Bulldogs upset No. 1 North Dakota in 5OT thriller

The Bulldogs celebrate a win in the first round of the NCHC playoffs in Grand Forks in early March. Photo by Hunter Dunteman

The University of Minnesota Duluth will be heading to Pittsburgh following a hard-fought 3-2 win across five overtime periods against No. 1 University of North Dakota. The Bulldogs rounded out the Fargo Regional Finals of the NCAA Championship Tournament in dramatic fashion.

The game was the longest in NCAA Tournament history, lasting a total of 142 minutes and 13 seconds. Only one game in tournament history has ever entered a fourth overtime before tonight.

The first period began with both teams firing on all cylinders. Just 13 seconds into the contest, UND’s Collin Adams took the game’s first shot, which was saved by UMD’s six-foot-six-inch goaltender Zach Stejskal. UND continued their attack on the goal by taking seven shots before UMD could take one.

Stejskal, unphased, saved every shot throughout the first period, but UMD’s defense picked up some slack by blocking eight shots before the puck could reach the net.

Duluth’s junior forward Cole Koepke was sentenced to two minutes for tripping, giving the Bulldogs a taste of North Dakota’s exceptionally strong power play. Duluth killed the penalty though, and the period ended with a 0-0 tie.

The second period opened in similar fashion with UND star Shane Pinto flicking a backhanded wrist shot less than 60 seconds after play began. It was close, but bounced off the pipe.

North Dakota’s strong start in the first two periods gave the Fighting Hawks a noticeable boost of energy, but penalties would test the special teams ability of both sides. Three minor penalties against UND and one against Duluth resulted in four separate power plays in the second period. Neither team converted, concluding the second period still deadlocked at zero.

After two periods of play, North Dakota led Duluth 20-17 in shots and 21-18 in faceoffs. 

Early in the third period amid a strong defensive stand by UND, junior forward Jackson Cates fielded a pass from behind the goal to net a slap shot for the game’s first goal. The shot deflected off a UND defender and over goaltender Adam Scheel’s head. After reviewing a potential tripping penalty on the play, the goal stood.

Just over a minute later, a blocked North Dakota shot sent the puck back to UMD’s offensive zone, where Koepke took in the puck and scored an unassisted goal, giving Duluth a 2-0 lead over North Dakota.

With just over eight minutes left in regulation, UMD’s Quinn Olson got called for a minor hooking penalty, giving North Dakota their second power play of the night. UND failed to convert on the opportunity, and Olson returned to the ice with a fresh set of legs. 

As North Dakota scrambled for a goal in a race against the clock, a missed UND one-timer bounced off the backboards and UND’s Adams scored a goal off the back of Duluth’s goalkeeper, decreasing UND’s deficit to one.

With an empty net and an extra man on the ice, a muffed shot by UND’s Pinto gave Jordan Kawaguchi a wide-open goal on a distracted Stejskal’s glove side. The arena erupted as UND tied the game 2-2 and regulation ended.

With 12 minutes left in the first overtime period, UMD’s Koby Bender took the puck across the blue line and scored the sudden-death goal. The Bulldogs celebrated along the boards, but upon official review, Bender crossed the blue line before the puck. He was called offside and the goal was nullified.

After fans wearing UND jerseys had poured their water bottles out on the UMD players, Duluth was forced to reset their mindset and continue play after a heartbreaking no goal decision.

UMD led UND 10-9 in shots in the first overtime period, but UND’s 15-5 domination on faceoffs led to a seemingly even-strength period. There were no penalties and lots of strong shooting attacks from both sides, but neither team could net the puck. A second overtime was forced.

The second overtime period saw no goals.

The third overtime period saw players clearly getting tired. Both teams held the puck behind their own nets in an effort to reset. With no penalties in the third, the clock only stopped for a handful of icing and puck-out-of-play calls. With about five seconds remaining in the third overtime period, a shot by UND deflected off the shoulder of Stejskal flipped through the air and landed on top of the goal. As fans went wild, tense as could be, play was stopped and time later expired to force a fourth overtime period.

A cramping issue early in the fourth overtime period took Stejskal off the ice. Ryan Fanti, who played the majority of minutes across the season, replaced him in goal. Fanti recorded four saves in the fourth overtime, as North Dakota attempted to capitalize on a potentially unprepared goaltender.

At the beginning of the fifth overtime, and on the 119th shot of the game, UMD freshman forward Luke Mylymok scored the game winning goal to conclude the longest game in NCAA Tournament history.

The Bulldogs will move on to their eighth Frozen Four appearance as they travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for an April 8 matchup against the University of Massachusetts.

Massachusetts topped Lake Superior State and Bemidji State to secure their bid.

St. Cloud State topped Boston University Saturday afternoon to advance to the Albany Regional Final on Sunday.

The University of Minnesota is set to square off against Minnesota State Mankato Sunday evening.