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NSO – NEWS RELEASE

Austin Farley is an Illinois native who really didn’t know anything about the University of Minnesota Duluth’s fierce and longstanding rivalry with the University of Minnesota until he joined the Bulldog program three years ago. But there is something about the the Bulldogs’ arch nemisis seems to bring out the best in the senior left winger

Farley’s  power play goal with 4:30 to go in the second period proved to be the game-winner Friday night for the No. 2 Bulldogs, as they downed Minnesota 3-1 at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis.

“I don’t know what it is about that team or this place” said Farley, who has scored eight of his 32 career goals at the Gophers’ expense. “I guess I’ve just had a lot of puck luck against Minnesota and in this building. Whenever and wherever we play them, it’s always a fun atmosphere.

The Bulldogs (1-1-0 overall) cashed in on back-to-back power play opportunities in the second period to stake themselves to a 2-0 lead. Sophomore center Jared Thomas broke a scoreless tie at the 12:29 mark when took a feed from rookie left winger Adam Johnson and one-timed a blast from the right face off dot for his first goal of the season.

Three minutes later, after rookie defenseman Neal Pionk‘s shot ricochet off two pipes, Farley batted in the rebound into a wide open Minnesota net to make it 2-0. Minnesota (0-2-0) cut the deficit in half on Brent Gates’ goal at 5:40 0f the third but it took the Bulldogs just 32 seconds to answer as junior center Dominic Toninato beat Minnesota goaltender Eric Schierhorn on the third of three successive shots on goal from down low.

Shierhorn finished with 32 saves while UMD sophomore Kasimir Kaskisuo had 23 stops, 11 of which came in the final period. In five lifetime starters against Minnesota, Kaskisuo is 4-1-0 with a 1.41 goals against average and a .942 saves percentage.

With the triumph, the Bulldogs, who went 2-for-5 on the power play, extended their winning streak to five games over their intrastate rivals. They have also won three straight at Mariucci Arena going back to the 2013-14 season and are unbeaten in seven of their last eight matchups with Minnesota overall (6-1-1).

The two clubs will complete the home-and-homes series Saturday night at AMSOIL Arena in UMD’s 2015-16 home opener.