GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Down and dirty worked just fine for the University of North Dakota men's hockey team tonight.
The Sioux, who have had problems collecting many goals in rugged play around the net, came up aces in that department in a 6-3 non-conference, Subway Holiday Classic victory over Notre Dame at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Four of UND's six goals came from below the faceoff dots as the Sioux claimed the opening game of a weekend series against the first-place team from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
"We got some dirty ones down there,'' UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "You've got to score those kinds of goals, especially against Notre Dame. They do such a good job in their zone.''
In a match of two nationally ranked teams, the Sioux (9/10 in two polls, Notre Dame No. 11 in both), dominated the first period in building a 2-0 lead and never trailed in winning before a sellout crowd of 11,680.
Junior left wing Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) led the way with two goals and one assist, his last goal coming with 94 seconds left to seal the outcome.
A rebound goal by sophomore wing Mike Cichy (New Hartford, Conn.) at 7:16 of the opening period signaled the type of "down and dirty'' goals that carried the Sioux. His second goal in three games and third of the season came on a rebound of shot by defenseman Ben Blood (Plymouth, Minn.).
"You've got to find ways to get pucks there (around the net) and find ways to bang in a rebound or two and get a screen goal or two,'' Hakstol said.
The Sioux outshot Notre Dame 15-3 in the first period and grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by Cichy and sophomore center Corban Knight (High River, Alberta).
Knight's goal was set up in front by some fancy stickwork by Gregoire. He left Notre Dame defenseman Shayne Taker faked out with a quick move from behind the net, allowing Knight to bang in a loose puck for his eighth goal of the season.
It could have been a bigger opening period for the Sioux, by senior wing Matt Frattin had what would his 13th goal disallowed when officials, after looking at replay, ruled he had directed the puck in with his skate.
"Coach kind of, not called us out, but said we needed to up our intensity a little bit,'' Cichy said. "He said it was maybe at 8, and we want it at 10 every game. I think everyone kind of responded to that and stepped up.''
Though it was a non-conference game, it carried potential high stakes down the road at NCAA tournament team selection time. A win over the CCHA leader and ranked opponent will help the Sioux in that area.
"Non-conference games are always the biggest because those help in the long run to get in the NCAA tournament and rankings and all that,'' Cichy said. "
The Fighting Irish (9-4-1) twice chopped the lead of the Fighting Sioux (9-5-1) to a single goal in the second period. Irish goals by David Gerths and Ryan Guentzel highlighted three goals in 99 seconds midway through the period with UND senior Evan Trupp (Anchorage, Alaska) scoring between the two.
Sioux senior captain Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) used Notre Dame players to score on a screen shot late in the second period for a 4-2 lead after two.
In a wide-open third period, the Irish outshot the Sioux 18-13 but managed just a power-play goal by Jeff Costello. Gregoire had a power-play goal of his own to make it 5-2, then closed it out with his near-empty-net goal. Irish goalie Mike Johnson had left for the bench and attempted to race back to his net has Gregoire sped through the neutral zone with the puck, but Gregoire was able to beat him from just inside the blueline.
The 39 shots by the Sioux was four shy of their high water mark of the season (43 vs. Wisconsin).
The nine goals for the two teams overshadowed the fact that both sophomore Aaron Dell (Airdrie, Alberta) for UND and Johnson played very well in goal. Dell finished with 27 stops, including a breakaway on Ben Ryan. Johnson had 33 saves, including a breakaway save against Trupp.
Gregoire was named first star of the game by the media. "I don't agree with me being first star,'' Gregoire said. "He (Dell) was first star in my mind. He stopped breakaway after breakaway at the most crucial times of the game. If they score, the game could have gone the other way.''
The Sioux practically owned the puck in a strong first period. "Coming out of the gates we had everyone going,'' Hakstol said. "Even through the second and third periods, at different times we had everyone going. It wasn't a consistent, solid effort that I think we're going to need tomorrow night.''
SIOUX NOTES: Gregoire's three-point night, his season high, came in his 100th career game ... In the last five games, Dell is 4-1-0 with a 1.63 goals against average and .926 save percentage ... Junior center Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks) led the Sioux in shots on goal with six, followed by Genoway and sophomore wing Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) with five ... UND senior center Brad Malone (Miramichi, New Brunswick) led the Sioux with a 14-4 edge in faceoff wins ... Genoway's goal was the 23rd of his career, moving him past Brad Williamson (1995-99) and Joe Silovich (1947-50) for 10th all-time among Sioux defensemen. It was also his seventh career game-winning, leaving him one away from tying Nick Fuher's (2001-05) school record for defensemen.
Virg Foss, who covered Fighting Sioux hockey for 35 years for the Grand Forks Herald until his retirement, now reports on UND home games exclusively for FightingSioux.com. Contact him at virgfoss@yahoo.com or at (701) 772-9272.
