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MINNEAPOLIS — No. 13 Minnesota and No.3 North Dakota renewed a long-standing heated rivalry over the weekend, a rivalry that no longer annually featured the border battle after the formation of the Big Ten and NCHC hockey conferences in 2013. The Fighting Hawks and Gophers skated to a 5-5 tie on Friday night, with the Gophers prevailing 2-0 on Saturday.
“I thought we had tremendous pushback tonight,” said Minnesota coach Don Lucia. “You see it in our blocked shots and penalty kill.”
North Dakota was without the services Saturday of their top defenseman, Tucker Poolman — a Winnipeg draft pick and owner of last night’s eventual game-tying goal. Saturday’s affair was much tighter and defensive in contrast to the poor save percentages and suspect defense that was observed in Friday’s ten-goal contest. Minnesota sophomore goaltender Eric Schierhorn was at his best, stopping breakaways, flurries of shots and bailing out his defensemen on turnovers.
“I just tried to simplify tonight and get in a rhythm, it’s a long season,” said Schierhorn.
Schierhorn has had a statistically slow start to his sophomore campaign and had a rough outing in Friday’s contest , stopping only 17 of 22 Fighting Hawk shots. Schierhorn stopped all 33 shots on Saturday for his second shutout of the season.
“I felt terrible after last night’s game,” said Schierhorn. “We outplayed them. I didn’t really do my part.”
Star freshman Tyson Jost put the Fighting Hawks at a disadvantage in the first period after being penalized for delay of game. The Gophers and one of the nation’s top-ten power play units took very little time to capitalize. Sophomore forward Tommy Novak found junior Mike Szmatula down low and walked out in front of the net uncontested to wrap the puck behind North Dakota netminder, Cam Johnson.
“It wasn’t a great-angle shot, but I caught him off guard,” said Szmatula, a Northeastern transfer who is currently the second-leading scorer for the Gophers.
The Gophers tacked on to their lead in the second period when senior Vinni Lettieri showcased his skillset. Lettieri won an offensive zone draw to defenseman Jack Glover who floated a pass to Steve Johnson for a one-time shot, which was stopped by North Dakota’s Johnson. The initial save produced a juicy rebound for Lettieri, which he backhanded home for a 2-0 Minnesota lead.
“We want to continue to take steps forward, ” said Lucia.
With over two minutes remaining in the third, North Dakota pulled its goaltender as a last-ditch attempt to spark the offense. The Fighting Hawks were awarded a penalty-shot with 40 seconds remaining after Justin Kloos committed a delay-of-game penalty in the crease. Berry chose All-American sophomore Brock Boeser to take the shot.
“Goaltenders need to step up in critical moments and Eric did that on the penalty shot,” said Lucia.
Despite some quality fakes by Boeser, Schierhorn made the stop and the Gophers closed out the game.
“He’s our rock back there,” said Szmatula. “He was the best player on the ice tonight.”
NCHC roundup
Western Michigan 5, Miami 2
Western Michigan defeated Miami 5-2 on Saturday in Kalamazoo, Mich. Sophomore forward Matheson Iacopelli, a Chicago draft pick, scored twice for the Broncos while junior defenseman Scott Moldenhauer had three assists. Kiefer Sherwood had a goal and an assist for the Redhawks.
No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth 5, St.Cloud State 3
No.1 Minnesota-Duluth completed a road sweep of No. 8 St. Cloud State with a 5-3 victory in St.Cloud, Minn. Senior defensemen Carson Soucy, a Wild draftee, scored twice for the Bulldogs while freshman forward Joey Anderson added a goal and an assist. Hunter Miska stopped 31 shots for Minnesota-Duluth.
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Omaha 6, Colorado College 4
Omaha defeated Colorado College 6-4 to earn a series split in Omaha, Neb. Senior forward Austin Ortega had two goals and two assists for the Mavericks and David Pope added four assists. Mason Bergh had two goals and an assist for Colorado College, while Luc Gerdes added two goals.
