Senior defenseman Aaron Schneekloth scored a pair of goals 4:29 apart in the third period to lift the North Dakota to a come-from-behind victory over St. Lawrence at Appleton Arena Friday night, snapping a five-game winless streak for the Sioux.
Schneekloth tied the game with his first goal of the season at 5:35 of the third as he pinched in from the point and cut across the crease, backhanding a pass from freshman center Chris Fournier past Saint freshman goaltender Kevin Ackley. He then scored the game winner at 10:04 as he came untouched down the slot and rifled a shot just under the crossbar off a feed by junior Ryan Bayda.
St. Lawrence, which lost its sixth straight and its eighth one-goal decision of the year, took the lead just 52 seconds into the game as junior Jim Lorentz, a late addition to the Saint lineup after captain Robin Carruthers was felled by the flu, snapped a wrist shot just inside the far post which eluded a lunge by Sioux freshman goaltender Jake Brandt.
The Saints had several chances to add to the lead in the first period, but came up empty, hitting a post and shooting just high on an empty net on two of the best chances.
Brandt, who earned his first collegiate victory, didn’t let anything get past the rest of the way, making 24 saves for the win. Ackley, who had a 19-save second period as North Dakota spent the first seven minutes in the Saint zone, finished with 36 saves for the Saints.
“That’s the way it has gone for us so far,” said Saint coach Joe Marsh. “We made some good plays to add to our lead, but didn’t bury them and it came back to haunt us. It was a great hockey game and both of Schneekloth’s goals were great plays that Kevin couldn’t do a thing about.
“It would be great to get a win, but if we keep playing like that, I think they’ll start to come our way.”
The victory was the first regular-season win for a WCHA team in four tries at Appleton Arena. North Dakota’s visit is just the third by a current member of the WCHA since Michigan Tech played in Appleton in 1966.
St. Lawrence (3-11-0) and North Dakota (6-9-1) will play a rematch Saturday night.
