The story was defense for the Seawolves in the third as UAA held the Sioux off the board until 17:46 of the third. Ryan Duncan got in on the action and scored his fourth of the year. Then the game got real interesting with 47 seconds left when Brett Hextall tallied his 3rd of the season and sent the fans into a furious frenzy.

With an empty net on the other end, the Sioux did their best to get pucks to the net and notch the tying goal but a couple of big saves by Jon Olthius with ticks left on the clock sealed the 3-2 UAA win.

This is the best blog ever.......GO SIOUX!!!!!

Best blog ever......GO SIOUX!!!

The Seawolves continued up the defensive pressure in the 2nd period giving the Sioux just 4 shots on the period and not allowing a shot until 14:20 into the period. UAA continued to bottle up North Dakota by plugging in three men low in the Sioux zone, forcing North Dakota to take shots from outside.

One difference between UAA and UND in the period is that the Seawolves buried their few attempts at the net. In fact, UAA chased UND's starting goaltender Aaron Walski with two goals in the period.

It was 2-0 UAA at 6:58 of the period after being heavily screened again much like the first goal Walski doesn’t see much of a Curtis Leinweber point shot fly past him to the back of the net. Later at 13:01 it moved to 3-0 Seawolves when UND defenseman Chay Geoway tried to leap and stop the puck from leaving the zone. It lead to a two-on-one in favor of the Seawolves that brought Crowder and Wiles in after Genoway's leap didn't reach the puck. Crowder hit Wiles with a pass that Wiles one-timed above Walski’s glove.

UND then pulled Walski in favor of freshman Brad Eidsness.

UND missed a golden opportunity when they didn't convert with a 30 second 5-on-3 power play late in the period.

What to look for in the 3rd: UND will look to tally quickly in the period carrying a 30 power play left over from the 2nd. The Sioux will try to solve a stellar UAA defensive performance and will most likely put many pucks to the net. For the Seawolves, don't expect much to change. They will continue to clog the middle and try to bury their chances in the third.

After a somewhat ugly period of play by both teams, that saw many turnovers and missed passes, the Seawolves jump out to an 1-0 lead after one period at the Ralph. UAA scored just 1:07 into the game after a sloppy couple of opening shifts for the Sioux. After a sustained two shifts by the Seawolves that intense forechecking helped hold the puck in the zone, a Nils Backstrom blast from the top of the point beats a screened Walski to the left of his left pad to put the Seawolves ahead.

North Dakota had a couple good chances with a two power plays opportunities but couldn't find the back of the net behind Olthius.

The Seawolves out-shot the Sioux 9-6 on the period but most of their shots came within the opening minutes of the period.

What to expect in the second period: Expect the Sioux to come out and try to start more with the body and up the fore-checking. Also, look for the Sioux to find a way to put puck on the net after missing the net 4 times in the first. For the Seawolves, look for them to continue to put the pressure on the Sioux with aggressive forechecking that kept North Dakota on their heels in the first.

That was me who changed the headline for the live blog to UND vs. UAA just to let you know. The headline was a little long that's all. Hope everything is going well at the Ralph