GRAND FORKS, N.D. — St. Cloud State isn’t too familiar with losing in Grand Forks in recent years.
Friday, though, North Dakota defeated the Huskies in a 3-2 battle in front of 11,900 at Ralph Engelstad Arena, and clinched home ice for the NCHC playoffs.
There have been many contests between SCSU and UND since the last time St Cloud lost in Grand Forks on Oct. 29, 2011, but tonight’s strong first period for North Dakota and its will to continue building what it started propelled it ahead.
“We were ready to go,” UND defenseman Nick Mattson said. “We know what’s on the line and we have pretty lofty goals for ourselves we’re chasing after. It’s fun to see when we play to our potential.”
Now one step closer to those goals, North Dakota also broke a four-game winless record against the Huskies in the teams’ last four meetings at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
UND tallied two goals in the opening frame from Nick Schmaltz and Brendan O’Donnell, while Connor Gaarder’s tip-in of the puck in the second period awarded the team a 3-0 lead. St. Cloud responded with two power play goals from Ben Storm and Joey Benik in the second and third, yet the unit couldn’t capitalize on another.
“It did it’s job for us – it got two goals for us,” SCSU coach Bob Motzko said. “We needed it. We needed to respond with a defensive play and we needed to make one more offensive play. That never came with the poor start we had.”
Despite an effective power play from St. Cloud that scored two goals in four chances, North Dakota reeled in its strategy and capitalized on what it started.
“I thought our game was quick and really kind of single minded,” UND coach Dave Hakstol said. “We moved pucks well, both coming out of the zone and in the neutral zone, and that’s the only way you can play against those guys. They do a good job creating turnovers and transitioning if you’re not sharp with the puck. I thought early we were real sharp with the puck.”
It was Nick Schmaltz that tallied the first goal when his initial shot on net rebounded and found its way to Stephane Pattyn, who got the puck back up the Schmaltz right in front of the net for the goal past Charlie Lindgren (27 saves) at 11:44 of the first period.
UND continued to dominate the opening frame and added another at 17:36 when Nick Mattson skated toward the net and set up O’Donnell in the circle. O’Donnell fired a shot on the power play that deflected off of Storm to put North Dakota up 2-0.
Austin Poganski fired a puck that was tipped in by Gaarder in front of Lindgren at 5:57 of the second period to send UND up by three – a mark not welcomed by St. Cloud.
“The third goal killed us because it was a defendable goal,” Motzko said. “We were battling back and we needed to hunker down and that ended up being a back-breaker for us. Their goalie was tough when we had chances to get back.
St. Cloud State showcased its top power play in the NCHC when it answered back at 7:58 with a Storm point shot that deflected off Pattyn’s leg past Zane McIntyre (22 saves).
That special teams unit went right back to work in the third period. Benik narrowed the margin with a five-hole power-play goal at 4:47 to set the teams at 3-2.
“We did a pretty good job after it became a one-goal game,” Hakstol said. “I liked our confidence and the way we played against a good hockey team. It’s what we come to expect – it’s going to be tight. It’s going to be close right down to the wire.”
It was. St. Cloud State had a man-advantage with an empty net with seconds remaining on the clock, hoping to find the equalizer. Yet, that’s not how it happened as North Dakota skated away with the victory in a gripping ending that saw both teams fight until the buzzer.
“I’ll take whatever,” Mattson said. “I’d rather taker a blowout, but in this league, it’s probably not going to happen. These teams are too good. As hard as it is on the fans, we found a way.”
