GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Through two periods, North Dakota threw everything but the kitchen sink at St. Cloud State freshman goalie Ryan Faragher, but the rookie denied the Fighting Sioux and gave the Huskies a 4-0 shutout win with a 44 save effort.
"You've got to give him credit," said UND assistant captain Corban Knight (Jr., High River, Alberta). "He came into a situation where their top goalie went out, and he was able to step in. He played a phenomenal game. Look at some of the saves he made. They were Grade-A scoring chances that he was able to stop. You've got to give him props. He played a good game tonight."
It was the WCHA opener for SCSU, which improved to 3-3-1 overall and 1-0-0 in league play. With the loss, UND's overall record fell to 2-4-1 and 0-3-0 in the WCHA. It's first time since 1989 that the Sioux have started a season 0-3 in the conference.
"I thought our first two periods were real good tonight in terms of generating opportunities, playing hard, putting everything to the net," said UND coach Dave Hakstol. "Their guy in the pipes was great. They got the one-goal lead and when they got the second one, it took a little bit of air out of our tires. We didn't generate much in the third."
The Huskies took a 1-0 lead at 7:16 of the first period when Jared Festler completed a two-on-one rush with Drew LeBlanc, firing the puck past UND junior goalie Aaron Dell (Airdrie, Alberta). The goal stood as the game winner.
Just 19 seconds after SCSU scored, the Huskies Nick Oliver received a five-minute major for checking from behind. However, two Sioux penalties wiped out most of the man-advantage opportunity for UND. The Sioux went back on the power play with 1:54 left in the period, peppering Faragher with six shots. They came away with nothing to show for it, despite a 15-8 shots on goal advantage.
In the second period, SCSU senior captain Ben Hanowski received a five-minute major for contact to the head. Another Huskies penalty gave the Sioux a full two minutes of 5-on-3 power play. Once more, the Sioux repeatedly tested Faragher, but were again unable to capitalize. At the end of two period, they were outshooting the Huskies 39-16.
"It's frustrating, especially when you've been given two gifts like two five-minute power plays," said Knight, who had 10 shots on goal, several from point-blank range. "It's something we've got to capitalize on. We were getting shots and making stuff happen. We just weren't able to bury it."
The third period belonged to the Huskies as defensemen Andrew Prochno and Sam Zabkowicz buried shots from the point at 2:54 and 9:23, respectively. With 17 seconds left on the clock, Travis Novak gave SCSU a 4-0 lead when he scored an unassisted, shorthanded, empty-net goal.
"We just can't catch a break right now," said junior forward Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn.), who entered the contest as the nation's third-leading scorer. "We had chance after chance after chance all night. When we really needed one, they popped one there in the third. It kind of sucked the life out of us a little bit. We have no choice but to come out tomorrow and regroup. It's a must-win game tomorrow for sure."
After being swept at Wisconsin the previous weekend, Hakstol said the team needs to take every part of its game up another notch, which should help it get through the rough patch it's experiencing.
"I think overall, team-wise, we've put ourselves in a situation the last few games where we've played some pretty good team defense until we really start pressing, and then we've given up some opportunities," he said. "Right now, everything's magnified because we're not scoring goals. So every opportunity or goal that we're giving up is magnified several times."
Hakstol, Kristo and Knight all agreed that the Sioux need to score some "greasy" or "ugly" goals.
"Last two games, we're getting about 45 shots on goal," Kristo said. "Obviously, we've got to get more guys around the net. We've got to get guys hungry around the net. If you want to score goals, you can't be getting 40 shots on goal and getting shut out, especially in our own rink."
The two teams will meet Saturday at 7:37 p.m. in Ralph Engelstad Arena for the second game of the series.
~Go Sioux~
