St. Cloud, Minn. - A career-high 46-save effort from junior goaltender Ryan Fanti helped the No. 8 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs to a shootout victory over the No. 11 ranked St. Cloud Huskies on Tuesday evening. In addition to Fanti's performance, the Bulldogs' penalty-kill unit went a perfect 4-for-4 against the nation's top power-play. Though the game will officially be recorded as a tie, the Bulldogs picked up the extra NCHC point with their win in the shootout. 

"I was just happy to get out there today and help the team to a few critical points," said Fanti. "I thought our penalty-kill pressure was good and it led to a lot of easy exits. We had a lot of great blocks from our defenseman on the kill and it paid off in the end." Fanti's impressive outing comes on the same day that he was named a semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award. "It's an honor to be in consideration for that award," said Fanti. "I think it's a big testament to how well we did early in the season."

Connor Kelley was the only Bulldog to find the back of the net in regulation. Kelley's second period power-play goal was his second goal of the season and fifth of his UMD career. On the play, Luke Mylymok and Quinn Olson each registered an assist. For Mylymok, it's points in back-to-back games. In the shootout, both Noah Cates and Olson were able to score for the Bulldogs, while Fanti made two saves to secure the shootout win. For Cates, Tuesday evening's contest was his first game back after representing Team USA in the Olympics. 

"He (Fanti) had a great game for us tonight," said Head Coach Scott Sandelin. "We got the extra point tonight, and he was the one that helped us get it. It's what he's been doing for us all year, so it was good to see." 

Fanti was the story through the first twenty minutes of play. Early in the first period, a perfect 3-on-2 passing play from St. Cloud led to Nolan Walker getting a clean look from the Bulldogs slot. Walker tried to beat Fanti high-glove but the junior netminder flashed the leather to keep the game scoreless. Late in the first period, the Bulldogs would get a power-play opportunity. While on the man-advantage, SCSU forward Jami Krannila stole the puck and broke in short-handed. UMD defenseman Owen Gallatin couldn't catch Krannila and was forced to hook the Huskies forward, resulting in a penalty shot for St. Cloud. On the penalty shot, Fanti would again flash the glove, keeping the puck out and keeping the game tied. For Fanti, it was his second successful penalty-shot save in the last four games. The two sides would head into the first intermission tied at zero, with SCSU holding a 17-10 shot advantage. 

The Bulldogs would strike first just 4:19 into the second period. While on their third power-play opportunity of the night, Mylymok would feed Olson from behind the Huskies' net. Olson received the pass and made a one-touch dish to Kelley who was open in the St. Cloud slot. While drifting to his right, Kelley snapped a shot back far side and beat SCSU goaltender David Hrenek high blocker to give UMD the 1-0 lead. The power-play goal was Kelley's second of the season and fifth of his career. A few minutes later, the Bulldogs were forced to kill off a five-minute major penalty. The five-minute man-advantage was especially dangerous as the Huskies entered Tuesday evening with the best power-play percentage in the nation at 33%. However, Fanti and UMD would successfully kill off the major and would head to the third period with a 1-0 advantage. Shots after two periods were 29-16 in favor of St. Cloud. 

The Huskies would keep up the pressure early in the third period and found the tying goal just 3:50 into the final frame. SCSU's leading scorer Kevin Fitzgerald was able to bat a puck out of the air and past Fanti to even the game up. The Huskies would continue to swarm the UMD net throughout the third but Fanti held firm. Though St. Cloud would outshoot the Bulldogs 16-5 in the third period, Fanti and the Bulldogs would hold on for overtime. In the extra frame, the best scoring chance would come from Casey Gilling, who let a wicked wrister go from the top of the Huskies' right faceoff circle. The shot would be denied by the shaft of Hrenek's stick, and the two teams would head to a shootout for the second-straight meeting. UMD would get goals from Cates and Olson, while Fanti made two-of-three saves to secure the extra NCHC point. 

Up Next
The Bulldogs will head to Ohio this weekend for a pair of games with Miami University. UMD will then return home in two weeks for a two-game series with St. Cloud at AMSOIL Arena.