Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State making noise in NCHC's Omaha Pod

Back in mid-October when the NCHC announced plans to gather its eight teams in a "Pod'' in Omaha to play 40 games over three weeks, Commissioner Josh Fenton credited all involved for their efforts in coming to a consensus. Still, he warned of a false summit regarding the satisfaction of having a plan in place but not yet executed.

"In order for us to truly reach the actual summit,'' Fenton said, "we've got a lot of work yet to be done.''

That actual summit comes Monday afternoon, when Colorado College plays Nebraska Omaha in the Pod finale. Judging by what's been transpiring six days a week on NCHC.tv, the fist-bumps and back-slaps should commence for a job well done.

Take Wednesday's action, for example. In two highly entertaining, tight games, Nebraska Omaha and third-ranked Minnesota Duluth skated to a 2-2 tie before the Mavericks won the extra standings point in a six-round shootout. In the nightcap, No. 4 North Dakota edged No. 9 St. Cloud State 4-3 on Jordan Kawaguchi's goal eight seconds into three-on-three overtime.

For UMD, the tie was a bit of a letdown, considering the Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead into the third period on goals by Wild draft pick Nick Swaney. That two-goal lead turned out to be dangerous as the Mavericks rallied.

"We had plenty of opportunities throughout the game to make it a bigger lead and didn't capitalize,'' Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said. "It was what we expected: a tight battle, a hard-fought battle.''

Despite the tie, UMD (5-1-2) sits atop the NCHC standings with 18 points, four ahead of North Dakota and five clear of St. Cloud State and Nebraska Omaha. Sandelin's team closes Pod play at noon Saturday with the second instalment of the league's marquee series: Minnesota Duluth vs. North Dakota.

In the first meeting on Dec. 10, the Bulldogs and Fighting Hawks tied 2-2 before UMD got the extra point on Swaney's shootout goal. Sandelin is looking forward to the rematch.

"It's a great way to end the Pod against a team we like playing and that we've had great games with,'' he said.

St. Cloud State, coached by Brett Larson, Sandelin's former assistant, has served notice it will be a factor in the NCHC race. The Huskies (4-3-0) own victories over then-No. 1 North Dakota, then-No. 5 Denver and No. 17 Nebraska Omaha. They nearly made it a sweep of the Fighting Hawks.

On Wednesday, St. Cloud State, who beat UND 5-3 on Saturday, rallied from a 3-1 deficit on goals by Nick Perbix with 58 seconds left in the second period and Veeti Mietinen at 4:43 of the third to forge a 3-3 tie.

The Huskies looked to be in business when North Dakota's Josh Rieger was assessed a five-minute major for boarding at 5:28. Instead, the Fighting Hawks, playing with only five defensemen, killed the penalty and stopped the Huskies' momentum.

The overtime was over quickly when Kawaguchi, a Hobey Baker Award Hat Trick finalist last year, skated into the Huskies zone, cut across the middle and fired a shot over goalie David Hrenak's glove for his fifth career overtime winner.

"He's a guy when the puck is on his tape, he loves the spotlight of trying to win the game,'' North Dakota coach Brad Berry said.

St. Cloud State has shown it can beat the NCHC's preseason favorites, but Wednesday's result left Larson wanting more. His team closes Pod play against Colorado College on Friday and Denver on Sunday.