As the only team of the four competing who hadn’t captured the cup, the Men’s Hockey team came in ready to win, and win big.
The Bulldogs have been scorching this year, surging in and out of the coveted number one spot atop the USCHO.com rankings, and before the tournament took place, they were sitting in the runner-up position, hoping that some magic that weekend would change things.
The Bulldogs started off their Friday night by edging the Gophers by score of 3-2. The Gophers began the game with an early goal, but UMD responded with three unanswered goals to solidify their berth for the championship game Saturday night. Freshman goalie, Hunter Miska played his tail off, tallying 37 saves, one short of a career high including 22 in the 3rd period. Riley Tufte, Alex Iafallo, and Avery Peterson buried goals for the Dogs.
Up next for the boys was St. Cloud, a NCHC rival, who led our season series 3-1, with the most recent game resulting in a 3-1 Bulldog victory on January 14. On to Saturday night we go!
The stage was set, with the Bulldogs primed to take the North Star College Cup back to Duluth in incredible fashion. After 60 minutes of gritty hockey, we had overtime. And just six minutes in, Kyle Osterberg made sure that the fans in Duluth got what they deserved. The UMD Bulldogs are your 2017 North Star College Cup Champions. This is just another step as the Bulldogs attempt to work their way to the Frozen Four in Chicago. This city is thirsty for a championship, since 2011 was the last one, and this is the team that could do it.
On Monday morning, Feb. 6, the polls were released, and the Bulldogs were back on top. After the successful weekend in the Twin Cities, they gained back the recognition of the USCHO and were awarded the top spot for men’s hockey. UMD, who is 17-5-4 overall, capped the weekend by continuing their five game win streak and capturing the North Star College Cup. What a weekend. UMD WHAT?!
The Bulldogs return to the ice on Feb. 17-18 for a pair of NCHC road engagements at Colorado College.
Picture credit: umdbulldogs.com