UND FIGHTING HAWKS CLUB HOCKEY SCORES THE ONLY SHOOTOUT GOAL TO DEFEAT UMC 7-6 FOR A SPLIT

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Golden Eagles Nikolai Rajala (Fresh-Coleraine) scored with 17 seconds left in regulation to tie the University of North Dakota (UND) 6-6 and send their game into overtime. Nobody scored in the five minute OT and then it went to a shootout. Each team missed on a shootout and then the Fighting Hawks Phillip Buque managed to get one by UMC goalie Braden Schmitz (Fresh-Devils Lake, N.D.) and UMC had one last chance, already a two goal scorer, Rajala and he was stopped and UND comes up with the 7-6 win and a split on the weekend in an exciting one at the Crookston Sports Center. The Golden Eagles dominated, outshooting UND 48-33 in the game and the Fighting Hawks goalie, Lee Troje made 39 saves in the game and stopped both UMC shootout attempts! The Golden Eagles took 10 penalties in the game and UND retaliated with 4 for 9 on the power play while UMC only had two power play chances and buried them both. Tyler Zahradka (Soph-Grand Forks, N.D.) continued hot with two more goals today and five for the weekend and a total of seven on the season. His linemates, Rajala with two goals and Logan Syrup (Fresh-Park River, N.D.) had two assists to total up for 18 points for the three in the two games this weekend!!
UND scored the first three goals in just over 10 minutes into the game but the Golden Eagles stayed calm and focused and came back with three of their own by Zahradka, Rajala and Syrup. UMC took a 5-3 lead just over two minutes into the second period with Dylan Neubauer (Fresh-Thompson (N.D.) scoring his first collegiate goal and Zahradka added another one, but UND scored and UMC’s lead was 5-4 after two periods. UND scored two power play goals in the first half of the final period, before Rajala’s heroics with 17 seconds left to tie it at 6-6. UMC outshot UND 4-2 in the overtime but nobody scored and they went to the shootout.  UMC falls to 2-2 on the season and will be at Minnesota State-Mankato for a pair of games next Friday and Saturday at some weird times, 10:00 PM on Friday night and back at it at 9:00 AM the next morning and the Saturday game will be in Owatonna!! The University of North Dakota is 1-3 on the season.

1st Period
17:43 –  UND –  Grant McDonald (Phillip Buque, Carter Anderson)    (PP)
14:28 –  UND –  Donavon Randall  (Carter Anderson)
10:34 –  UND –  Lucas Russell (Nolan Larson)
9:53 –    UMC –  Tyler Zahradka (6)  (Sam Baxter, Dylan Neubauer)
6:53 –    UMC –  Logan Syrup  (1)  (Nikolai Rajala, Casey Kallock)  (PP)
1:29 –    UMC –  Nikolai Rajala  (2)  (Jackson Fuller, Casey Kallock)  (PP)

2nd Period
18:41 – UMC –  Dylan Neubauer (1)  (Casey Kallock)
17:47 – UMC –  Tyler Zahradka  (7)  (Nikolai Rajala, Logan Syrup)
13:57 – UND –  Grant McDonald  (Donavon Randall)   (PP)

3rd Period
19:44 –  UND –   Matt Akemann  unassisted   (PP)
10:38 –  UND –   Sothio Suzue-Pan  (Donavan Randall)   (PP)
0:17 –    UMC –   Nikolai Rajala   (3)    (Tyler Zahradka, Logan Syrup)

Shootout
Attempt by UND’s Sothio Pan-Suzue missed
Attempt by UMC’s Tyler Zahradka missed
Attempt by UND’s Phillip Buque MADE
Attempt by UMC’s Nikolai Rajala missed