Colorado Springs – Colorado College cleared its good hockey name Saturday night at the World Arena.
The seventh-ranked Tigers, who had scored just nine goals during their previous five games – all losses – produced a third-period rally against one of the country’s stingiest clutch teams to win for the first time in 2006.
Goals from senior Joey Crabb at 6:31 of the third period and freshman Chad Rau a little over a minute later lifted CC to a 3-2 victory over North Dakota, which entered the game 35-1-3 over the past two seasons when taking a lead into the third.
“It was a good character win for us,” Tigers coach Scott Owens said. “We’ve been struggling to score and have had a lot of bad things happen to us. We fought through some adversity in the second period, and I thought we were able to wear them down in the third.
“I was happy with the win, but just as happy with the way we played. We just needed to play better.”
The No. 11 Fighting Sioux won Friday’s opener of the two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series 4-2 to extend CC’s losing streak at home to four games.
The series split kept the Tigers (18-11-1, 10-9-1) sixth in the WCHA and pushed North Dakota (18-13-1, 11-11) from fourth to fifth.
“It feels good to win, finally,” CC captain Marty Sertich said. “First time in 2006, and it was a battle and obviously much-needed. We definitely earned it, down 2-1 going into the third and with all the adversity we were facing.”
Mike Prpich, North Dakota’s only senior in the lineup, gave the young visitors a 1-0 lead by roofing his own rebound beside the net 2:24 into the game. CC’s Trevor Frischmon tied it at 19:02 with a terrific individual effort during a short-handed situation.
Frischmon drove into the Sioux zone alone, split two defenders and wristed the puck past screened goalie Jordan Parise two seconds after CC’s James Brannigan was released from the penalty box.
The tie stood until the midpoint of the second period, when North Dakota’s Travis Zajac got a power-play goal with CC’s Brett Sterling serving a penalty.
Sterling, who failed to score for the fifth straight game, the longest drought of his career, made amends by assisting on Crabb’s game-tying goal.
Sterling (99 career goals) put a hard wrist shot over Parise’s head that bounced off the glass and onto the left circle before Parise could slide across the crease. Crabb hammered it into an open net.
Rau’s eighth goal of the season was a wraparound between Parise’s legs that electrified the sellout crowd of 7,472.
“I just saw an opening to the net and took it,” Rau said. “I was shooting a little high earlier in the game, so I just tried getting it low and it went through the five-hole.”
Footnote
CC had a goal disallowed that would have made it 2-2 at the second-period buzzer. Referee Jon Campion first ruled the net was dislodged. He reviewed the play on video and also could have ruled that time had expired.
DENVER POST THREE STARS
1. Trevor Frischmon. Got struggling CC on the board with a splendid short-handed effort.
2. Chad Rau. Tigers freshman produced the game-winning goal.
3. Jordan Parise. Sioux goalie made 36 saves.
WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
The Sioux, who had just one senior in their lineup, are 11-5-1 on the road and 7-8 at beautiful Englestad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
North Dakota 1 1 0 – 2
Colorado College 1 0 2 – 3
First period – 1, North Dakota, Prpich 5 (Kaip, Fabian), 2:24. 2, Colorado College, Frischmon 6 (Hillen), 19:02. Penalties – Smaby, UND (hooking), 11:39; Brannigan, CC (interference), 17:00; Jones, UND (5-major, checking from behind, game misconduct), 19:26.
Second period – 3, North Dakota, Zajac 10 (Oshie, Chorney), 10:06 (pp). Penalties – Sterling, CC (holding), 9:47; Lampl, CC (roughing), 10:41; Straub, CC (holding), 12:40; Finley, UND (roughing), 18:05; McColloch, CC (roughing), 18:05.
Third period – 4, Colorado College, Crabb 14 (Sterling, Slattengren), 6:31. 5, Colorado College, Rau 8 (Kilpatrick, Brannigan), 7:40. Penalties – Duncan, UND (hooking), 5:30; Kaip, UND (tripping), 9:11.
Shots – UND 8-6-9 – 23. CC 13-14-12 – 39. Power plays – UND 1 of 4. CC 1 of 4. Goalies – UND, Parise (13-6-1) 39 shots-36 saves. CC, Zaba (16-10-1) 23-21. A – 7,472.
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
