To do something Zach Harrison did Friday night, a little luck might need to be on your side.<\/p>\n
With Minnesota State trying to kill off a 6-on-3 power play and hold a 4-1 lead late in the third period against North Dakota Friday, the junior forward backhanded the puck out of the zone to clear it, and it somehow found the empty net — for Harrison\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s third shorthanded goal of the game.<\/p>\n
Harrison scored a goal in each period Friday, leading the Mavericks to a 5-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association victory over the Fighting Sioux at the Alltel Center.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was a fluke thing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Harrison said of his final goal. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It just happened. But we got the win and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important right now.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Harrison was just the sixth player in NCAA history to record a hat trick on all shorthanded goals in one game.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe it,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said MSU forward Mick Berge. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never seen it before.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
With the Mavericks on a penalty kill and clinging to a 2-1 lead in the second period, Harrison took a pass from Jerad Stewart and waited for a defender to creep past him before slinging a wrist shot over UND goalie Aaron Walski\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s glove.<\/p>\n
Harrison added another shorthanded goal in the opening minute of the third period, when he took advantage of defenseman Jake Marto losing his footing. Harrison charged toward the puck in open ice and beat Walski top shelf. The junior capped the historic feat with the empty netter to close out the game.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He was a kid straight out of high school when he got here and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s now a junior and has played a lot of hockey,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said MSU head coach Troy Jutting. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s finally just starting to come into his own and going to be an important player for us.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
The Fighting Sioux started the scoring Friday night, when MSU defenseman Ben Youds make an ill-advised pass toward center ice, which Matt Watkins intercepted and went in untouched toward the net. Watkins fired a wrist shot over Mike Zacharias\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 glove for the early lead barely five minutes into the game.<\/p>\n
The Mavericks then responded with Geoff Irwin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s third goal of the season at 6:16. While MSU had a man advantage due to a delayed penalty, Berge found Irwin on the doorstep and hit the junior from across the ice to tie the game at one.<\/p>\n
Just more than a minute later, Kael Mouillierat — playing in his first game of the season for the Mavericks — gave MSU the lead for good.<\/p>\n
Kurt Davis fired a shot from the point on a power play, and after deflecting off a defender, the puck came right to Mouillierat on the doorstep with a wide open net.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Geoff Irwin has played three very good hockey games for us now and those were two big goals by kids who we need to score,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Jutting said of Irwin and Mouillierat. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to be good, those two kids have to score goals for us.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
With the 3-1 lead, Harrison took over, scoring the game\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s final three goals, the first shorthanded hat trick since 1998 when St. Cloud State\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s George Awada did it against Michigan Tech.<\/p>\n
After just three games, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s apparent as ever that the Fighting Sioux are still looking for one of their goaltenders to step up and fill the void left by Jean-Philippe Lamoureux. UND is off to its first 0-3 start since the 1994-95 season.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not clicking,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said UND head coach Dave Hakstol \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing a lot of good things, but a lot of good things don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t complete a hockey game.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Zacharias ended the game with 34 saves after allowing only the first-period goal. Walski stopped 17 shots in the game.<\/p>\n
The Mavericks (3-0, 1-0 WCHA) and Fighting Sioux (0-3, 0-1) face off for game two at 7:07 p.m. Saturday at the Alltel Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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