Playing in his first game since being diagnosed with Testicular Cancer earlier in the season,
Zach Stejskal made 20 saves in relief on Saturday evening to help the No. 6 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs to a 3-2 victory over the No. 3 Denver Pioneers. It's the first game action Stejskal had seen since Oct. 15 against the University of Michigan. The sophomore made numerous high-quality stops down the stretch to help the Bulldogs to their fifteenth win of the season.
Late in the third,
Darian Gotz's first career goal would end up being the game-winner for UMD.
Kobe Roth scored twice in the win, while
Casey Gilling added two assists. Gilling now sits with 96 career points.
Blake Biondi,
Koby Bender,
Quinn Olson, and
Owen Gallatin all tallied an assist each during Saturday night's win. For Stejskal, the win is his second of the season, and sixth of his career.
The win for UMD improves them to 15-11-3 overall on the season, and gives them a 8-6-3 record in NCHC play. The Bulldogs also hand the Pioneers their first home loss of the season. Denver entered the game with a 14-0-1 record while at home this season.
UMD wasted no time getting on the board in this one. Just 31 seconds into the game, Bender broke in on a 2-on-1 opportunity with Roth. While on his forehand, Bender slid a pass under the defenseman's stick to Roth who beat a diving Magnus Chrona to give UMD the early 1-0 lead. For Roth the goal was his eighth of the season, and first since UMD's 5-4 win over Western Michigan on Jan. 28. Following the goal, Denver began to press. Midway through the period, DU's Ryan Barrow broke free towards the UMD net. Barrow attempted to beat Fanti to the blocker side but Fanti made a beautiful push to deny the Pioneer scoring chance and keep it a 1-0 game. A few minutes later, UMD would find itself on the power-play. While on the man-advantage, UMD would turn the puck over, leading to a breakaway fror DU's Carter Mazar. While moving towards Fanti, Mazar was hooked by
Connor Kelley, leading to a Pioneers penalty-shot. Mazar came in slow and tried to beat Fanti high blocker, but Fanti would stand his ground and make the save. Thanks to the work of UMD's goaltender, the Bulldogs held a 1-0 advantage in the final minutes of the first period. UMD would be forced to kill-off a DU power-play late in the period. A massive block from
Hunter Lellig on a Bobby Brink one-timer helped UMD to a 1-0 lead after the first 20 minutes of play.
Starting the second period,
Zach Stejskal would relieve Fanti in net for UMD, following an injury to Fanti. It was the first time that Stejskal had seen action since Oct. 15 against the University of Michigan. Stejskal was throw directly into the fire after
Quinn Olson was called for tripping just 1:38 into the period. Stejskal would make one save on the DU man-advantage and UMD would hold the 1-0 lead early in the second. The Pioneers continued to pressure the UMD net, but saves from the sophomore Stejskal would keep the Bulldogs in front. A few moments later,
Jesse Jacques would break in on a 2-on-1 with
Kyler Kleven. Jacques attempted to out-wait Chrona on the forehand, but Chrona shut it down. Denver held a 20-11 shot advantage midway through the second. UMD was unable to keep the Pioneers off the board. After a long shift in the UMD end, a shot from the blueline from Justin Lee would tie the game at 1-1 with eight minutes remaining in the second. A late tripping call on
Carter Loney would give Denver their fourth power-play of the night. A save from Stejskal and a block from
Louie Roehl would send help UMD kill-off the first portion of the power-play. The two teams would remain tied after two with the Pioneers holding a 25-15 shot advantage.
UMD came out in the third and successfully killed-off the remainder of the Loney penalty. However, DU would capitalize a few minutes later to take their first lead of the night. For the second time in the game, DU would get a goal from their blueline. The goal came five minutes into the third and put UMD in a hole early into the final period of play. Just over two minutes later, UMD would head to their second power-play of the night following a DU interference call. While on the man-advantage, Gilling found
Owen Gallatin at the top of the Denver zone. Gallatin made a one-touch pass to Roth who was sneaking down the backdoor. Roth attempted to make a pass to Bender who was on the far post, but the puck would deflect off a Pioneer and past Chrona. The power-play goal was Roth's second of the night and tied the game at 2-2 just 7:46 into the third period. Also on the play, Gilling picked up his second assist of the night to bring him to 96 career points. With 7:19 remaining, Stejskal would make a beautiful backdoor save off a Denver 2-on-1 to keep the game tied.
With just under five minutes left to play, Gotz would put UMD ahead with his first-career goal. Hard work by Biondi and Olson deep in the Denver zone would lead to an open look for Gotz from the left faceoff circle. The even-strength goal gave UMD the lead, which they never gave up. The Bulldogs walked out of Denver with a series split.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will return home next weekend for a two-game series against North Dakota. Puck drop on Friday is set for 8:00 PM, while the two teams will battle at 7:07 PM on Saturday in Duluth, Minn.
