Koby Bender's second period natural hat trick lifted the No. 10 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs to a 5-2 victory over the No. 9 St. Cloud Huskies on Friday evening in St. Cloud, Minn. It's the first time a Bulldogs has tallied a hatty since
Nick Swaney against St. Cloud State on Feb. 27, 2021. The game one win gives Minnesota Duluth a 1-0 lead in their NCHC Quarterfinal series with the Huskies.
Bender would finish the night with four points, after dishing out an assist in the first period.
Noah Cates and
Blake Biondi also notched a goal each on the evening. Biondi's goal is his team-leading 16th of the season. Cates would also post two assists on the night, giving him 97 career points. Additionally, UMD freshman defenseman
Owen Gallatin also secured two assists in the win. Junior netminder
Ryan Fanti made his 32nd start of the season and turned away 21 St. Cloud shots for his 16th win of the year.
The Bulldogs used four second period goals, three from Bender, and one from Biondi to take control of the game. It's UMD's first four-goal period since their 5-0 victory on Nov. 12 against Colorado College. On the night, the Bulldogs would shoot the Huskies 38-23.
UMD jumped out to an early lead in the first period, thanks to their captain. Six minutes into the contest, Bender spun a weak shot towards the Huskies net from the right faceoff circle. SCSU goaltender Jaxon Castor punched out a rebound to a wide open Cates who buried a shot from the slot to put UMD ahead 1-0. The Huskies responded with a goal from Kevin Fitzgerald under a minute to play in the opening frame. The teams would head to the first intermission tied at 1-1.
A wild second period began with a power-play goal from the nation's top unit. The Huskies struck with the man-advantage just 1:36 in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. However, the Bulldogs would quickly take control of the game. Three straight goals from the 5th-year senior Bender would give him a natural hat trick and gave the Bulldogs a 4-2 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the second. Less than a minute after Bender's third goal, Biondi took a pass from
Dominic James while cutting towards the St. Cloud net. While shielding on his back hand, Biondi quickly snapped a shot over the blocker of Castor to extend UMD's lead to 5-2. The Bulldogs took the same score and a large shots on goal advantage to the third.
In the third period, Fanti and the Bulldogs shut the door on the St. Cloud offense. The win gives UMD a 1-0 advantage in their best-of-three series with the Huskies.
Up Next
UMD and St. Cloud will battle in game two of the series on Saturday evening in St. Cloud, Minn. Puck drop is set for 6:00 PM CT.
