The return of the University of Minnesota and the University of North Dakota's storied hockey rivalry didn't disappoint.
The No. 13-ranked Gophers and the No. 3-ranked Fighting Hawks went end to end at Mariucci Arena on Friday night, trading goals and jabs while skating to a 5-5 tie after a scoreless overtime in their first meeting since 2014.
UND struggled to stay out of the penalty box, racking up 13 penalties on the night and allowing three power play goals on eight opportunities.
The Fighting Hawks struck first early in the game, as defensemen Hayden Shaw and Christian Wolanin scored back-to-back goals through traffic to make it 2-0 less than halfway through the first period.
The Gophers roared back with a pair of power play goals.
Vinni Lettieri cut the Hawks' lead in half at 11:12 of the first period, before Tommy Novak's one-timer found twine to make it 2-2.
Gophers goaltender Eric Schierhorn was beaten on two of the first three shots he faced, but Minnesota responded at the other end, peppering UND's Cam Johnson with 15 shots in the first period.
UND tightened up defensively in the second period, outshooting the Gophers 7-6, as the two teams were held scoreless.
Brock Boeser wasted no time in the third period, snapping the tie with a one-timer in close less than a minute into the period to put North Dakota back in front 3-2.
But once again, the Gophers answered on the power play, this time on a backhand by Tyler Sheehy that found its way past Johnson.
The goals just kept on coming, this time during a raucous 10-minute sequence in the final frame.
A highlight-reel effort from Tyson Jost restored UND's slim lead at 11:17 of the third period.
The freshman grabbed the puck behind the net, danced out front and faked a shot past Schierhorn.
Brent Gates Jr. corralled a bouncing puck and tied the game again, Tucker Poolman's wrist shot popped up and over Shierhorn to make it 5-4 UND and Novak's goal with an extra attacker made it 5-5 with just over a minute left to play.
The two teams return to action at 8 p.m. Saturday at Mariucci Arena.
