From Crookston Times
By UMN Crookston
The University of Minnesota Crookston hockey team picked up a sweep over North Dakota State University with 6-4 and 6-3 wins at the West Fargo Sports Arena in West Fargo, N.D. The Golden Eagles picked up their second-straight sweep and pushed their win streak to four. They have won five out of their last six games.
The Golden Eagles improved to 9-5-2 (4-2-2 WCCHA) and moved to nine points in the Northwest Division of the WCCHA with Sunday’s sweep. North Dakota dropped to 4-6-2 with the losses. The Golden Eagles are currently ranked 16th in the ACHA Division II Central Region rankings.
Minnesota Crookston was propelled by two goals and an assist from Tyler Zahradka (So., F, Grand Forks, N.D.). Zahradka leads the team with 20 goals on the year. Gunner Ferrier (So., D, Baudette, Minn.) picked up his second and third goals respectively for the season. Casey Kallock (Sr., D, Alvarado, Minn.) notched his sixth goal of the season. He also has 16 assists on the year. Jackson Fuller (Fr., F, Bloomington, Minn.) finished with a goal and five assists. Dylan Neubauer (Fr., F, Thompson, N.D.) chipped in a goal an assist. Tristan Morneault (So., F, Dieppe, New Brunswick) added two goals and three assists, while Mitchell Coleman (Fr., F, Hatton, N.D.) finished with two assists.
In goal, Braden Schmitz allowed seven goals and tallied 66 saves for both wins.
On Sunday, Minnesota Crookston got on the scoreboard first at the 10:41 mark when Zahradka found the net off assists from Fuller and Morneault. North Dakota State tied the game up 1-1 at the 10:50 mark when Kyle Davis scored off assists from Mitch Larson and Leyton Hugger. The Golden Eagles took the lead back 2-1 at the 12:35 mark when Nathan Huot (Fr., D, Red Lake Falls, Minn.) notched his first collegiate goal, a power play goal, off assists from Zahradka and Fuller. The Bison evened the tally 2-2 at the 14:03 mark when Brady Swanstrom scored off assists from Jack Stensgard and Austin Schoenberg. UMN Crookston took the lead back 3-2 at the 14:25 mark of the first period when Morneault put it between the pipes off assists from Dylan Neubauer (Fr., F, Thompson, N.D.) and Fuller.
Minnesota Crookston pushed their lead to 4-2 just 4:32 into the second period when Zahradka notched his second goal, this time off assists from Morneault and Fuller. The Golden Eagles extended the lead to 5-2 with an unassisted goal from Casey Kallock (Sr., D, Alvarado, Minn.) at the 13:46 mark. The Bison pulled within two goals at 5-3 at the 16:09 mark when Stensgard scored off a Branden Lee assist.
North Dakota State pulled within one goal at the 6:58 mark when Hugger found the back of the net off a Larson assist. The Golden Eagles iced the win 6-4 with just 45 seconds remaining in the game off an unassisted goal from Nikolai Rajala (Fr., F, Coleraine, Minn.).
In the series opener, Minnesota Crookston jumped out to a 1-0 lead 1:24 into the game when Fuller found the back of the net off assists from Morneault and Alessandro Regina (Fr., D, Woodbridge, Ontario). The game was the first for Regina, who joined the team at semester after competing in the SIJHL with the Fort Frances Lakers and the Thief River Falls Norskies earlier this season. Less than 44 seconds later, Neubauer put it between the pipes to give the Golden Eagles a 2-0 advantage. Coleman and Kallock picked up assists on the goal. At the 12:46 mark, Kallock scored on assists from Coleman and Neubauer to push the advantage to 3-0.
North Dakota State trimmed the lead to 3-1 six minutes into the second period when Swanstrom scored off assists from Schoenberg and Adam Novack. The Golden Eagles pushed the lead to 4-1 at the 11:47 mark when Ferrier scored off assists from Kallock and Fuller.
The Bison cut the deficit to 4-2 just 1:11 into the third period when Lee tallied an unassisted goal. Minnesota Crookston widened the gap to 5-2 at the 7:19 mark when Morneault scored off a Kallock assist. North Dakota State trimmed the lead to 5-3 at the 9:03 mark when Schoenberg tallied a goal off a Ryan Stalpes assist. Minnesota Crookston iced their win late in the third period when Ferrier notched a goal off a goalie assist from Schmitz.
The Golden Eagles return home to face Gustavus Adolphus College Saturday, January 22 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, January 23 at 2 p.m. at the Crookston Sports Center in Crookston, Minn.
(Originally published at https://www.crookstontimes.com/story/sports/2022/01/17/mens-hockey-opens-2022-sweep-ndsu/6525339001/)
