UMC Hockey beats Dakota College at Bottineau after 4 unanswered goals

The University of Minnesota-Crookston men’s club hockey team defeated the Dakota College at Bottineau Lumberjacks 7-3 Saturday afternoon at the Crookston Sports Center. With the game tied at three each in the second period, a shorthanded score from UMC’s Alexander Bailey led to four unanswered goals and helped shift momentum to the Golden Eagles for good.

FIRST PERIOD
It was a hot start for UMC, as they took an early 1-0 lead over the Jacks with a goal from Zach Larson. Jackson Dodds and Alexander bailey picked up assists as Larson knocked it in from short range. Fox Dodds would add another Golden Eagle goal at the 2:54 mark, as he beat the Jacks goalkeeper on a deflection to make it 2-0. 50 seconds later, the Golden Eagles scored again, as Larson scored his second of the game with assists from Alexander Bailey and Logan Syrup. The Jacks needed to answer, and they found one from Kayden Cey, who scored from up close to cut the lead to 3-1. The goal helped bring the DCB defense to life, but offensively, the Jacks were unable to get anything going. UMC’s offense struggled as well, as the teams stalemated for the rest of the period. UMC’s Thomas Fuller and DCB’s Jace Thompson were both called for penalties late in the period, but both were killed as the score stayed at 3-1 to end the first.

SECOND PERIOD
Just thirty seconds into the period, UMC was penalized after Dylan Neubauer was called for tripping. The Jacks created a few offensive opportunities, but were unable to score as the Golden Eagles killed the penalty. When things were back to even, the Jacks started to claw back. Kayden Cey scored again for DCB to cut the UMC lead to 1 at the 4:50 mark. A few minutes later, Cey completed the hat trick to tie it at 3 each with 9:16 gone in the period. Alex Lorenz and Nick Cofer were credited with assists. UMC was penalized again a minute later when Rudy Moser was sent to the box for tripping. The man-down disadvantage was no problem for UMC, Mason Romfo fed Alexander Bailey on a breakaway for a shorthanded goal. Bailey’s score gave UMC a 4-3 lead. UMC then killed the penalty and regained their momentum. Fox Dodds added another goal with about three minutes left in the period on assists from Mason Romfo and Anthony Foster, which increased the lead to 5-3. Both teams committed late penalties again, with UMC finishing the period in a power play.

THIRD PERIOD
The Jacks started off the final period on the right foot by killing the penalty, but they were unable to restart their offense. UMC kept its foot on the gas and scored again, as a deflection found the stick of Anthony Foster, who put it through the net and made it 6-3. The Golden Eagle offense continued to dominate, and they extended the lead with a 5-hole goal from Mason Romfo to make it 7-3. The rest of the game was full of penalties, with both teams seeing skaters sent to the box. The defenses stood up and continued to kill the penalties. A late scuffle broke out when Rudy Moser was knocked into the goalie on a shot attempt, which led to two players from each side serving time over the final few minutes of the contest. Again, the penalties were killed off. With time dwindling, the Jacks were unable to climb out of their deficit as UMC went on to win 7-3.

UMC is now 13-4 on the season, and DCB drops to 8-7. The teams will play again tomorrow afternoon in Rugby, North Dakota.

Listen to postgame comments from UMC head coach Steve Johnson:

	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
DCB	1	2	0	3
UM-Crookston	3	2	2	7

Scoring:

FIRST PERIOD
1:08 – UMC – Zach Larson (Jackson Dodds, Alexander Bailey)
2:57 – UMC – Fox Dodds (Mason Romfo, Anthony Foster)
3:41 – UMC – Zach Larson (Alexander Bailey, Logan Syrup)
5:09 – DCB – Kayden Cey (Unassisted)

SECOND PERIOD
4:50 – DCB – Kayden Cey (Nick Cofer, Charlie Heimbrecker)
9:16 – DCB – Kayden Cey (Alex Lorenz, Nick Cofer)
11:08 – UMC – Alexander Bailey (Mason Romfo) (SH)
16:48 – UMC – Fox Dodds (Anthony Foster, Mason Romfo)

THIRD PERIOD
2:12 – UMC – Anthony Foster (Mason Romfo, Tyler Lorenz)
6:22 – UMC – Masom Romfo (Fox Dodds, Anthony Foster)