No. 6 North Dakota one of few top-ranked teams to rebound on Saturday to earn split; No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 St. Cloud State each suffer weekend sweeps

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Brandon Budy scores the game-winning goal in the third period as No. 6 North Dakota bounces back with a win, 2-1, over No. 4 Minnesota Duluth (Photo: Russell Hons/UND Athletics)

North Dakota’s defense was able to bottle up No. 4 Minnesota Duluth on Saturday as the sixth-ranked Fighting Hawks rallied from a goal down to earn a hard-fought, 2-1 victory and a weekend split with the Bulldogs.

Brendan Budy’s goal with 14:55 remaining in regulation was the game-winner as goaltender Zach Driscoll stopped 22 of 23 shots to earn the victory.

The opening goal, for the second straight night, proved a bad omen. A night after North Dakota scored early only to surrender the game’s final four goals, it was Minnesota Duluth’s Blake Biondi who broke open the scoring, though this goal coming with 5:09 left in the second.

It appeared the lead would last into the final frame before Ethan Frisch scored with nine seconds remaining in the second to send the game into the third tied at 1.

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No. 14 Notre Dame 5, No. 1 Michigan 4 (OT)

For the second straight night, Notre Dame found magic in 3-on-3 overtime, this time as Max Ellis completed a hat trick lifting the Irish to a 5-4 win over top-ranked Michigan.

The Wolverines, despite taking two games in the loss column, still come away from the series with 2-of-6 points in the Big Ten standings, while Notre Dame begins its ascent up the standings with a four-point weekend.

After a tight-checking 3-2 Notre Dame OT win on Friday, Saturday’s game was a little more wild, as Michigan jumped to a 2-0 lead then fell behind as Notre Dame rallied, the third of those goals coming from Ellis.

Nick Blankenberg drew Michigan even at 9:48 of the second before Ellis scored his second, on the power play with 54 seconds left in the middle frame.

Thomas Bordeleau forced the overtime session with 6:31 remaining before Ellis capped his career night. It was the first collegiate hat trick for the junior forward who posted two-goal games this season against RIT and Wisconsin.

No. 13 Western Michigan 4, No. 2 St. Cloud State 0

Goaltender Brandon Bussi stopped all 36 shots he faced to earn the shutout and Paul Walshe tallied a goal and an assist as the Broncos completed a much-needed home sweep of second-ranked St. Cloud State, 4-0.

Jason Polin and Michael Joyaux each scored in the second period before Western Michigan added two late empty-net goals to secure the victory.

The two-game sweep of St. Cloud State came after a three-game losing streak that included two losses on the road last weekend at Denver.

New Hampshire 2, No. 8 Massachusetts 1

The game almost didn’t need overtime, but that didn’t matter to Jackson Pierson.

New Hampshire’s Pierson redirected a shot from Eric MacAdams for the overtime game-winning goal as the Wildcats upset No. 8 UMass, 2-1.

The game was almost won by UNH in regulation before defenseman Scott Morrow scored an extra-attacker goal with 1.1 seconds left in the third.

Liam Devlin’s goal at 17:33 of the first held up as the only goal for much of the night.

No. 15 UMass Lowell 3, Connecticut 0

For the second straight game, UMass Lowell junior Andre Lee scored two goals, both coming in the third period to break a scoreless tie as the River Hawks skated past UConn, 3-0, in the opener of a home-and-home matinee series.

The two teams travel Hartford, Conn., on Sunday for the backend of 3:30 p.m. starts.

Lee, who twice redirected pucks for goals last Saturday against Boston College, made it three straight, tipping a pass from Carl Berglund at 4:34 of the third to break the 0-0 deadlock. He then added a second goal with a snipe against the grain as he moved to his left with 3:43 remaining.

Reid Stefanson added an empty-net goal late in regulation.

The 34-save shutout, which included a highlight-reel save late in the third, was the second of the season for Owen Savory.

 

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