Déjà Vu: Colorado College wins, 3-2, in overtime for second straight night

December 9, 2023

KVRR Staff,

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND ATHLETICS)– While the calendar said Saturday, it sure felt like a replay of Friday night as Colorado College defeated No. 1 North Dakota, 3-2, in overtime for the second straight game at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.

Gleb Veremyev raced to a puck and tucked a backhander home over goaltender Ludvig Persson at 2:54 of the extra session to give Colorado College (9-6-1, 4-4-0 NCHC) its first sweep over North Dakota (12-5-1, 5-3-0 NCHC) since 1993 and a total of four out of six possible points in the NCHC standings.

The loss marks the third straight for the Fighting Hawks, all coming by the same 3-2 score in overtime, and the first three-game losing streak since Jan. 2022. NoDak heads into the holiday break in second place in the NCHC standings with 18 points and without a regulation loss since Nov. 3 at Boston University.

Opposite of last night, it was CC who got on the board early in the finale, as Logan Will collected a bouncing puck in the slot and wired home his fourth goal of the season to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead just 1:51 into the contest.

The remainder of the opening period was a bit sleepy for both sides, but NoDak started to generate some momentum as the middle stanza wore on. Jackson Kunz finally broke through to tie the game with a deflection on a one-time shot from Cameron Berg on the power play to level the contest at 1-1 in the second period.

The deadlock lasted for only 10 seconds, however, as Will struck again on another broken play as he slipped the puck through Persson for his second tally of the night to restore the CC lead with 6:58 to play in the stanza.

UND looked to be heading into the third period trailing by a goal, but Garrett Pyke snapped a shot through a multitude of bodies and passed a screened Kaidan Mbereko at 18:01 of the second to send both teams into the locker room tied at 2-2.

While it wasn’t as dominant of a third period as Friday, North Dakota still generated some quality chances in the final 20 minutes of regulation, including a blast by Jake Livanavage that was nearly deflected home, but the game went into 3-on-3 overtime for the second straight night.

In the extra session, NoDak nearly won the game just over a minute in on a Louis Jamernik V breakaway attempt, but Mbereko got his stick on the puck before the senior could get the puck to his backhand to prevent the scoring chance.

Moments later, Veremyev won a race to a loose puck in the neutral zone and finished off the breakaway to give CC the 3-2 victory at 2:54 of overtime.

North Dakota will enjoy a break before returning to action on Dec. 30 with an exhibition contest vs. the U.S. Under-18 Team from Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Postgame Notes

CC recorded its first sweep over North Dakota since the 1993 season
UND has dropped three straight games for the first time since Jan. 2022
Shots were even at 24-24
Jackson Kunz scored his second-career goal on the power play
Garrett Pyke extended his point streak to five straight games, notching a goal
Ludvig Persson finished with 21 saves on 24 shots
The Hawks drop to 6-2-1 on Saturday nights, with both losses coming in OT
UND finished with only six blocked shots while CC had 14 for the second straight game
NoDak drops to 6-4-6 since 2022-23 and 2-3-1 this season in 3-on-3 overtime
UND has not lost in regulation since Nov. 3 at Boston University
CC went 0-for-2 on the power play while UND was 1-for-4
UND’s last four losses have come by a 3-2 score, with three happening in overtime
CC finished with a 42-22 advantage in the faceoff dot, with Cameron Berg pacing UND at 9-15

How It Happened

First Period
01:51 | CC – Logan Will cuts to the middle and beats Persson to make it 1-0 early in the contest

Second Period
12:52 | UND – Jackson Kunz deflects home a Cameron Berg shot on the power play to tie the game at 1-1
13:02 | CC – Will pots his second of the night just 10 seconds after the Kunz goal to quickly make it 2-1
18:01 | UND – Garrett Pyke ties the contest at 2-2 with a shot through traffic

Third Period
No scoring