GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Trailing unranked Lake Superior State 4-1 midway through the second period, there was grumbling in the stands and unrest on the bench of the No. 1-ranked University of North Dakota men's hockey team tonight.

"Guys were pissed off on the bench,'' UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "That's what I felt. That's what I sensed.''

Sophomore defenseman/forward Tucker Poolman scored twice on the power play and Mark MacMillan and Connor Gaarder addded goals to spur a furious UND rally with four goals in under seven minutes to close the second period for a 5-4 UND lead after two.

It proved be enough as Michael Parks and Brendan O'Donnell added goals in the closing period in the 7-4 nonconference victory over the Lakers in front of 11,118 fans at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

It wasn't only the players who snapped to life after UND was trailing 3-0, then 4-1. Poolman's first power-play goal on a wrister under the cross bar at 12:35 of the second period chopped the Laker lead to 4-2 and rallied not only UND, but aroused the fans as well.

"I thought that was one of the huge things that came with our first power-play goal,'' Hakstol said of the fans, who upped the decibel level to support the effort of UND's players. "The building lit up in terms of energy, and that helped us build momentum.''

LSSU shocked UND with goals by Kyle Chatham and Gus Correale in the first period against UND freshman goalie Cam Johnson, making his first collegiate start.

When Johnson gave up a rebound goal to Erik Draplek just 54 seconds into the second period, Hakstol replaced Johnson with junior Zane McIntyre, who stopped 12 of the 13 shots he faced in finishing the game and collecting the win.

UND's Trevor Olson and Lake Superior's Mitchell Nardi traded goals early in the second period as UND erupted for its first five-goal period of the season. Poolman scored at 12:35, MacMillan on a rebound at 14:01, Poolman again at 18:56 on a rebound and Gaarder from the slot at 19:21 to close the period on an explosive note for UND.

UND, which lost forwards Drake Caggiula and Colten St. Clair to injuries in the first period, saw everyone step up to cover the losses. All 10 UND forwards who finished the game contributed scoring points. Parks (goal, two assists) and defenseman Jordan Schmaltz (three assists) led the scoring parade for UND.

"That's our hockey team,'' Hakstol said of the balanced scoring. "That's how we're built. That's what we're all about. Everybody chipped in tonight. Maybe not the prettiest win in the world, but a real good win tonight for the guys in the lockerroom.''

UND (11-3-2 overall) -- outshot the Lakers 43-25, matching UND's highest shot total of the season in dropping LSSU to 3-14 overall. UND got a lift from the specialty teams, going 3-of-4 on the power play.

"Nights like this, it's got to make a difference. Our specialty teams made a huge difference.''

UND killed both LSSU power plays, allowing just one shot on goal. UND didn't lose focus after dropping into a deep hole early.

"Guys were determined to try to find a way back in this thing,'' Hakstol said.

UND poured 23 shots on goal in the second period in scoring the five goals and going ahead to stay even with a bench shortened by the injuries to Caggiula and St. Clair. Hakstol had no word yet on their status in his post-game comments.

Poolman was moved to forward after the injuries to Caggiula and St. Clair and contributed quickly with his two power-play goals.

"Obviously we weren't too happy with ourselves,'' Poolman said of going down early. "But everyone was getting each other going, and making sure we were holding each other accountable.''

Maintaining belief in themselves was important, too, Poolman said.

"We played our game and our system and stuck with it,'' he said. "We believed that if we kept doing what we were doing, eventually we'd get some goals.''

They did that indeed, scoring the last six goals of the game.

Game notes: Poolman led UND in shots on goal with seven, followed by Gaarder with six ...  UND had a 39-27 edge in faceoff wins, led by MacMillan (12 of 19) ... The 23 shots in the second period is the most in any period by UND this season ... UND is 3-0 all-time vs. the Lakers, but the two teams hadn't played since 1973 ... Johnson finished with nine saves, allowing three goals ... LSSU goalie Gordon Defiel had 36 saves ... UND had three shots clank off goal posts with Luke Johnson, Keaton Thompson and Jordan Schmaltz all hitting posts ... Former Minot High star Bryce Schmitt had three shots on goal for Lake Superior, but no points ... The teams conclude the series with a 7:07 faceoff Saturday night at REA.

Virg Foss covered UND hockey for the Grand Forks Herald for 35 seasons until his retirement in 2005. He's now in his 10th season of reporting on UND home games exclusively for UNDsports.com.