Ryan Fanti's fourth shutout of the season lifted the No. 2 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs to a 1-0 overtime win and a series sweep of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday evening in Duluth. Additionally, captain Noah Cates tallied the game-winning goal in overtime to improve the Bulldogs to 10-3-1 overall on the season. 
 
On the night, Fanti made 19 saves to earn his fourth shutout in the month of November. The win also gives Fanti a 9-2-1 record on the year. On the offensive side of the ice, Koby Bender and Connor Kelley both added assists on Cates's overtime game-winner. In the series, Cates tallied back-to-back game-winning goals to propel UMD to the series sweep.   
 
"I thought Alaska played hard and created a lot of problems for us," said Head Coach Scott Sandelin. "We knew this series was going to be tough, tight checking. I like the way we stuck with it. It was a hard-fought game, and we found a way."
 
Similar to Friday evening, the first period saw UMD outshoot the Nanooks 8-6 in the opening frame. Tripping and holding penalties on the Bulldogs gave Alaska Fairbanks two power play opportunities. Shot blocks from Hunter Lellig and Tanner Laderoute helped UMD kill off the Nanooks back-to-back man-advantages. With just under two minutes to play in the first, Darian Gotz took a drop pass from Quinn Olson and made a quick move to get around a Fairbanks defender. Gotz cut to the net and had a prime chance to score, but was denied by UAF goaltender Daniel Allin with the left pad. Neither side would find the back of the net through the first period and the teams took a 0-0 tie to the second period. 
 
The second period would be another defensive battle. Midway through the second frame, a tripping penalty to UAF deep in the Fairbanks zone would give the Bulldogs their first power play chance of the evening. With the man-advantage, Minnesota Duluth would tally one shot on goal, while missing the net three times from solid scoring areas. A few minutes later, the Nanooks would get a 2-on-0 opportunity. While moving in on the net, UAF's Simon Falk tried to pull the puck to the back hand but was shut down by a sprawling Fanti. The Bulldogs and Nanooks would both note nine shots apiece in the second period, and the teams would take a 0-0 score into the final period of regulation. 
 
The Bulldogs would outshoot the Nanooks 16-4 in the third period. With just over 1:30 left to play in regulation, Alaska was charged with a two-minute minor for too many players on the ice, giving UMD their second power play of the night. The Bulldogs would work the puck around until Kobe Roth found himself wide-open in front of the UAF net. Roth made a quick move and slid the puck towards the open cage. UAF defenseman Arvils Bergmanis would make the play of the game by keeping the puck out with the blade of his stick. After a lengthy video review, it was determined that the puck had never fully crossed the goal line, and the teams went to overtime tied at 0-0. While still on the power play in OT, Bender would take a pass from Kelley at the top of the Nanooks zone. Bender sent a wrist shot towards the net that would be deflected by Cates and past Allin and in. The goal came just 28 seconds into overtime and lifted UMD to a series sweep of the Nanooks.  
 
Up Next
UMD will continue its out of conference schedule next weekend at Northern Michigan University. Puck drop on both Friday and Saturday is set for 5:37 PM CT in Marquette, MI.