Duluth Sweeps Colorado College but Doesn't Gain Ground on Minnesota Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth have been battling atop the W.C.H.A. standings all season, so it seems only fitting that the race will come down to the final weekend of the regular season. UMD swept Colorado College in a series last weekend at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, but failed to gain any ground on the Gophers, who swept a series on the road at Nebraska-Omaha. J.T. Brown made a not-so-subtle return to the UMD lineup Friday, scoring a game-winning goal in overtime after missing nearly three full games with an upper body injury. "I just wanted to come back and contribute to the team," Brown said. It feels good, especially with where we are in the standings and where they are. This was one we really needed. After a first period without any goals or penalties, the Bulldogs exploded for three goals in a 4:35 span of the second. Senior captain Jack Connolly gave UMD the first lead with his 18th goal of the season and freshmen wingers Caleb Herbert and Justin Crandall quickly added on. But maintaining big leads has been an issue as of late for the Bulldogs. The Tigers regained some life with a goal from winger Alexander Krushelnyski with just 23.9 seconds left in the second. "No matter what you try to tell your team, (the Tigers) got some momentum off of that," UMD coach Scott Sandelin said. I thought we had controlled most of the period. That's why always the first minute or last minute are always so important. CC took advantage of that momentum and tied the game with goals from defenseman Mike Boivin and center Rylan Schwartz midway through the third. The Tigers continued to sustain offensive pressure through the remainder of the period, but UMD was able to force overtime. With just two minutes remaining, UMD center Travis Oleksuk won a draw in the offensive zone, chipping the puck back to Brown, who promptly blasted a one-timer past CC goalie Josh Thorimbert to seal it for the Bulldogs. "Any time you get a player like that back in your lineup it gives your team a boost," Sandelin said. I'm proud of our guys. I thought they showed a lot of resolve by staying with it. Saturday's game went more as planned for UMD, as it earned a dominant 5-2 victory in front of home record 6,808 fans. Junior winger Mike Seidel led the way for the Bulldogs, scoring the first two goals of the game. Connolly, who is second in the country in scoring, tallied three assists. The Tigers had a chance with the game tied 1-1 after the first, but UMD's offense was too much for them to handle. The Bulldogs netted two goals in the second and two in the third. CC added a goal with 35 seconds remaining, but it was too little, too late. This is a character builder. The sky's the limit for us," Seidel said. If we play like this we can have a lot of success down the road. UMD goalie Kenny Reiter even got in on the scoring, earning two assists. "I just made the two saves and we turned the puck up really quick and we have a really fast team and the guys went down and put the puck in the net," Reiter said. We can play a transition game with the best of them. UMD still trails Minnesota by two points in the quest for the MacNaughton Cup. The race is mostly for bragging rights, as both teams have already clinched home ice for the first round of the W.C.H.A. playoffs and an automatic berth into the semifinals of the W.C.H.A. Final Five should they survive the first round. UMD closes out the regular season this weekend with a trip to St. Cloud while Minnesota hosts Wisconsin. Tom Olsen is a sports reporter for The Statesman at the University of Minnesota Duluth.