UMD junior goaltender
Ryan Fanti posted his second-straight shutout as No. 4 Minnesota Duluth defeated Colorado College by a score of 5-0 on Friday evening in Duluth. It's the first time a Bulldog has tallied back-to-back shutouts since Hunter Shepard blanked the Miami RedHawks during the 2018-19 season.
On the night, Fanti made 23 saves to earn his second career shutout. Offensively,
Koby Bender,
Noah Cates,
Casey Gilling,
Owen Gallatin, and
Blake Biondi all found the back of the net for UMD.
Wyatt Kaiser and
Quinn Olson both notched two assists each, while
Louie Roehl,
Kobe Roth, and
Dominic James all added an assist during the win. Additionally, the Bulldogs went three-for-five on the power play.
Just over five minutes into the contest, an interference call to CC's Connor Mayer gave UMD the first power play opportunity of the night. While on the man-advantage, Cates took a pass from Kaiser in the right faceoff circle and threw a beautiful back-door pass to a wide-open Bender. Cates's pass deflected off Bender's skate and past CC goaltender Dominic Basse to give the Bulldogs the early 1-0 lead. The Tigers would then get three power play chances in the first period, all of which would be successfully killed by Minnesota Duluth. UMD would outshoot Colorado College 9-7 in the first frame and take a 1-0 advantage to the first intermission.
Early in the second the Tigers were called for holding and the UMD power play unit went back to work. Just 3:36 into the second, while standing in the CC slot, Cates re-directed a fake shot pass from Roth past Basse to make it 2-0 in favor of the Bulldogs. Just over three minutes later, Bender gained the Tiger blueline and found a cutting Roehl. The 5th-year senior navigated through the offensive zone and made a perfect back-door pass to Gilling, who tipped the puck top-corner to extend the Bulldog lead to 3-0.
A kneeing penalty on CC gave the Bulldogs another power play chance midway through the second. On the ensuing power play, Biondi found Olson in the left-wing circle. Olson sent a saucer pass across the zone to a wide-open Gallatin who one-timed the puck over a sprawling Basse and into the top-corner. For Gallatin, the goal is the second of his Bulldog career and gave UMD a 4-0 advantage with 11 minutes remaining in the second period. Following the goal, Basse would be pulled, and junior goalie Matt Vernon would takeover in the CC crease. The Bulldogs added to their lead late in the second. While on a three-on-two, James sent a cross-zone pass to Olson who was streaking down the left side. Olson took the pass and in one motion, sent a beautiful pass to Biondi on the side of the net. Biondi used his forehand to deflect the pass into the wide-open Tiger net to push UMD's lead to 5-0. Minnesota Duluth took the 5-0 lead to the third period.
In the third, Fanti made multiple high-end saves to preserve the shutout. With five minutes remaining in regulation, CC threatened with a 2-on-1 opportunity. Noah Prokop threw a shot on net which produced a rebound for an on-rushing Tommy Middleton. Middleton one-timed the rebound but was denied by a diving Fanti. UMD would collapse in the final minutes and secure the shutout for their netminder.
Up Next
Minnesota Duluth and Colorado College will rematch tomorrow evening in Duluth. Puck drop is set for 7:07 PM at AMSOIL Arena.
