Frattin hit the crossbar with under 30 seconds to go in overtime, then got walked for a breakaway the other way as the University of North Dakota skated to a 2-2 no-conference tie with Notre Dame at the Subway Holiday Classic.

Sioux sophomore goalie Aaron Dell (Airdrie, Alberta) stopped the Irish breakaway, bailing out Frattin and allowing the Sioux to finish 1-0-1 in the two-game series with the first-place team in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

In a epic battle of outstanding goalie replete with sensational saves on both ends, Dell finished with 26 saves to 39 for Notre Dame goalie Mike Johnson.

The Sioux, who beat the Irish 6-3 Friday night, looked to be headed for a sweep when Frattin rocketed his 13th goal of the season past Johnson on a power-play wrist shot at 1:31 of the third period for a 2-1 Sioux lead.

But Notre Dame tied it when defenseman Sam Calabrese knocked in a rebound at 16:57 of the period for his first carer goal.

Frattin beat Johnson cleanly with his overtime howitzer, but caught nothing but metal.

"It went off the crossbar,''' UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "It could have been quite a turnaround either way, I guess,'' in reference to Notre Dame's breakaway off Frattin's shot. "Maybe that's the way this one was meant to end. With all kinds of excitement.''

A win and a tie against a nationally ranked opponent will bolster UND's NCAA playoff chances later in the season.

"We're going to take it for what it is,'' Hakstol said. "We're not walking out of here all smiles with a tie tonight. We'll take it for what it is - a good series win against a very good hockey team.''

The Sioux never trailed all weekend.

Freshman forward Derek Rodwell (Taber, Alberta) scored on a deflection for his fourth of the season to break a scoreless tie at 10:42 of the second period. His goal came minutes after UND's Mike Cichy (New Hartford, Conn.) hit the goal post on a scoring chance.

T.J. Tyner scored on a rebound for a shorthanded goal for the Irish at 14:57 of the second period to tie it at 1-1. It was the third shorthanded goal given up by the Sioux this season.

Frattin put the Sioux ahead again early in the third period, only to have Calabrese and the Irish answer late.

The Sioux outshot the Irish 41-28 and went 1-for-7 on the power play to 0-for-3 for the Irish.

The goaltending of Dell and Johnson stole the show. "Great goaltending on both ends of the rink,'' Hakstol said. "But that's what you're going to run into when you play good teams. Good teams have good goaltending at this level. It was fun to watch at both ends. Sometimes a little heart-stopping with some of the opportunities.''

Frattin could only wish his crossbar shot had been an inch lower. "They had that one guy coming out at me pretty quick and I just pulled it around him,'' Frattin said. "Gregs (Jason Gregoire) had a good screen, and the goalie didn't see anything.''

But the puck didn't have Sioux eyes. "It (the shot) went bar up instead of bar down,'' Frattin said. "If it had stayed around the crease, Gregs would have had that rebound, but it jumped out in the corner.''

That's when it got hairy for Frattin, a forward who was working the point on the power play late in overtime.

"They turned it back, and I got pretty burned,'' Frattin said. "Thank god we had Dell in net back there, and he saved me.''

He had the same praise for Johnson. "Today he stood on his head and kept them in the game, just like Dell did,'' Frattin said.

Dell was happy with his play. "I've just got to give my team a chance to win, and I thought I did that this weekend,'' he said.

He made his last key save with four seconds left, stopping the Irish breakaway by Riley Sheahan.

"Frats was back,'' Dell said, "It's always a little scary when the only guy back is a forward. But he got in his way that he bobbled it a little bit and didn't get a great shot off.''

The Sioux return to Western Collegiate Hockey Association play next weekend, hosting St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday.

SIOUX NOTES: Tonight's game drew 11,742 fans, meaning both games were sold out even though UND students are gone on holiday break . . . Frattin led the Sioux in shots on goal with seven, followed by Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie,, Minn.) with six and Evan Trupp (Anchorage, Alaska) with five . . . Trupp was stopped by Johnson on a clean breakaway four minutes into the third period and UND leading 2-1 . . . UND had a 31-25 edge in faceoff wins, paced by Corban Knight (High River, Alberta), who won 12 of 18.

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.