Last night's game started out slow and was a little boring to watch but the game picked up and ended with a bang. It appeared that maybe at the start of the game the Fighting Sioux were grasping the sticks a little tight and they could have been a little nervous. To start the game I thought the Fighting Sioux also looked a little out of sync but they did manage to get their legs moving as the game progressed. The kind of broke the game open in the second period as they put seventeen shots on net getting two past Rob Nolan.
MTU no cupcake
Make no mistake about it, MTU is a tough team to play against. The Minnesota Gophers were bitten by them last weekend. The Huskies are the masters of clogging up the neutral zone and take away space to perfection. They also do a good job at taking away the passing lanes. If anything this is a good preparation for the games ahead. In the playoffs the games become tighter and you can't take a minute off or face the possibility of getting buried. One untimely turnover can spell doom. Rewind to last years frozen four.
Zajac still golden
The Fighting Sioux got another goal from Darcy Zajac this time a short handed goal keeping another impressive streak alive. When Fighting Sioux forward Zajac scores a goal UND has never lost a game. This season Zajac has scored some pretty nice goals, I thought last nights was a thing of beauty. Zajac has been contributing on the defensive side and well as offensively and has five points in the past eight games (3-2-5). Zajac has also almost equaled his point totals of his first two seasons at UND as Zajac has (5-12-17) for the season and his first point total for his first two seasons (11-7-18).
Ryan Ducan’s swan song
As Sioux fans we are watching Ryan Duncan’s swan song (final theatrical or dramatic appearance) and I have to say that I am going to miss watching this kid play for the Sioux because he has a knack for scoring big goals at the right time. Last night Ryan Duncan scored a nice power play goal in the second period to get Sioux going. Even without Oshie or Toews Ryan Duncan continues playing at a high level
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1st Period (20:00)
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MTU-1 Derek Kitti (2-Boarding) NDK 0x1 5:49
MTU-2 Derek Kitti (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 14:45
NDK-1 Andrew Kozek (2-Hooking) 14:45
NDK-2 Brad Malone (2-Roughing) MTU 0x1 14:45
NDK 1 - 0 6x6 LL Chris VandeVelde (15) (Matt Frattin, Brad Miller) 17:04
NDK (+): 29,21,14,24,19,G31 MTU (-): 7,21,27,23,20,G37
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2nd Period (20:00)
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MTU-3 Jordan Baker (2-Slashing) NDK 1x2 2:40
NDK 2 - 0 6x5 PP GW Ryan Duncan (16) (Brad Miller) 3:00
NDK: 16,14,26,29,25,G31 MTU: 28,13,20,12,G37
NDK-3 Mario Lamoureux (2-Hooking) MTU 0x2 3:48
NDK 3 - 0 6x6 Evan Trupp (7) (Chris VandeVelde, Matt Frattin) 6:08
NDK (+): 19,29,21,14,24,G31 MTU (-): 19,5,23,14,18,G37
MTU-4 Ryan Bunger (2-Holding) NDK 1x3 6:55
MTU-5 Drew Dobson (2-Boarding) NDK 1x4 7:34
NDK-4 Andrew Kozek (2-CTH HIGH-STICKING) MTU 0x3 10:18
MTU-6 Ricky Doriott (2-Hooking) NDK 1x5 18:37
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3rd Period (20:00)
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MTU-7 Drew Dobson (2-Tripping) NDK 1x6 3:00
NDK-5 Brett Hextall (2-Roughing) MTU 1x4 4:47
MTU 1 - 3 6x5 PP Alex MacLeod (5) (John Schwarz, Alex Gagne) 6:13
MTU: 14,10,18,5,19,G37 NDK: 20,5,2,11,G31
NDK-6 Joe Finley (2-Cross-Checking) MTU 1x5 8:44
NDK 4 - 1 5x6 SH Darcy Zajac (5) (Chay Genoway) 10:31
NDK (+): 11,5,29,14,G31 MTU (-): 17,12,16,26,22,G37
NDK 5 - 1 6x6 Mario Lamoureux (3) (Brad Miller, Ben Blood) 11:13
NDK (+): 9,14,24,10,22,G31 MTU (-): 27,21,10,26,7,G37
MTU-8 Alex MacLeod (2-Holding the Stick) NDK 1x7 11:40
MTU-9 Eli Vlaisavljevich (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 1x8 16:12
MTU-10 Justin St. Louis (2-Roughing) 17:11
NDK-7 Darcy Zajac (2-Roughing) 17:11
NDK-8 Matt Watkins (2-Goaltender Interference) MTU 1x6 17:11
MTU-11 BENCH (2-TOO MANY PLAYERS ON ICE) (Served by Bryce Reddick) NDK 1x9 19:10
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End of Game
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Duncan is nowhere near the caliber of player that Teows or Oshie is. Teows and Oshie are already good players in the NHL and they're only in their second and first seasons. I'm not saying Duncan isn't a good player, I'm just saying he's not on the same tier as those other guys. And I don't see him playing in the NHL anytime soon either.
ReplyDeleteWCHA true, however, you will never see me comparing them to those two guys I am just saying he continues to play well even without Toews and Oshie because some had said he is over rated/over hyped and lived on the coat tails of the two mentioned players. I am just happy that he continued to play his four years at UND. I really don't think he will play in the NHL but it doesn't diminish his accomplishments. Nice player, nice kid. Happy to have him.
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ReplyDeleteAgree and well put. It's rare to see a player of high caliber like that stick around for all four seasons these days in the WCHA. I can't even imagine how dominant teams like UND, MN, Duluth, and St Cloud would be if Toews, Oshie, Kessel, Wheeler, Niskanen, Raymond, and Nodl were still around...
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