GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- When is securing the extra league point with a shootout goal in a game that officially ends in a 5-5 tie not acceptable for the UND men's hockey team?
That was the case tonight. The Fighting Hawks saw a 4-0 lead in the first period turn into a 5-4 deficit to visiting Colorado College with just over 30 seconds left in regulation play.
But freshman center Rhett Gardner scored his second goal of the game with goalie Matt Hrynkiw pulled for a sixth attacker at 19:28 of the third period, tying the game at 5-5 all.
After a scoreless 5-minute overtime of 3 on 3 play, UND rookie Brock Boeser scored as the first shooter in a a shootout with a deke move on CC goalie Tyler Marble and a quick wrister just under the crossbar.
When Hrynkiw made a right pad save on CC's first shooter, Trey Bradley, UND skated off with two National Collegiate Hockey Conference points to one for the Tigers.
It was the first time in three tries that North Dakota has won a shootout since they came into college hockey a few years ago.
Boeser's goal won't officially count in the records, since the game ended as a 5-5 tie. There, his streak of seven games in a row with a goal ended, one shy of Kevin Maxwell's school record of eight set in 1978-79.
But what weighed more on the mind of UND coach Brad Berry was UND's play after rolling to a 4-0 lead before the game was 15 minurtes old. Two goals by Luke Johnson and one each from Gardner and Coltyn Sanderson had a sellout Ralph Engelstad Arena crowd rocking.
"The turning point was the shorthanded goal (by CC's Christian Heil at 16:01 of the opening period),'' Berry said. "That gave them the one goal to get back in it. From there, they made a mindset of chipping pucks, getting them deep, and getting after us. And we didn't play the right way after that four-goal lead.''
It was a rough night for both starting goalies. UND's Cam Johnson, who leads the nation in goals-against average and save percentage, was lpulled 11 minutes into the second period after giving up two softer goals to Luc Gerdes and Hunter Fejes, trimming UND's lead to 4-3.
CC took the lead in the third period on goals by Bradley and Fejes, Fejes capping his big night with two goals, two assists to be named No. 1 star of the game.
But with a devastating loss facing UND, Gardner came to the rescue, flipping a backhander over the shoulder of a sprawling Marble with just 32 seconds left in the third period.
"First of all, we have to play the right way for 60 minutes,'' Berry said. "Twenty minutes doesn't win a hockey game.''
Berry didn't think it was a matter of complacency after the quick 4-0 lead. "When you got a team that's down by a couple of goals, there's hunger there,'' Berry said. "There's a definite urgency in their game. You have to match that. If you don't compete to that level, then that's what happens.''
UND had to shuffle players on all four lines with standouts Drake Caggiula and Nick Schmaltz sidelined with injuries, along with promising rookie Chris Wilkie.
Centers scored all five of UND's goals with the pair each by Johnson and Gardner and the second in two games for Sanderson, the senior who had never scored a goal in college until last Saturday.
CC got a huge night from the dangerous line of Fejes (2 goals, 2 assists), Sam Rothstein (2 assists) and Luc Gerdes (goal, assist), for an eight-point game.
"We've got to make sure this is a learning lesson for us,'' Berry said. "Down the stretch in the second half, games don't turn back and forth that way very often.''
Gardner had a slightly different view of UND's play than his coach did after the 4-0 lead. "We got pretty complacent with our game,'' he said. "It definitely showed. They took it to us the last 40 (minutes). We're definitely not happy with that game. We've got to find a way to keep the foot on pedal tomorrow. We were real close to lettting that one slip away.''
Notes: UND was 1-for-4 on the power play with 9 shots, CC 1 for 2 with 2 shots . . . Defenseman Tucker Poolman led UND in shots on goal with 6, followed by Johnson with 5 . . . Fejes led all players with 7 shots on goal and his plus-three for plus/minus led all players as well . . . UND (19-3-3 overall, 10-2-1 NCHC) went into the game ranked No. 2 in the national polls while CC (5-17-1/3-9-1) is unranked.. . Gardner led UND to a 44-33 edge in faceoffs, winning 15 of 21 draws...The game drew a sellout of 11,823. . . Johnson and Gerdes were named the second and third stars by media members, who voted before Gardner collected the tying goal and the shootout goal by Boeser.
Virg Foss covered UND hockey for 35 seasons for the Grand Forks Herald before his retirement. This is his 11th season of reporting on UND games exclusvely for UNDsports.com. He can be contacted at virgfoss@yahoo.com.
