In the dying minutes of the second period, UND sophomore defenseman Joe Finley attempted to backhand the puck out of his own zone and lifted it directly into the center-ice scoreboard.
That Finley hit the scoreboard proved to be prophetic, because that’s exactly what he did for the first time in his career just moments later.
The Edina, Minn., native broke a 1-1 tie with a rocket from the top of the left faceoff circle with just 4.8 seconds left in the period for his first career goal and, more importantly, a 2-1 Fighting Sioux win over Colorado College.
UND snapped a five-game WCHA losing streak with the victory and improved to 10-11-1 overall and 6-9-1 in league play. The Sioux also moved into fifth place, past Alaska-Anchorage and Michigan Tech, each of which lost Saturday.
Finley’s goal, a power-play tally, capped a second period that saw the Sioux dominate the Tigers with an 11-2 advantage in shots on goal.
It was all the offense the Sioux would need the rest of the way, as UND limited CC to just four third-period shots and 18 for the entire game.
UND junior netminder Philippe Lamoureux was strong again, stopping 17 of the 18 shots he faced and allowing just one goal for the second straight night.
The Sioux opened the scoring with eight minutes remaining in the first period on a strong individual effort from freshman forward Ryan Martens. Martens streaked down the right side and put a shot on CC goalie Matt Zaba, gathered his own rebound, circled behind the net and found Erik Fabian in front, and Fabian jammed it past Zaba for his first goal of the season.
UND’s lead was short-lived, however, as CC defenseman Jack Hillen answered just 2:53 later on the power play with a point shot that weaved its way through traffic and beat a screened Lamoureux between the legs.
But Lamoureux and the Sioux defense held the Tigers scoreless for the game’s final 25:07.
Lamoureux improves to 7-9-0 with the victory, while Zaba falls to 10-5-1.
Notes: Fabian’s goal was his first since Feb. 17, 2006 against Minnesota Duluth, a stretch of 23 games without a goal … Five out of UND’s last six games at Colorado College have been decided by one goal … Saturday’s game was played before a capacity crowd of 7,543.
