Box Score

For the University of Minnesota Duluth and Lake Superior State University, opening the season by tying one another is nothing new. The two teams, which had battled to draws in two of the last three openers, made it three-for-four as they skated to a 6-6 deadlock Friday night at Taffy Abel Arena.

It was a battle of special teams, as the two squads combined to score half the goals on the powerplay. Lake Superior State converted four times on nine chances with the man advantage, while the Bulldogs went two-for-eight.

Despite a poor start to the game - the Lakers scored on the first shot at the 29 second mark - UMD escaped the first period in a 2-2 tie. Senior left wing Justin Fontaine accounted for both of the Bulldogs' goals, one of which came on the powerplay.

The two teams traded punches the rest of the way, as neither team held a lead larger than one. Junior right wing Mike Connolly's goal off a feed from Fontaine with 2:20 left in regulation forced overtime and prevented the Lakers from scoring the upset at home.

Senior left wing Kyle Schmidt, junior center Jack Connolly and sophomore wing Mike Seidel each added a goal for the Bulldogs. Jack Connolly's tally came on a shorthanded opportunity in the second period. The former standout at Duluth's Marshall School had just one shorthanded goal as a sophomore last winter.

UMD (0-0-1) fired 38 shots on the Laker cage on the evening. Lake Superior State (0-0-1) put 37 shots on senior goaltender Kenny Reiter, who gave up the most goals in his Bulldog career. Reiter was credited with his first career assist on Jack Connolly's second period goal.

UMD is back in action Saturday night at Northern Michigan University. The opening faceoff from the Berry Events Center is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.