Fargo, ND, USA / 740 The FAN
Dec 11, 2020 2:14 AM
OMAHA, Neb.– (UND Athletics) Third-ranked Minnesota Duluth won the shootout to pick up the extra league point in a 2-2 tie Thursday evening at Baxter Arena in the fifth game of the 10-game NCHC pod. Nick Swaney’s shootout tally in UMD’s final chance proved to be the difference in the shootout after a scoreless 3-on-3 overtime.
Minnesota Duluth (4-0-1) had to rally back from down a goal late. The Bulldogs’ Cole Koepke scored with 3:25 to go in regulation to tie the score at 2-2. Four minutes and change earlier, Shane Pinto had given North Dakota (3-1-1) the lead for the first time. His one-timer blast on the power play gave him a team-high eighth point and Jordan Kawaguchi provided both helpers in the tie to give him seven points on the season.
Copy shortlink:
Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, we ll never know who would ve won the 2020 NCAA men s hockey championship, though the four teams mostly likely to be No. 1 NCAA tournament seeds when the season was called off on March 12 could offer strong cases.
North Dakota was the top team in the PairWise Ratings, the computer formula the NCAA uses to pick its tournament field. The Fighting Hawks had rolled through the rugged NCHC and had a 26-5-4 record.
Minnesota State Mankato was No. 2 in the PairWise and boasted the most wins in the nation at 31-5-2. The Mavericks seemed poised for an NCAA breakthrough, owning a tie and a win over North Dakota and a sweep of Minnesota Duluth in the Twin Ports.
Sometimes, great teams are defined by how they just find ways to win.
UMD is a great example of this. Despite not overwhelming any opponents in the NCHC pod, here are the Bulldogs at 4-0, the first time a UMD men’s hockey team has started the season 4-0 since 1989-90.
The latest win, Tuesday’s 4-2 triumph over Miami, saw UMD fall behind for the fourth time in as many games, before scoring twice in the second period, then adding two late goals after Miami tied it up in the third with a strong start to the period.
There have been warts, especially in the defensive zone. The Bulldogs were better there on Tuesday, but only to a certain extent. UMD had issues dealing with Miami’s swarming forecheck for the first half of the third period, outshot 5-0 in the third at one point, including the tying goal, where Matthew Barbolini’s centering pass bounced off defenseman Wyatt Kaiser and by freshman goalie Zach Stejskal.