Bulldogs clinch playoff home ice

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Justin Fontaine had two goals and Brady Hjelle stopped 22 shots as Minnesota-Duluth shut out Minnesota 3-0 Saturday in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

In posting their first shutout of the Golden Gophers in 25 years, the Bulldogs (19-14-1, 15-10-1 WCHA) clinched home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. UMD moves within two points of idle St. Cloud State for third place with two regular-season games remaining.

Minnesota (16-16-2, 11-13-2) will open the postseason on the road.

Hjelle helped the Bulldogs snap a three-game losing streak. They had lost seven of nine games.

Fontaine and Brady Lamb scored 1:26 apart in the second period, giving Hjelle all the support he needed.

“We didn’t do much from an offensive standpoint,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia said. “They had the puck more. They were more assertive.”

Fontaine scored his 20th goal of the season at 8:17 and added an empty-net goal late in the third. In between, Lamb scored on the power-play at 9:43 of the second period.

Jack Connolly and Mike Montgomery had two assists each for UMD.

Tags: college sports, sports, hockey, wcha, minnesota, duluth, bulldogs