Walsky leads Tigers' offensive explosion

Colorado College right wing Eric Walsky got under North Dakota goaltender Brad Eidsness' skin by the end of Saturday's second period.

Walsky, who netted two goals in a 28-second span in the period, scored again in the third period, prompting Eidsness to drop his head in frustration.

It has been awhile since a Tiger had that effect on a goaltender.

Powered by Walsky's four goals, No. 1 CC earned a 7-4 victory over North Dakota in which the Tigers twice clawed back from one-goal deficits and had three power-play goals, a season-high.

"It was a big relief," Walsky said. "I feel like I've been getting chances, but tonight was a night where everything seemed to go my way."

CC earned a series split to improve to 6-1-3 and 4-1-1 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. North Dakota, which toppled CC 3-1 on Friday, dropped to 3-5 and 3-3 in the WCHA.

"We played with passion, we played hard, we scored some goals, we were battling hard," coach Scott Owens said. "It's a good springboard for us."

CC heads on a five-game road swing - its longest of the season - starting with Minnesota State-Mankato next weekend and ending the Friday after Thanksgiving with a showdown at No. 14 Air Force.

In a back-and-forth battle that produced a combined 84 shots, CC struck first with a power-play goal from defenseman Nate Prosser.

North Dakota took a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal from forward Brett Hextall and an even-strength goal by left wing Ryan Duncan less than 5 minutes later.

Just as Duncan scored, Hextall - who scored Friday - was charged with checking from behind and ejected from the game, resulting in a 5-minute power play for CC.

"He was playing very, very well," Owens said of Hextall. "He plays with passion and he's a good player. He completed that line, which was so dangerous."

The Tigers capitalized by getting a goal in the final minute of the first from Walsky and another less than 2 minutes into the second from left wing Scott McCulloch to take a 3-2 lead.

Less than 2 minutes later, the Fighting Sioux answered. CC goaltender Richard Bachman laid out to make an initial save, but North Dakota's Chris VandeVelde collected the puck from the side of the net and tucked it in to tie the score.

A string of CC penalties gave North Dakota almost 3 minutes on a 5-on-3. Tigers defenseman Jake Gannon blocked an initial shot from David Toews, but couldn't locate the puck before left wing Jason Gregoire put the puck in the upper right corner.

Then, Walsky took over.