Ben Steeves scored three goals to lead Minnesota Duluth to a 4-0 victory over Colorado College Saturday night at Amsoil Arena.
Matthew Thiessen made 24 saves for the Bulldogs, who avoided their first weekend sweep and four-game season series losing record to CC since 2008.
UMD opened the game with a pair of goals in the first six minutes. Darian Gotz scored just 2:36 in with a shot from the point that eluded Tiger goalie Kaidan Mbereko, who had a career-high 39 saves in Friday's 3-0 shutout victory.
The Bulldogs (8-9-0, 4-4-0 NCHC) took advantage of a Tiger turnover to double the lead three minutes later. Ben Steeves stole the puck from CC's Jack Millar in front deep in the CC zone and went top shelf over Mbereko's right shoulder to make it 2-0 at the 5:38 mark.
The Tigers (6-9-1, 3-4-1 NCHC) struggled to get any offense going in the first 20 minutes, putting just five shots on target against Thiessen, including just one in six-plus minutes during a couple of power plays.
Steeves put in his second of the contest at the 7:25 mark of the middle period, a power-play goal that made it 3-0. Isaac Howard sent a cross-ice pass to Steeves, whose wrister from the bottom of the right circle snuck between the near post and Mbereko's skate.
Steeves completed his hat trick at the 3:37 mark of the third period, scoring just seconds after Mbereko stoned him on a clean breakaway. After that save, the puck ended up in front of the net and Steeves backhanded it in.
UMD outshot the Tigers, 26-24, and was 1-for-2 on the power play. Ethan Straky had a career-high four shots for CC, which finished the game 0-for-2 on the power play.
The Tigers return home to host Omaha in a weekend series, Dec. 9-10, at Robson Arena.
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