Third-ranked Minnesota Duluth got the last laugh in a back-and-forth offensive duel at Amsoil Arena on Saturday, winning 6-5 over Miami to secure an NCHC series sweep before a crowd of 6,662.
Sophomore wing Kobe Roth tallied the game-winner for the Bulldogs 6:43 into the third period to give the Bulldogs their first sweep since January. The win also kept UMD alone in second place in the NCHC with two games remaining in the regular season. The Bulldogs are at regular-season champion St. Cloud State next week.
“As my good friend Dean Blais says, ‘As long as you win it,’ ” UMD coach Scott Sandelin said, referring to the former North Dakota coach. “You’re going to be in some of those games just like the 1-0 games. I just told the guys to stick with it.
“The special teams were good, there were some nice goals both ways. It was just back and forth. I’m just glad we got the winner.”
The Bulldogs and RedHawks each posted a trio of goals in the first period with four of the six coming in the opening 5:42.
Junior defenseman Nick Wolff scored two goals 23 seconds apart - just his fourth and fifth of the season - in the opening 90 seconds to give UMD a two-goal lead, however, Miami tied the game on a pair of power-play goals less than a minute apart.
Junior wing Riley Tufte put UMD back on top at the 9:30 mark by tallying his sixth goal of the season and fifth on the power play, but Miami was able to again tie the game on the man advantage late in the first.
“That was a wild game,” Wolff said. “If you shoot the puck, good things happen. I got lucky on a couple of them and they got through.”
Both teams added a pair of goals in the second period. Sophomore defenseman Dylan Samberg gave UMD a 4-3 lead just under three minutes in. Senior captain and wing Parker Mackay knotted the game for a fourth time - now at 5-5 - via a power-play goal that crossed the Miami goal line with just 19.6 seconds remaining in the second.
Roth’s goal, which was assisted by linemates Billy Exell and Jade Miller, was the lone goal of the third - a period that saw Miami held to just two shots on goal.
“Pretty fun game, I think, for the last regular-season game (at home),” said Mackay, who was one of four seniors honored on Senior Night. “Obviously we’re going to work on tightening things up defensively, but if we got to play that type of game once in a while to get a win, as long as we come out on the right side, that’s all that matters.”
UMD entered the night with a scoring defense that ranked fifth nationally giving up just 1.90 goals per game. Junior goaltender Hunter Shepard ranked fourth in goals-against average (1.79) and 20th in save percentage nationally (.920).
The Bulldogs’ penalty kill led the nation before Saturday’s game began with a 90.7 percent success rate having allowed just 10 power-play goals over their previous 30 games this season, and not once had a team got multiples.
UMD finished 2-for-5 on the kill Saturday with the three goals given up being the most since a 5-5 tie at home against Merrimack on Oct. 20, 2017. That night the kill surrendered four.
The combined goals by UMD and Miami on Saturday tied the Bulldogs’ season high set in a 7-4 loss on Oct. 7, 2018 at Minnesota.
UMD sophomore defenseman Scott Perunovich returned to the ice after missing Friday’s game due to an injury. Senior center Peter Krieger was also in the lineup after not finishing Friday’s game due to injury.
NCHC referee Todd Anderson was honored prior to Saturday’s game, receiving a plaque from NCHC director of officiating Don Adam. Anderson is retiring after 18 seasons as an official. Saturday was his final game. Anderson famously officiated the Bulldogs’ 4-3 win over North Dakota in the 2017 NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship in Minneapolis, a game that saw 27 penalties for 57 minutes. UMD scored the game-winner on a 5-on-3 power play in the final minute.
Miami 3-2-0-5
Minn. Duluth 3-2-1-6
First period - 1. UMD, Nick Wolff 4 (Peter Krieger), 1:03; 2. UMD, Wolff 5 (Jackson Cates, Riley Tufte), 1:26; 3. MU, Josh Melnick 10 (Grant Hutton, Jordan Uhelski), 4:47 (pp); 4. MU, Jonathan Gruden 3 (Brian Hawkinson, Hutton), 5:42 (pp); 5. UMD, Tufte 6 (Dylan Samberg, Mikey Anderson), 9:30 (pp); 6. MU, Hutton 7 (Gordie Green, Melnick), 16:26 (pp). Penalties - Tufte, UMD (interference), 3:38; Wolff, UMD (boarding), 4:11; Hawkinson, MU (interference), 7:43; Bray Crowder, MU (hooking), 13:37; Scott Perunovich, UMD (cross checking), 14:56.
Second period - 7. UMD, Samberg 6 (Jade Miller), 2:58; 8. MU, Green 11 (Ryan Siroky, Rourke Russell), 5:52; 9. MU, Carter Johnson 2, 7:39; 10. UMD, Packer Mackay 12 (Perunovich, Mikey Anderson), 19:40. Penalties - Parker Mackay, UMD (tripping), 9:39; Monte Graham, MU (high sticking), 12:03; Hawkinson, MU (hooking), 18:34.
Third period - 11. UMD, Kobe Roth 6 (Billy Exell, Miller), 6:43. Penalties - Cole Koepke, UMD (hooking), 19:51.
Shots on goal - MU 10-7-2-19; UMD 15-17-7-39. Goalies - Jordan Uhelski, MU (39 shots-35 saves); Hunter Shepard, UMD (19-14). Power plays - MU 3-of-5; UMD 2-of-4. Referees - Todd Anderson, Brad Shepherd. Linesmen - Brandon Schmitt, Sterling Egan. Att. - 6,662.
