The University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team took the ice tonight for the first time this season, facing off against Michigan Tech University in the US Hockey Hall of Fame Game.

The game officially ended in a tie, but the Bulldogs took home the trophy with a shootout win.

UMD's performance was highlighted by an effective penalty kill and outshooting their opponent consistently. Offensive pressure was a cross-class effort, with freshman and 5th years alike making appearances on the score sheet. 

The Counting Captains Line of Quinn Olson (15), Luke Loheit (16), and Dominic James (17) generated offensive chances throughout the first period. Right after a power play, Loheit opened the season's scoring and gave the Bulldogs an early lead.

At first intermission, UMD still led the game. Shots on goal were heavily in favor of the Bulldogs, 19-7.

The tide shifted when the teams returned and MTU was rewarded with a tying goal. 

Things evened out midway through the second period, although Joey Pierce's shutdown defense on a Huskies breakaway led to another Bulldog penalty. UMD successfully killed all five penalties in their season opener. 

Ben Steeves helped create a few back-to-back scoring chances. At the other end, Zach Stejskal made a flurry of saves, despite net-front traffic, to close out the period.

Not content to let the upperclassmen have all the fun, freshman Aaron Pionk sent the puck to his classmate Anthony Menghini netfront. Menghini turned, slid, and scored. 

The pair earned their first collegiate points and gained the lead. However, with just under half the period left, MTU retied the game. Despite both side's efforts, the score was halted. 

In overtime, UMD successfully fought off MTU on a 4-on-3 penalty kill and created some chances of their own. The five minute extra period ended and so did the game, officially. 

However, the J. Lawrence Cain Award was still up for grabs. The Huskies scored first in the shootout. Steeves answered in the second round, followed by another goal from Menghini to seal the deal.

The Bulldogs hit the AMSOIL Arena ice again next weekend, playing Northern Michigan on Friday, Oct. 13 and Saturday, Oct. 14 at 7:07 p.m.