No. 17 UMD men’s hockey goes to overtime for second-straight game

DULUTH, MN. (Northern News Now) - The University of Minnesota Duluth men’s hockey team was back in Amsoil Arena as they faced Northern Michigan (NMU) in their first two-game series of the season.

The Bulldogs would start off making use of the power play, scoring two goals 15 seconds apart. The first came from sophomore forward Ben Steeves before he was followed up by junior Luke Bast.

The Bulldogs would score one more goal in the first period, this time with even strength when Kyle Bettens scored his first goal of the season off assists from Cole Spicer and Riley Bodnarchuk.

In the second period, Northern Michigan looked like the Bulldogs scoring back-to-back goals during an early power play.

Six minutes into the second period NMU scored their third straight unanswered point to tie the game up.

UMD was able to take back the lead in the second with Ben Steeves’s second goal of the night off of assists from Owen Gallatin and Quinn Olson, UMD went into the final period up 4-3.

The Wildcats would keep the power play trend going scoring their fourth goal of the night eight minutes into the third period before taking their first lead of the night on an even-strength goal two minutes later.

With under three minutes remaining the Bulldogs were able to tie it up again when Anthony Menghini scored unassisted for his second goal of the season.

The Bulldogs and the Wildcats failed to convert on their opportunities in the 3-on-3 overtime period, so the game officially ended in a tie. But like last weekend’s opening game, both teams stayed on the ice for the exhibition shootout.

UMD’s freshman Matthew Perkins was the hero in sudden death, giving the Bulldogs the victory in the shootout.

Both teams hit the ice for Game 2 in the series tomorrow at Amsoil. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.

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