Thiessen steps up, but Bulldogs shut out by North Dakota

DULUTH — Minnesota Duluth fifth-year senior goaltender Matthew Thiessen made 37 saves on 39 shots, but got no offensive support in front of him as fourth-ranked North Dakota finished off an NCHC-opening series sweep of the No. 18 Bulldogs with a 2-0 victory on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.

The Bulldogs (3-5-3 overall, 0-2 NCHC) were swept to open NCHC play for the first time since losing two at St. Cloud State on Nov. 3-4, 2017, while their winless streak was extended to six games (0-5-1) following a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2) to start the year.

“He was phenomenal,” Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said of Thiessen, who was making his third-straight start for UMD. “It could have been 3-nothing in the first period. The saves he made were ESPN-highlight-reel phenomenal. He had a great weekend for us. I’m sorry we didn’t get him the win.”

The closest UMD came to scoring against North Dakota (7-2-1, 2-0) on Saturday was in the opening five minutes of the third period when a shot by senior defenseman Darian Gotz was redirected to the inside of the right post, but not across the goal line. The potential goal was unofficially reviewed in the press box.

It was one of two looks at the video monitors that went against UMD and Gotz in the third period on Saturday.

The second came with 4:06 remaining in regulation when Gotz was given a controversial major penalty and game misconduct following a video review of the contact he and North Dakota fifth-year senior wing Hunter Johannes made chasing a puck into the corner. No penalty was initially called, but Johannes was slow to get up on the play after he went into the boards, and North Dakota was able to successfully lobby for a video review.

The explanation given to the News Tribune by the NCHC was Gotz’s elbow extended and made contact with the chin of Johannes. Sandelin said he was told by the officials the review was “definitive.”

UMD senior wing Blake Biondi said the major penalty killed any chance UMD had of coming back at the end.

“We had chances, we were going there in the third a little bit more,” Biondi said. “We had some offensive zone time and then … whatever, I don’t know. I didn’t see a great angle on it.”

The major penalty derailed what had been a bounce-back period for UMD, which initially came out strong on Saturday night with three scoring chances in the opening 90 seconds. The Bulldogs outshot the Hawks 15-12 in the first period — it took them two periods to get 15 shots on goal in Friday’s loss — and 10-7 for the first 15:54 of the third period.

It was the second period, however, that put the Bulldogs in the position of needing a late comeback in the third. UMD went without a shot on goal for the opening 11:31 of the second period and had just two shot attempts until freshman defenseman Aaron Pionk finally got a puck on goal.

“Our second periods haven’t been very good,” Sandelin said. “You can’t win in this league taking a period off. It’s tough enough if you take five minutes off or 10 minutes off, but not a whole period. We got to get back to work and stick together. It’s the first two games. We have 22 more in the league and we got to find ways to win some games here.”

The Bulldogs generated just five shots on goal via eight attempts in the second period, despite that being the only period in which UMD got a power play. It was a 69-second advantage at the start of the second.

Much of UMD’s offense this season has come via the power play, which is at 35.7 percent through 11 games. Of UMD’s 34 goals scored this year, 15 have come on the power play, one was shorthanded and one into an empty net.

North Dakota had five power plays spanning 10:27. The Hawks generated 12 shots on goal off the advantages, but scored on just its first of the night early in the first period.

“It’s always tough to come in here and win a game, let alone two,” North Dakota coach Brad Berry said. “I thought our guys did a good job. We knew there was going to be a push early by them and they put a lot of pucks on the net. They had a mindset there. I thought we withstood the barrage there and got better as the first period went on.”

North Dakota senior goaltender Ludvig Persson made 30 saves for just his second shutout in 12 games against UMD dating back to his time at Miami.

North Dakota took a 1-0 lead 7:38 into the game after senior wing Louis Jamernick flipped a puck up and into the home net on the power play for his second goal of the weekend. That advantage was extended to 2-0 three minutes into the second via a highlight-reel pass by sophomore wing Jackson Blake to senior wing Riese Gaber.

The Hawks probably should’ve beat the Bulldogs by more than two goals Saturday, however, Thiessen kept his team in the game from the very start.

He made a diving save

across his crease —

similar to the one he made last Saturday in overtime against Minnesota

— in the opening minutes to keep the game scoreless.

“I’ve been feeling pretty good in the net,” said Thiessen, whose team hits the road to St. Cloud State next weekend for another NCHC series. “The outcomes aren’t what we want them to be so far, and at the end of the day, that’s that’s everything that matters. We want to get that team win. No matter what, if my number’s called, I’m going to be ready to go in there and try to compete and give our team a chance to win every single night. Hopefully we can look forward to next weekend and go out there and hopefully get a couple of wins.”

Saturday’s game was UMD’s annual Military Appreciation Night. The Minnesota Warriors played a game earlier in the day at Amsoil Arena in the afternoon and took part in a pregame flag ceremony.

• Sophomore wing Kyle Bettens, who has two goals and two assists, was a healthy scratch for the Bulldogs on Saturday after appearing in the first 10 games. Junior wing Kyler Kleven took his spot in

  a lineup that Sandelin shook up

  following Friday’s loss.

North Dakota 1-1-0—2
Minnesota Duluth 0-0-0—0
First period
1. ND, Louis Jamernik (Riese Gaber, Owen McLaughlin), 7:38 (pp)
Second period
2. ND, Gaber (Jackson Blake, McLaughlin), 3:05
Third period
No scoring.
Saves — Ludvig Persson, ND, 30; Matthew Thiessen, UMD, 37.
Power plays — ND 1-5; UMD 0-1. Penalties — ND 2-4; UMD 7-25.