GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- There hasn't been a University of North Dakota hockey player who has logged more ice time or been any more dependable this season than UND junior defenseman Colton Poolman, the team captain.
 
So his turnover near his net that led to top-ranked St. Cloud State's 3-1 National Collegiate Hockey Conference victory over the Fighting Hawks Friday night certainly didn't sit well with Poolman.
 
St. Cloud freshman center Nolan Walker stripped the puck from Poolman and fed the Huskies' leading scorer, Patrick Newell, breaking for the net for his 12th goal of the season at 13:33 of the third period that snapped a 1-1 tie.
 
The Huskies later added an empty-net, power-play goal at 18:48 with UND freshman goalie Adam Scheel pulled for an extra attacker, cementing the win for the Huskies, who lead the NCHC and enjoy a No. 1 national ranking.
 
"I accept responsibility for that second goal,'' Poolman said. "That's on me. I owe my teammates better than that, to be more focused at a critical junction in a game like that. That's why it got sideways, so I accept responsibility for that.''
 
The Huskies outshot UND 36-15 overall and 28-10 over the final two periods after senior Nick Jones had given UND a 1-0 lead at 11:21 of the first period with his backhand flip from a sharp angle off the skate of SCS goalie David Hrenak (14 saves). That goal stood up until SCS freshman Micah Miller scored at 19:46 of the second period, just 18 seconds after UND had killed a minor penalty on defenseman Matt Kiersted.
 
"We were a little bit scared to make plays sometimes,'' Poolman said. "Obviously you want to get it in deep and not jump-start their transition game. We got to be more grindy, and get more pucks to the net.''
 
UND's 15 shots on goal tied for a season low, matching the 15 UND had in a 4-1 over Denver at The Ralph on Dec. 7. The 36 shots allowed topped the season high previously held by No. 2 Minnesota Duluth when the Bulldogs had 30 in a 5-0 win over UND on Nov. 30.
 
Newell's game-winning goal came 19 seconds after Jasper Weatherby's tripping minor was successfully killed by the Hawks. But like the Miller goal, the Huskies kept the puck in the attack zone and scored on the aftermath of the power play before UND could fully regroup.
 
UND did receive a superb goaltending effort from Scheel, who stopped 33 shots, his season high, and was under constant pressure the last two periods.
 
Besides losing the game, UND lost sophomore wing Grant Mismash with an apparent knee injury after he was checked heavily along the boards by SCSU defenseman and team captain Jimmy Schuldt late in the third period. Mismash had to be helped off the ice and didn't return to the game.
 
On the play, Mismash was given a minor penalty for slashing, which led to St. Cloud's empty-net power-play goal to ice the game.
 
Berry said the officials said they felt it was a clean hit. As far as Mismash's status for the rematch Saturday, Berry said, "he'll be out.''
 
Overall, Berry said he felt the effort was there by his team, and that the execution was off a bit on chances he felt his team could have buried.
  
St. Cloud State improved to 18-3-2 overall and 10-1-2 in the NCHC. UND dropped to 12-11-1 overall and to 6-7 in league play heading into Saturday's 7:07 p.m. rematch.
 
Game notes: St. Cloud had 57 shot attempts to just 32 for UND . . . SCSU was 1-for-4 on the power play with 7 shots, UND 0-for-2 with just 1 shot . . . Poolman and Weatherby led UND in shots on goal with 3 apiece while Newell had 6 for the Huskies, including a miss on a breakaway when his wrist shot was gloved cleanly by Scheel late in the first period . . . UND had a 39-35 faceoff edge led by Weatherby (6 for 6) . . . Lizotte won 16 of 21 faceoffs for the Huskies . . . The three stars as named by the media were Newell, Scheel and Walker. . . The game drew a sellout of 11,608. 

Virg Foss covered UND hockey for 35 seasons for the Grand Forks Herald, including 5 NCAA title teams, before his retirement. Since his retirement, he's reported on UND hockey games exclusively for FightingHawks.com. This marks his 50th season since he began covering UND hockey in 1969.