The lineup may have looked strange.
Illnesses, injuries and a suspension, forced the UND men's hockey team to make several changes. But coach Dave Hakstol won't call it a patchwork lineup.
Neither will the No. 2-ranked team in the country.
The Sioux put together a strong effort to beat second-ranked Minnesota-Duluth 4-2 on Friday in the opener of a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series.
Derek Rodwell, Evan Trupp, Matt Frattin and Corban Knight scored the goals while several regulars watched from the upper deck as the Sioux controlled throughout, pressuring Duluth goalie Aaron Crandall and quieting the Bulldogs' explosive top line.
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"It's a different lineup, but we've got 26 guys on this team," UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "Everybody works hard every day. We have a lot of guys who maybe aren't in the lineup every day, but they can step in and do a good job for their teammates when they need to. There was nothing special tonight. . . . just a bunch of guys who worked hard together and played together."
UND improved to 5-3-1 overall and 4-1 in WCHA play, while handing the Bulldogs their first loss of the season. Duluth, which tied a school record by going unbeaten in eight games to start the season, dropped to 6-1-2 and 3-1-1.
Ralph Engelstad Arena continued to be a house of horrors for Duluth, which is now 1-12-1 in its last 14 games here.
The sold out crowd of 11,638 watched Mike Cichy play center for the first time this season, Joe Gleason play defense for the first time this season and Brett Bruneteau crack the lineup for the first time in a month.
The players made the most of their opportunities, created by illnesses to Andrew MacWilliam and Derek Forbort, an injury to Carter Rowney and a suspension to Brad Malone.
"They all played like they had something to prove," said Trupp, who also had an assist. "They all played very well. Throughout the whole lineup, everyone was doing the simple things and smart plays. Everyone did their part tonight, so that's nice to see."
UND put a lot of pressure on Crandall in the first, but didn't crack him until early in the second.
Freshman defenseman Dillon Simpson weaved between Bulldog defenders to walk the puck deep in the zone. Trupp cycled it to Brock Nelson, who launched a shot from the circle. Crandall made the save, but Rodwell crashed the crease to make it 1-0 at 2:22.
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"That was a great goal," Hakstol said. "That line played pretty well, Rodwell, Trupp and Nelson, and those are the kind of goals that Derek should score. He had a couple of two-on-ones tonight. He created a lot of good energy and did a lot of good things. It was nice to see him rewarded."
The Bulldogs evened it at 16:25, taking advantage of a fortunate bounce. Dylan Olsen's point shot went off of Kyle Schmidt, who was standing in the slot, and right to Travis Oleksuk in the right circle. Oleksuk had a lot of net to look at and buried it for his sixth of the season.
The tie didn't last long.
UND cashed in on a short power play when defenseman Chay Genoway (two assists) circled the zone until he dished it to Trupp at the top of the right circle. With Jason Gregoire providing a screen, Trupp snapped it in at 17:57 to make it 2-1.
"I wasn't expecting it to go straight in," Trupp said. "I was hoping for a rebound."
In the third, Frattin gave the Sioux a two-goal lead when he intercepted a pass and sniped a wrist shot through traffic to make it 3-1. The Bulldogs pulled within a goal on a tic-tac-toe passing play between Mike Connolly, Jack Connolly and Justin Fontaine, who finished it off.
But Knight was able to ice it with an empty-netter.
"It was a good night," Trupp said, "kind of sending a message that that's how we want to play tomorrow. We played good, smart hockey."
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Notes: UND fans signed a giant get-well card for Jesse Martin, who suffered fractures of the C-2 vertebrae at Ralph Engelstad Arena last Saturday. Martin has feeling in all extremities and is expected to undergo surgery. . . Duluth captain Mike Montgomery also missed Friday's game with an illness.
