was there.''
UND coach Dave Hakstol said the Sioux didn't get to enough rebounds. "We had some quality chances,'' he said. "I didn't see the stats on our Grade A opportunities. But we had some point-blank rebound opportunities. We had a lot of pucks that found their way to squirt past the post instead of inside and into the net.''
SIOUX NOTES: Junior wing Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) led the Sioux in shots on goal with five, followed by sophomore center Corban Knight (High Point, Alberta) with four . . . Hockey Night in Canada showed the first college goal by Sioux freshman defenseman Dillon Simpson (Spruce Grove, Alberta) as part of its Saturday game coverage. Simpson's father Craig is an analyst for Hockey Night in Canada . . . UND freshman Derek Forbort missed the series. Hakstol said he is very doubtful for next weekend.
Virg Foss, who covered Fighting Sioux hockey for 35 seasons for the Grand Forks Herald until his retirement, reports on UND home games exclusively for FightingSioux.com.Contact him at virgfoss@yahoo.com or (701) 772-9272.
