The University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team took their first loss of the season on Sunday afternoon to Colorado College, 4-1. The Tigers were able to best the Bulldogs for the first time in six meetings between the two teams. UMD fell behind in the first and couldn't find the magic to make another comeback win.
 
"We weren't as sharp as we needed to be," said head coach Scott Sandelin. "I thought we started the game well. I thought we were doing what we wanted to do. They got a couple bounces and took advantage of some mistakes and we dug a hole that we couldn't get out of."
 
The Bulldogs were able to outshoot CC 31-27, but Tigers goalie Dominic Basse stood on his head and made the saves he needed to. Sophomore goalie Ryan Fanti got his third nod in four nights and his fifth straight start in net today, making 23 saves in the contest.
 
CC's first goal came while down a man with 4:00 left in the first period. The Tigers were able to pop the puck free of their own zone when a bouncing puck got past the Bulldogs defense. CC forward Grant Cruikshank rushed to the puck made the chance count, firing a shot low and short side past Fanti. The Tigers widened their lead on the man advantage. It was Cruikshank again, this time from a puck that bounced off a skate in front of the net that popped out to the right side for him to put in freely.
 
CC scored early in the second on a neutral zone transition, with Cruikshank breaking in freely on Fanti. Fanti made a pad save but was unable to handle the rebound and the Tigers capitalized, going up 3-0 1:16 into the second.
 
CC struck again early in the third. A mishandled pass from UMD resulted in a 2-on-1 going the other way. Tigers forward Josiah Slavin netted a saucer pass from Cruikshank to go up 4-0 1:13 into the third period. The Bulldogs made their way onto the scoreboard when the fourth line was applying pressure, cycling in the offensive zone. Freshman forward Luke Mylymok made a pass to freshman forward Blake Biondi. Biondi ripped a shot from the top of the circles, and the rebound popped out to sophomore forward Luke Loheit who pounded the rubber into the back of the net.
 
"We're feeling we've learned from the wins and this loss. We're just trying to get better every day, that's our mentality," said junior captain Noah Cates. "We're obviously never satisfied with where we're at and I think this will help us in the long run, kind of ground us a little bit and make us play harder these next couple games to finish the Pod."
 
Fanti now sits with a 4-1-1 record in his collegiate career, carrying a .917 save percentage and a 2.30 goals against average.
 
Loheit netted his second goal of the year, while both Biondi and Mylymok each collect their first career collegiate points with one assist each.
 
UMD will take the next couple days off, returning to action on Wednesday, Dec. 16 against Omaha at 3:35pm.