by Noah Grant/Sports Director/@noahgrant_23

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Carl Axelsson posted his second shutout of the series as the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (9-3-2, 4-2-0 NCHC) defeated the St. Cloud State Huskies (3-7-1, 1-4-1 NCHC) 4-0 on Saturday. Axelsson made 24 saves in the victory and leads the nation with five shutouts. 

Zam Plante tallied two goals and added an assist for his second consecutive three point game for the Bulldogs. Ryan Zaremba and Jayson Shaugabay also scored, while Hunter Anderson recorded three assists. 

Zaremba opened the scoring at 17:09 of the first period. After stealing a Huskies breakout pass, Zaremba had a breakaway and tucked the puck around SCSU goaltender Yan Shostak for the 1-0 lead. 

Plante scored his first goal at 11:48 of the second period on the power play. After a scramble in front of the net, the puck came free to Plante for the goal. Anderson and Shaugabay tallied assists on the goal. 

The power play struck again for UMD at 15:22. Shaugabay buried a one-timer from the middle of the ice off assists from Anderson and Plante. It was the third power play goal of the series for the Bulldogs, as the Huskies took nine penalties over the course of the weekend. 

Plante rounded out the scoring off a fortunate bounce at 13:28 of the third period. From behind the Huskies goal line, Plante threw a pass out front that bounced off Shostak’s stick and into the net.

With the identical 4-0 scorelines, the Huskies were shutout in a home series for the first time since November 18-19, 2016 against North Dakota. It has also been 14 straight periods since SCSU scored an even strength goal. 

Next up for the Huskies is a trip to Grand Forks to face North Dakota next weekend. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on Friday from Ralph Engelstadt Arena. 

Photo Credit: SCSU Athletics