UMD Bulldogs upset North Dakota to advance to NCHC title game

Leaving your hockey fate in the hands of a computer algorithm is a shaky proposition that apparently didn't interest Minnesota Duluth.

Needing a victory vs. top-ranked North Dakota to solidify their spot in next week's NCAA tournament, the Bulldogs overcame an early deficit, rallying to beat the Fighting Hawks 4-2 on Friday in the opening game of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff before an announced 10,926 at Target Center.

Dominic Toninato scored twice for No. 17 UMD (18-14-5), which won its seventh consecutive game, advancing to Saturday night's championship.

"A month ago, we talked about it. That where we were at, we needed to get to our tournament and try to win the tournament," Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said. "That's one surefire way to get in, and our guys did that."

The Bulldogs face St. Cloud State in an all-Minnesota final, after the Huskies held on to defeat Denver 4-2 in Friday's evening semifinal.

It was UMD's first victory vs. the league's regular-season champions in five tries. And the Bulldogs' outburst was in sharp contrast to their struggles to score when the teams played in Duluth and Grand Forks earlier in the winter. UMD had scored only twice, total, in their four previous games with the Fighting Hawks (30-6-3).

North Dakota needed only 49 seconds to lead 1-0 when Nick Schmaltz scored on the first shot of the game. Toninato, Alex Iafallo and Austin Farley scored in the second and Minnesota Duluth led 3-1.

"Kaz has played tremendous for us all year. It's good we can finally start getting some goals for him," Toninato said. "He keeps us in every hockey game, and he's a huge part of our team going forward."

St. Cloud State 4, Denver 2: Joey Benik had a goal and an assist as the fourth-ranked Huskies (30-8-1) ended the 11-game winning streak of the sixth-ranked Pioneers (23-9-5) in the second semifinal.

The game featured a hot Denver team facing a Huskies team known for its ability to score goals by the half-dozen. So both coaches were surprised to see a defensive battle.

"It really turned into a ground game," St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko said. "It was just a hard, heavy effort to get pucks deep and a lot of mucking down low."

The Huskies led 2-1 after 40 minutes and opened up a two-goal lead early in the third on freshman Mikey Eyssimont's 10th goal of the season. But Denver answered on the next shift, making the outcome in doubt until the Huskies scored into an empty net late. Charlie Lindgren had 17 saves, while Denver's Tanner Jaillet had 12.