GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Following a thrilling, overtime game on Friday night, North Dakota and No. 6 St. Cloud State skated to a 2-2 tie on Saturday night in the series finale from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
Despite dominating possession, zone time and seeing the shot counter tilted heavily towards the hosts, UND (13-13-5, 7-10-3 NCHC) could only muster two of its 30 shots past goaltender Jaxon Castor before the netminder stopped all three shots in the shootout to give the Huskies (18-9-3, 10-7-3 NCHC) a big second point in the NCHC standings.
Moments after a failed major power play attempt by the hosts,
Jackson Kunz put the Fighting Hawks in front, 1-0, on a rebound tally from
Tyler Kleven shot just before the halfway point of the opening period. St. Cloud State answered back, scoring its fourth power play goal of the weekend with just 52 seconds remaining in the stanza to send the game to the intermission tied at 1-1.
The Huskies didn't wait long to grab their first lead coming out of the break, as Jami Krannila pounced on a loose puck in the slot and cashed in just prior to the whistle blowing to give the visitors the 2-1 advantage just 18 seconds into the middle stanza.
North Dakota dominated the rest of the period, holding SCSU without a shot on goal and finishing with a 12-2 shot advantage, including a rocket off the post from
Riese Gaber, but could not find the equalizer after 40 minutes of play.
Gaber, who tallied a pair of goals last night, brought the game level for the second straight night with a power play strike from his usual office to give the junior his 19th goal of the season and third of the weekend with 16:32 to play in regulation.
Neither side could break the deadlock in regulation or the 3-on-3 overtime session, as the contest officially ended in a 2-2 tie. SCSU's Grant Cruikshank earned the Huskies the extra point in the shootout with the lone goal for either side in the three-round affair.
North Dakota will hit the road for the final time in the regular season against Colorado College beginning Friday night at 8:30 p.m. (CT) from Ed Robson Arena.
Postgame Notes
- UND falls to sixth place in the NCHC standings, sitting two points behind Minnesota Duluth for fifth
- The Hawks finished with a 30-13 shot advantage, led by Jackson Blake and Gaber each with four
- SCSU's 13 shots are the lowest total since Nov. 23, 2019 against UND in a 2-1 NoDak OT win
- Drew DeRidder finished with 11 saves and two additional stops in the shootout
- Castor, Gaber and Kunz were named the game's three stars, in that order
- UND went to OT in back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 11-12, 2019 vs. Colorado College
- The five ties this season are the most in a season for UND since the 2017-18 season when they had 10
- Gaber now has six goals over his last five games and 19 on the season
- Blake extended his point streak to six games with an assist
- UND won the faceoff battle, 34-23, with Jake Schmaltz going 16-5.
How It Happened
First Period
9:27 | UND –
Jackson Kunz pots home a rebound from a Kleven shot to give UND a 1-0 lead
19:08 | SCSU – Spencer Meier ties the game at 1-1 with a power play goal in the slot
Second Period
0:18 | SCSU – Jami Krannila tallies his third of the weekend on a loose puck in the crease to make it 2-1 SCSU
Third Period
3:28 | UND –
Riese Gaber knots the game at 2-2 with his 11th power play goal of the season
Overtime
No scoring
For more information on North Dakota hockey, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmhockey.
