UMC MEN’S CLUB HOCKEY USES 3 GOALS IN FINAL EIGHT MINUTES TO DEFEAT DAKOTA STATE BOTTINEAU

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Golden Eagles Club Hockey team battled the Dakota College of Bottineau Lumberjacks on Saturday night from inside the Crookston Sports Center. It was a back-and-forth game all night, but 3 late third-period goals helped the Golden Eagles to a 5-3 win.

FIRST PERIOD –

The Lumberjacks struck quickly with a goal from Chayse Haberman to take a 1-0 lead 2:24 into the game. A little over a minute later UMC responded with a Jackson Fuller (Fr. Bloomington, Minn.) goal assisted by Tristan Morneault (Soph. Dieppe, New Brunswick) and Casey Kallock (Sr. Alvarado, Minn.) to tie the game at 1-1 with 15:55 remaining in the period. UMC would have a Power Play opportunity a little later, but it would quickly turn into a four-on-four after UMC would be called for a penalty of their own. Neither team would capitalize and both teams would return to even strength. UMC finally broke the tie late in the first period on a goal from Nikolai Rajala (Fr. Colerain, Minn.) set up by a beautiful pass from Dylan Borseth (Jr. Williston, ND) at the 18:31 mark. UMC would take a 2-1 lead into the second period outshooting the Lumberjacks 19-4.

SECOND PERIOD –

The second period was played with a quick pace and not many whistles. Braden Schmitz (Fr. Devils Lake, ND) made a couple of big saves early in the period to allow the Golden Eagles to keep a 2-1 lead. “Braden does a great job of competing every time he is in the net,” said UMC Head Coach Steve Johnson. “He did a good job all night of reading pucks and making the stops he needed too.” Nikolai Rajala (Fr. Colerain, Minn.) had a great chance halfway through the period on a centering pass from Dylan Borseth (Jr. Williston, ND) but this time Jordan Berschiminsky made the stop for the Lumberjacks. There would be one Power Play in the period, as Tyler Zahradka (Soph. Grand Forks, ND) would head to the penalty box at the 16:32 mark giving Dakota College of Bottineau the man advantage. The UMC penalty kill would get the job done, and the score would remain 2-1 UMC heading into the third period.

THIRD PERIOD –

The third period was filled with excitement right from the start. 40 seconds into the third period, the Lumberjacks tied the game at 2-2 with a goal from Zane McDonald. Just under 17 minutes to play, the Lumberjacks would reclaim the lead on a goal from Geoffrey Dick to make the score 3-2. The teams would trade a few opportunities over the next few minutes, but the score would remain 3-2. The last 12 minutes of the game was filled with penalties, and UMC was able to take advantage. “Sometimes things can get chippy and it can be easy to lose your composer,” said Golden Eagles Head Coach Steve Johnson. “I was proud of the way our guys handled it tonight though, and we didn’t put ourselves in a bad spot.” At the 12:44 mark of the period, Mitchell Coleman (Fr. Hatton, ND) scored off a quick shot from the middle of the ice, tying the game at 3-3. A little over a minute later, Tyler Zahradka (Soph. Grand Forks, ND) added a Power Play goal on a pass from Nikolai Rajala (Fr. Colerain, Minn.) to reclaim the lead for the Golden Eagles at 4-3. UMC remained on the Power Play for the next several minutes as the Lumberjacks continued to get called for penalties. With under a minute remaining, Logan Syrup (Fr. Park River, ND) put the finishing touches on the win with a Power Play goal with 40 seconds remaining that would help UMC to a 5-3 victory. “That’s a good team and I’m happy with the win. We came out and maybe caught them off guard a little bit early on in the game,” said UMC Head Coach Steve Johnson. “We will have to play a clean game tomorrow if we want to get the sweep. They’ll be ready to play so will need to be as well.”

Braden Schmitz (Fr. Devils Lake, ND) got the win in net for the Golden Eagles, and Jordan Berschiminski suffered the loss for the Lumberjacks.

UMC moves to 5-4-2 on the season with the win and will play against the Dakota College of Bottineau again tomorrow at the Crookston Sports Center. The puck will drop at 1:00 p.m. Dakota College of Bottineau falls to 6-5-1 with the loss.

1st Period
2:24 – DCB – Chayse Haberman (Eric Hildebrand, Joben Smith)
4:05 – UMC – Jackson Fuller (Tristan Morneault, Casey Kallock)
18:31 – UMC – Nikolai Rajala (Dylan Borseth, Logan Syrup)

2nd Period
– no scoring 

3rd Period
0:41 – DCB – Zane McDonald (Ian Amsbaugh)
3:03 – DCB – Geoffrey Dick (JJ Adams, Brett Janssens)
12:44 – UMC – Mitchell Coleman (Dylan Neubauer)
14:12 – UMC – (PP) Tyler Zahradka (Nikolai Rajala)
19:20 – UMC – (PP) Logan Syrup (Nikolai Rajala, Tyler Zahradka)