UND MEN'S HOCKEY: Sioux, Maine skate to 3-3 tie

Key play: Ryan Hegarty's game-tying goal with 7:42 left in regulation.

Key player: UND's Danny Kristo, 2 goals, 1 assist.

It took Danny Kristo until Dec. 30 -- a span of 21 games -- to get his second goal last season.

There won't be a repeat of that slow start again this year.

Kristo scored twice in the second period alone Saturday night and added an assist to lead UND to a 3-3 tie against the University of Maine in Ralph Engelstad Arena. He now has seven points through four games this season, which ranks among the top three scorers in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

"He played the way we thought he would coming in," UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "He's energetic out there. Every shift, he's around the puck and making something happen. He's playing both ends of the rink. That's critical. He's been a real catalyst for us."

Kristo was the key during an unbeaten weekend for the Sioux, who won the series opener 3-1.

UND fell behind Maine 2-0 early Saturday, but Kristo set up Nick Mattson's first-career goal at 4 minutes, 15 seconds of the second period, then scored back-to-back power-play goals himself to give the Sioux a 3-2 lead. Maine eventually tied it in the third.

"We've got a young team, so the older guys have to step up in times like that," Kristo said. "You saw Bloody (Ben Blood) do it last night. He played well again tonight. It was just a couple other guys' turns to step up. It might be like that for a little bit, but I think the freshmen are coming around. They're getting better each game. I think everyone is learning each game. That's important going into next week."

Kristo didn't catch many breaks in the first half of last season and it took him 18 games to hit the seven-point mark. It only took four this year. Kristo leads the team in points (seven), shots (15), power-play points (three) and plus-minus (plus-four).

His center, Corban Knight, also has been strong. He assisted on a second-period goal and went 21-5 in the faceoff circle. For the weekend, Knight was 37-11 on draws.

UND coach Dave Hakstol said that, overall, he was pleased with the weekend.

"There's two ways to evaluate the weekend," said Hakstol, whose team moved to 2-1-1. "You don't ever go into a game wanting a tie, but in reality, three out of four points is a good weekend. Most importantly, I'm evaluating our performance and I thought our performance got better throughout the weekend and was a little bit better than where we were at last weekend. I like that."

One night after Brad Eidsness stopped 30 of 31 shots, the Sioux turned to No. 1 goalie Aaron Dell. He stopped 25 of 28 shots, allowing two power-play goals.

Special teams defined the series finale. Five of the six goals were scored on the power play.

It helped UND get back in the game after Maine captains Brian Flynn and Will O'Neill each one-timed goals to put the Black Bears up 2-0 just 46 seconds into the second period.

Then, Mark Nemec and Kyle Beattie both went to the box with minor penalties at 3:32 of the second to give UND a five-on-three for a full two minutes.

Mattson scored with the two-man advantage at 4:15 and, after another Black Bear penalty, Kristo blasted home a point shot for another six-on-four goal at 5:27. The go-ahead goal was scored at 17:25 with Maine's Spencer Abbott in the box.

"It was huge for us to take advantage of the power play," Mattson said. "We struggled yesterday on it and it probably gave them momentum, which is not what you want from your power play. I thought we did a good job capitalizing on our chances tonight."

The Sioux said they will take the positives out of the weekend.

"A tie is a little bittersweet," Mattson said. "As the saying goes, it's like kissing your sister. But you've got to look at the positives. We played really well. We improved upon a lot of the problems we had last weekend against Boston College. So, right now, it's a little bittersweet, but as time goes on, we'll take away the positives."

Notes: UND winger Brendan O'Donnell left the game during the first period and didn't return. Hakstol didn't have any immediate updates after the game. . . Maine benched first-line right winger Joey Diamond after he took four minor penalties -- three in the third period -- during Friday night's game. Jon Swavley replaced him on the top line. . . UND played without Rocco Grimaldi, who is recovering from a leg injury. The Sioux also moved Joe Gleason to right wing on the fourth line and kept rookie Andrew Panzarella in at defense. . . Colten St. Clair also was scratched. He hasn't been cleared by the NC

Key play: Ryan Hegarty's game-tying goal with 7:42 left in regulation.

Key player: UND's Danny Kristo, 2 goals, 1 assist.

UND 3,

MAINE 3, TIE

First period -- 1. M, Brian Flynn 2 (Will O'Neill 2, Spencer Abbott 2) 4:02 (pp). Penalties - Brock Nelson, UND, interference, 3:05

Second period -- 2. M, O'Neill 1 (Kyle Beattie 3, Abbott 3) :46; 3. UND, Nick Mattson 1 (Danny Kristo 5, Brock Nelson 2) 4:14 (pp); 4. UND, Kristo 1 (Mattson 1, Carter Rowney 1) 5:27; 5. UND, Kristo 2 (Corban Knight 4, Rowney 2) 17:25 (pp). Penalties - Beattie, M, boarding, 3:32; Mark Nemec, M, high sticking, 3:32; Ryan Hegarty, M, hooking, 5:17; Ben Blood, UND, slashing, 7:44; Taylor Dickin, UND, slashing, 10:30; Hegarty, M, interference, 10:45; Abbott, M, tripping, 15:30

Third period -- 6. M, Hegarty 1 (Abbott 4, Flynn 5) 12:18 (pp). Penalties - Andrew MacWilliam, UND, interference, 11:25

Goalie saves -- UND: Aaron Dell 8-10-5-2 - 25; M: Dan Sullivan 7-8-8-1 - 24

Penalties-minutes -- UND 4-8, M 5-10

Power plays -- UND 3-5, M 2-4

Attendance -- 11,515

Referees -- Matt Ulwelling and Craig Welker