Sioux get acrobatic OT goal to beat punchless Gophers

Evan Trupp scored the diving goal to give surging North Dakota a hard-fought victory over the Gophers, keeping them winless in eight OT games this season.

By ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ, Star Tribune

Last update: February 2, 2008 - 8:24 AM

Teams on a roll such as North Dakota often have good fortune on their side.

On Friday night, freshman center Evan Trupp went airborne to score the winning goal as the Sioux edged the Gophers 2-1 in overtime at Mariucci Arena for their eighth WCHA victory in a row.

Teammate Ryan Martens lifted the puck over the net, and Trupp went horizontal to knock it past goalie Alex Kangas with his stick at 2 minutes, 23 seconds of the extra period.

"I thought I'd make a last effort to get to the net," said Trupp, describing his seventh goal of the season. "[The puck] kind of came to me in the air, so I tried smacking it. Luckily, it went in."

This was the eighth overtime game for the Gophers and they are still winless, 0-3-5.

Said Martens of Trupp's goal: "I just threw it up in the air and he was able to hit it out of there. It wasn't a nice pass, by any means, but it was nice batting practice for Trupp.

"That's not one of the things we do in practice, but a player as skilled as Trupper is, it comes natural to him."

It was the fourth game-winning goal for Trupp, a native of Anchorage, Alaska.

"That's hockey sense and it's an instinct," North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said of Trupp's play. "And Evan Trupp is starting to do things like that on a little more regular basis."

The No. 18 Gophers (12-12-5, 6-10-3 WCHA) started well. Senior Evan Kaufmann's shorthanded goal at 3:16 on a backhander made it 1-0.

"We scored one [goal] in the first and we can't score again," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "It's just the inability to score goals -- you can't win."

No. 3 North Dakota (17-8-1, 14-7) only had two shots in the first period, but the Sioux scored on the second. Joe Finley, a 6-7 junior defenseman from Edina, tied the game on a shot from the right point at 7:49.

Neither team scored the next two periods, but halfway through the game, the Sioux started dominating play.

Junior center T.J. Oshie almost had a goal midway through the second period. Oshie, on the left side of the cage, reached up to bat a puck past Kangas. The puck appeared to stop at the goal line but teammate Chris VandeVelde tapped it in.

Officials reviewed the play and waived off the goal, apparently because of a high stick.

UND outshot Minnesota 17-8 in the final period and nearly won the game at the buzzer on a shot that slipped beneath Kangas but stopped well short of the goal line.

It was a brief reprieve.

"We got into overtime and we didn't attempt a shot," Lucia said. "Somebody has to step forward and lead the team. Take charge out there."