UMD Sweeps Lakehead

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

In a final tuneup before it returns to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference battlefield, the University of Minnesota Duluth stormed out to a 5-0 second-period lead and went on to thump Lakehead University 8-4 Saturday night in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

UMD got goals from seven different players, including sophomore defenseman Willie Raskob, who tallied twice, while junior center Cal Decowski contributed three assists as the Bulldogs completed the weekend exhibition series sweep before a crowd of 3,270 at the Fort Williams Gardens. Rookie wingers Blake Young and Karson Kuhlman, sophomore winger Alex Iafallo, junior center Tony Cameranesi, senior winger Justin Crandall and freshman center Jared Thomas also scored for UMD, which jacked its all-time record against the Thunderwolves to 14-0-0 and stretched its winning streak over Canadian universities to 13 games dating back to the 1992-93 season.

The Bulldogs, a 3-2 overtime victor on Friday night, outshot Lakehead (7-13-4 overall) 49-32 and held a 21-10 advantage during the second period when they struck for three goals. Junior goaltender Matt McNeely stopped all 14 shots he faced before being relieved midway through the game by senior Alex Fons, who made 14 saves on 18 shots the rest of the way.

UMD, which was ranked seventh the latest USCHO.com poll, will be in Grand Forks, N.D. next Friday and Saturday for a pair of NCHC showdowns with No. 2 University of North Dakota.