Image via WikipediaGrand Forks, ND – They say that a goalies best friend is the goal post.
Fighting Sioux goalie Brad Eidsness had to like his goal post tonight after the Michigan Tech Huskies hit the iron three times (2 posts and a cross bar) during the first period.
When the puck didn’t hit the iron Eidsness was there to make the save for the Fighting Sioux.
In explaining the lucky bounces in the first period Eidsness kind of brushed it off.
“Sometimes the game just goes that way and maybe I had a horse shoe stuck on my rear end, but I want to think that I just didn’t give them anything else to shoot at,” Eidsness said.
Goal post aside, the Fighting Sioux outshot the Huskies 9-8 in the first period and neither team was able to put a puck in the twine as both goalies played exceptional and they gave neither team’s fans anything to cheer about for most of the game.
Tonight, Fighting Sioux senior goalie Brad Eidsness was playing in his 100 game of his college hockey career.
At the beginning of the weekend, Eidsness was inserted into the starting lineup after starting goalie Aaron Dell sustained an undisclosed injury. Dell is listed as day-to-day.
Eidsness made the most of his opportunity and didn’t disappoint as he stopped 42 of 45 shots on the weekend. Eidsness’ strong play helped his team take three of four points from the upstart Michigan Tech Huskies this weekend.
Edisness also made a case that he deserves to play more down the stretch for the Fighting Sioux as he played well all weekend long and made many big saves at key times during the games.
The game was a bit of a boring grind it out defensive battle. The second period could have been described as being less than exciting, as both teams had to fight for every inch. The Fighting Sioux and the Huskies each put six shots on net and gave the fans little to cheer about.
Finally, after playing 46:06 minutes of scoreless and uneventful hockey, Fighting Sioux junior forward Corbin Knight put the Fighting Sioux on the board, with a bit of a fluky goal from the end line.
“I would lie to you and tell you that I meant to do that, but obviously that wasn’t true,” Knight said. “I saw Nelson back door there back door there and I thought a quick turnaround play and kind of catch them off guard. Luckily enough it went off a skate and went in.”
“I will take it. It’s one of the greasier ones [goals] that I have had.”
The Huskies would answer the Fighting Sioux goal with a shorthanded marker from Huskie senior forward Jordan Baker (Chestermere, Alberta), who ironically had hit a crossbar and a post in the first period.
Coming into the game the Fighting Sioux had won 12 straight games against the Michigan Tech Huskies, that winning streak would come to an end with a 1-1 tie, however, the Fighting Sioux are still 12-0-1 in the last 13 games against the Huskies.
Coming into this game Carter Romney had scored six goals in three games, that streak would also come to an end tonight as the line of Rowney, Michael Parks and Mark MacMillan was held off of the score sheet.
Tonight wasn’t about the forwards and the defenseman; the two goalies stole the show.
“Josh Robinson kind of said to me in the line that was fun, Eidsness aid. “Sometimes goalie duals are fun, we are both seniors and we have played each other in our careers. I don’t know sometimes a tie and isn’t always what you want, its fun to go against a guy that is playing well.”
When Eidsness was asked how felt about his game he had this to say.
“I feel pretty good.”
“It’s been a long road back from last year, but I think I have cleared up some things, there were some hairy moments,” Eidsness said. “The first period was interesting to say the least. I feel pretty confident in the way that I am playing right now.”
“I think a lot of that has to be with the way our team is playing in front of us. We are playing pretty well in front of both me and [Aaron] Dell.”
Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol didn’t seem that disappointed about the tie tonight.
“It was a good point for us, at the end of the day, both teams worked real hard,” Hakstol said. “we were obviously were not at our best, but we emptied the tank tonight.”
“We were not nearly as sharp to start the game as we would to have liked to have been. But as the game wore on we got a little bit better, the third period was a real battle. Both teams gave everything that they had. It came down to a one to one tie, as we came in wanting four points here at home, it’s a point in the standing and we will move forward.”
With the tie tonight the Fighting Sioux (17-11-3, 13-10-1 WCHA) are in a three way tie for fourth place in the WCHA.
With the tie tonight, Michigan Tech (13-15-4, 10-10-4 WCHA) is sitting alone in seventh place.
