COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - North Dakota’s defending national champion hockey team has played better on the road than at home. Colorado College has been horrible at home.
UND spotted the Tigers a two-goal first-period lead Friday then rallied to post a 5-2 National Collegiate Hockey Conference win. UND has won seven straight games on the road.
Dixon Bowen and Shane Gersich scored 21 seconds apart late in the third period as UND (14-9-3, 7-7-1-1 NCHC) broke a 2-2 tie. Joel Janatuinen added an empty-net goal in the closing seconds.
“The first period they came out pretty hard and we didn’t have our legs,” UND coach Brad Berry said. “We got better. I’m proud of the way our guys found a way to get it done.”
Trevor Olson and Hayden Shaw scored in the second period to tie the game 2-2 after Colorado College went up 2-0.
Matej Tomek started in goal for UND and was replaced by Matt Hrynkiw at the start of the second period. Tomek had six saves and Hrynkiw 15.
Tomek made his first start in goal in place of injured Cam Johnson, who was out with what was called a lower-body injury. Johnson tied the team record of consecutive starts last weekend at 55, one night after being replaced midgame by Tomek in a forgettable home series against Minnesota Duluth.
Berry said he felt he needed to get Hrynkiw back on the ice to start the second period.
“It was a situation . It wasn’t the sharpest period he’s had but he hasn’t played a lot of hockey,” Berry said. “Putting thoughts and feelings aside, it’s a team-first game. We put Hrynkiw in and it seemed to give us a bump.”
Kade Kehoe and Alex Berardinelli scored for Colorado College (6-17-2, 2-11-2), which has lost five straight games and are 0-10-0 at home.
At 9:36, Kehoe redirected a shot from the point by Ben Israel past Tomek. Alex Berardinelli’s fifth goal of the season unassisted made it 2-0 at 12:40.
UND finally got on the board at 4:34 of the second period when Olson jumped on a rebound after CC goalie Alex Leclerc failed to cover up a shot by Johnny Simonson. Leclerc had 38 saves.
At 14:41, Hayden Shaw scored on a wrist shot - his first goal since November - to tie it 2-2.
With just over three minutes to play, Bowen scored the game-winner on a breakaway. Seconds later, Gersich scored his team-leading 18th goal of the season.
Janatuinen scored into the open net with 33 seconds to play.
“We grounded out two periods of play in the end of the rink and found a way,” Berry said. “When you’re on the road, you have to keep it simple.”
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