GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Following a thrilling, overtime game on Friday night, North Dakota and No. 6 St. Cloud State skated to a 2-2 tie on Saturday night in the series finale from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
Despite dominating possession, zone time and seeing the shot counter tilted heavily towards the hosts, UND (13-13-5, 7-10-3 NCHC) could only muster two of its 30 shots past goaltender Jaxon Castor before the netminder stopped all three shots in the shootout to give the Huskies (18-9-3, 10-7-3 NCHC) a big second point in the NCHC standings.
Moments after a failed major power play attempt by the hosts, Jackson Kunz put the Fighting Hawks in front, 1-0, on a rebound tally from Tyler Kleven shot just before the halfway point of the opening period. St. Cloud State answered back, scoring its fourth power play goal of the weekend with just 52 seconds remaining in the stanza to send the game to the intermission tied at 1-1.
The Huskies didn’t wait long to grab their first lead coming out of the break, as Jami Krannila pounced on a loose puck in the slot and cashed in just prior to the whistle blowing to give the visitors the 2-1 advantage just 18 seconds into the middle stanza.
North Dakota dominated the rest of the period, holding SCSU without a shot on goal and finishing with a 12-2 shot advantage, including a rocket off the post from Riese Gaber, but could not find the equalizer after 40 minutes of play.
Gaber, who tallied a pair of goals last night, brought the game level for the second straight night with a power play strike from his usual office to give the junior his 19th goal of the season and third of the weekend with 16:32 to play in regulation.
Neither side could break the deadlock in regulation or the 3-on-3 overtime session, as the contest officially ended in a 2-2 tie. SCSU’s Grant Cruikshank earned the Huskies the extra point in the shootout with the lone goal for either side in the three-round affair.
North Dakota will hit the road for the final time in the regular season against Colorado College beginning Friday night at 8:30 p.m. (CT) from Ed Robson Arena.