Home hasn't looked so good to Minnesota Duluth in four years.
Entering Saturday's Western Collegiate Hockey Association men's game against Minnesota, the Bulldogs were 6-1-4 at the DECC, their best mark since going 15-5 in2003-04.
UMD isn't back in town for more than a month, onFeb. 22-23 against No. 2-ranked Colorado College, and was hoping for a good sendoff.
But Minnesota spoiled that with a 2-1 win before a sellout crowd of 5,364 spectators. The Gophers are now 5-0-1 the last six games in the series and broke UMD's three-game unbeaten streak.
Two-time defending league champion Minnesota (12-10-4, 6-8-2 WCHA), ranked No. 18, for the moment moved from seventh to a tie for fifth in the WCHA, pending the outcome of Wisconsin's late game at Alaska Anchorage. The Gophers carried play from the start of the game, which meant a busy night for Bulldog goalie Alex Stalock and a not-so-busy night that became a nail-biter for Minnesota freshman Alex Kangas.
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Sophomore winger Tony Lucia, son of coach Don Lucia, took advantage of a UMD turnover with 7:36 left in the first period. A Bulldog defender tipped the puck that Lucia recovered in the slot for his fifth goal of the season.
The score came in the midst of nine straight shots on goal by the Gophers.
Fourth-place UMD (8-8-6, 6-7-5), ranked No. 16, didn't show much offensively, but winger Nick Kemp hit a pipe with 59 seconds left in the first period, on a power play, and Jordan Fulton had three decent chances early in the third period before the shutout bid was broken.
Stalock had gloved Minnesota's Mike Carman 4:29 into the game, but Carman made good at 5:31 of the second period. In his third game this season, he connected from the left circle for his first goal and a 2-0 lead. Carman sat out the first half of the schedule because of academic ineligibility before joining the U.S. team for the World Junior Championships, which ended earlier this month.
Kangas grabbed a Fulton backhand attempt at 7:49 of the final period on a tough save. Less than two minutes later, on a power play, defenseman Jason Garrison cracked a shot from the right point for his fifth goal of the season.
Stalock did his best to keep the Bulldogs in it, turning away Lucia on a breakaway with 3:32 left. Minnesota led in shots on goal 38-25.
UMD entered the game averaging 2.48 goals a game, ranked 39th among 59 Division I teams, and Minnesota was at 2.68. The Bulldogs have only four goals total the past three games and have lost five times by either one or two goals this season.
The Bulldogs begin an extended road trip Friday in Lowell, Mass., against No. 11 Massachusetts-Lowell, to open the regular season's final non-league series.
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Minnesota 1-1-0 - 2
Minnesota Duluth 0-0-1 - 1
First period -- 1. Minnesota, Tony Lucia 5 (Kevin Wehrs, R.J. Anderson), 12:24. Penalties -- Jordan Fulton, UMD (high-sticking), 6:53; Blake Wheeler, Minnesota (high-sticking), 18:02.
Second period -- 2. Minnesota, Mike Carman 1 (Jay Barriball, Mike Hoeffel), 5:31. Penalties -- Wehrs, Minnesota (unsportsmanlike conduct), 6:00; Anderson, Minnesota (holding), 6:00; Drew Akins, UMD (unsportsmanlike conduct), 6:00; Drew Fisher, Minnesota (hooking), 10:18; Jay Cascalenda, UMD (tripping), 13:10; Blake Wheeler, Minnesota (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:28; Nick Kemp, UMD (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:28; Fulton, UMD (interference), 19:27.
Third period -- 3. UMD, Jason Garrison 5 (Evan Oberg, Michael Gergen), 9:02 (pp). Penalties -- Garrison, UMD (cross-checking), 5:33; David Fischer, Minnesota (slashing), 8:35; Andrew Carroll, UMD (grabbing facemask), 13:10; Wehrs, Minnesota (grabbing facemask), 13:10.
Shots on goal -- Minnesota 13-11-14-38, UMD 5-9-11-25. Goalies -- Alex Kangas (3-3-2), Minnesota (25 shots-24 saves); Alex Stalock (8-8-6), UMD (38 shots-36 saves). Power plays -- Minnesota 0-of-4, UMD 1-of-4. Referee -- Todd Anderson. Assistants -- C.J. Beaurline, Brad Shepherd. A -- 5,364.
