For the second straight game, Union jumped out to a 2-0 lead against Minnesota-Duluth, only to see the Bulldogs come back.
This time, the Bulldogs didn’t settle for a tie.
The 15th-ranked Bulldogs scored three special-teams goals during a four-goal second period and rolled to a 7-4 victory Saturday over the Dutchmen at Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center.
UMD (6-5-2) scored two of its three power-play goals in the second period, and also had a shorthanded tally. Tyler Brosz had one of those power-play goals among the three he scored in a game that featured 22 penalties called by referee Dan Murphy.
“Scott [Sandelin, UMD’s coach] said the same thing after the game: there was no flow to the game,” Union coach Nate Leaman said. “It was all specialty teams. I thought when it was five-on-five, it was a very even, exciting hockey game.”
In Friday’s 2-2 tie, UMD fired 45 shots on goalie Kris Mayotte, but only scored twice. On Saturday, the Bulldogs scored on their six of their 19 shots against Mayotte, who was pulled early in the third period.
“That’s how goofy the game is,” Sandelin said. “We capitalized on our opportunities. When you look at the scoreboard and five goals on 17 shots, it’s a crazy game.”
Matt Blabac gave the Dutchmen (7-3-3) a 1-0 lead 5:25 into the game. Olivier Bouchard made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 11:06.
The Bulldogs started their comeback with 21 seconds left in the first period when Ryan McGregor scored on the power play.
“They got four power plays in a row,” Leaman said. “That changed the momentum of the game. They didn’t have a five-on-five shot the first period. All nine of their shots were on the power play.”
UMD tied it on Tim Stapleton’s shorthanded goal 2:53 into the second period. Beau Geisler gave the Bulldogs the lead 1:59 later on the power play. Brett Hammond made it 4-2 at 7:45 when he beat Mayotte between the pads from the right circle.
Chris DiStefano cut into UMD’s lead at 14:41. Shortly after that, Brosz scored a power-play goal.
“There wasn’t a lot flow to the game,” said Union forward Brian Kerr, who had three assists. “The first period, there was five minutes of even-strength play. The second period, there was penalty after penalty. It’s tough to get any flow in a game like that. We had to battle hard to kill off all those penalties called against us.”
Brosz chased Mayotte from the game with his second goal of the contest 28 seconds into the third period. After Union’s Ian Ross scored at 9:40, Brosz completed his hat trick at 13:17.
Ken Schott covers college hockey for The Daily Gazette in Schenectady, N.Y.
