by Ryan Fay
Twenty seconds.
That's how long the 10th-ranked Dutchmen were from picking up a two-game sweep at top-ranked St. Cloud State.
But Huskies forward Jonny Brodzinski had other ideas and the two teams skated to a 3-3 overtime tie and a series split Saturday night at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
The tie ended Union's nine-game winning streak, which matched the program's Division I high, but extended the team's unbeaten streak to ten games (9-0-1).
Brodzinski's power play tally at 19:40 of the third period tied the game. Brodzinski, who fired a team-high ten shots on goal, took an across-the-crease feed from Joey Benik. With Union goaltender Colin Stevens out of position, Brodzinski deposited the puck into a wide open net.
It was a rare blemish for Stevens, who turned aside 35 shots, two short of the career-high he set in Wednesday's 3-2 win over Dartmouth.
"I thought the story of the game was Colin Stevens -- he kept us in it," said Union head coach Rick Bennett.
The Huskies, who dropped a 4-1 decision to Union on Friday, took an early 1-0 lead when Joey Holka beat Stevens with a one-timer off a rebound of a Jimmy Murray shot at 12:26 of the opening period.
But Union answered in the second. Daniel Ciampini beat St. Cloud goaltender Ryan Faragher between the pads on the power play at 6:06 to even the score. Daniel Carr tucked the puck inside the left post at 9:03 to give the Dutchmen a 2-1 lead.
Eli Lichtenwald kept the momentum going, extending Union's cushion to 3-1 just under three minutes later with a wrist shot from inside the left circle.
The Huskies responded and cut the deficit to 3-2 when Benik scored on the power play at 3:32 of the third.
Union struggled to generate offense in the third, getting outshot 13-4. Three of the team's five penalties came in the third, with two leading to goals that wasted a 3-1 edge.
"We pushed back in the second but I think mentally we were fatigued in the third period with the penalties and it caught us in the end," Bennett said.
The game was Union's fifth in nine days, a stretch where the Dutchmen went 4-0-1. They have plenty of time to rest before their next contest, an ECAC Hockey matchup at seventh-ranked Quinnipiac on January 10.
"All-in-all, for the adversity this team faced with the tough stretch of games, the players did a great job and I'm proud of them," Bennett said.
End notes ... the two teams skated in a three-round shootout even though the game was going to and in a 3-3 tie regardless... the NCAA does not recognize shootouts.... the Dutchmen won the shootout 2-1 behind goals from Ciampini and Carr. Brodzinski had the Huskies tally in the shootout.
HIGHLIGHTS
"All-in-all, for the adversity this team faced with the tough stretch of games, the players did a great job and I'm proud of them," Bennett said.
End notes ... the two teams skated in a three-round shootout even though the game was going to and in a 3-3 tie regardless... the NCAA does not recognize shootouts.... the Dutchmen won the shootout 2-1 behind goals from Ciampini and Carr. Brodzinski had the Huskies tally in the shootout.
HIGHLIGHTS
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