Minnesota-Duluth Edges Princeton in Overtime Heartbreaker
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota-Duluth rallied to edge the Princeton
men's hockey team 5-4 in overtime on Friday night in the NCAA first
round of the West Regional played at Minnesota's Mariucci Arena.
Senior Brett Wilson scored two goals for the Tigers in defeat.
Princeton built leads of 3-1 and 4-2 in the game and led by two
goals with less than minute remaining before the Bulldogs scored
two extra-skater goals to draw even, then scored on the power play
in overtime for the win.
Mike Connolly netted the game winner at 13:39 of the extra session
as he scored from the doorstep following a centering pass from
Justin Fontaine. The goal came on the only penalty called in
overtime.
The Bulldogs opened the scoring at 8:17 of the first period when
Andrew Carroll put home a rebound as UMD started strong. Play
slowly evened out and Princeton had the better of it as the period
went on. The Tigers then were able to even the game on the power
play at 14:56. Good work on the forecheck by sophomore forward Matt
Arhontas led to a tripping penalty, and on the ensuing power play,
senior Brett Wilson put home the rebound of a shot from sophomore
Matt Godlewski to knot the game up at 1-1.
Princeton then built up a lead with a strong start to the second
period. At 1:42 freshman Derrick Pallis scored with a blast from
the point that was redirected by a UMD player past Bulldog
netminder Alex Stalock. Junior Cam MacIntyre had the puck down low
and his centering pass missed its target in front of the net, but
instead got Pallis on the blue line who netted his third goal of
the season. Junior Dan Bartlett was also credited with an
assist.
The Tigers then went ahead 3-1 at 8:10 when Wilson tallied his
second of the game and his 12th of the season. Godlewski once again
took a shot that Wilson found the rebound of. Junior Brad Schroeder
assisted on the goal. Just 29 seconds later, UMD answered to move
back within a goal as Brady Lamb's point shot bounced off a
Princeton player into the goal.
Princeton started the third period with a one-goal lead and
stretched it two when senior Brandan Kushniruk scored shorthanded
just shy of halfway. The goal was his seventh of the season as he
beat Stalock on the far side, hitting the inside of the post and
bouncing in.
The Bulldogs picked up their game from there and pressured the
Tigers over the final minutes. With the goaltender pulled late, UMD
drew a penalty and was able to convert skating 6 on 4 as Jack
Connolly scored on the doorstep on the power play with 40 seconds
remaining. UMD kept Stalock out of the net and continued to
pressure and was able to even the game with 0.8 seconds left to
play. Evan Oberg collected a loose puck and his shot through a
screen found the back of the net.
UMD outshot Princeton 35-31 as Princeton junior Kalemba made 30
saves in the loss. Stalock made 27 saves for UMD.
The Tigers finish the season at 22-12-1, while UMD moved to
22-12-8 and will face Miami tomorrow with a Frozen Four berth on
the line.












