Colorado College found itself in a very unfamiliar position on Friday, ahead by two goals late in the second period, but quickly self-destructed as another winless skid reached four games.

The Tigers saw 17th-ranked St. Cloud State University answer with four consecutive tallies to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead, and the host Huskies used a big final frame to pull out a 5-3 victory in the opener of their two-game WCHA series at the National Hockey Center.

Now 0-3-1 in its last four outings and just 1-6-2 in its last nine, CC dropped below .500 for the first time this season at 8-9-2 overall and slipped to 5-5-1 in league play after a 4-0 start.

St. Cloud State, meanwhile, improved to 10-7 overall and pulled to within a point of the WCHA lead with an 8-5 conference ledger.  

Freshman David Morley fueled the comeback with the first two of SCSU's four third-period goals. Morley's second red lighter, as well as the game winner by Kalle Kossila exactly two minutes later with 7:46 left in regulation, came on power plays. Nick Dowd, who set up Morley to tie the contest at 6:45 of the stanza, iced the triumph on an empty netter with 20 seconds remaining after freshman Hunter Fejes, one of six attackers on the ice, pulled Colorado College back to within 4-3 at 19:15.    
 
The Tigers scored the only goal of first period, striking first in a game for only the fifth time all season.  With senior netminder Joe Howe streaking to the bench on a delayed penalty call against the Huskies, who were on a power play at the time, freshman Jared Hanson was able to spring senior team captain William Rapuzzi on a clear-cut breakway. Rapuzzi stickhandled in close before banking a forehand off the outstretched leg of sprawling goaltender Ryan Faragher at 16:11.  

It remained 1-0 until 14:56 of the middle frame, when freshman center Cody Bradley avoided a check just long enough to knock sophomore defenseman Peter Stoykewych's rebound past Faragher for the first tally of his collegiate career.

Stoykewych, who also assisted on Rapuzzi's shorthanded goal, was victimized less than a minute after Bradley's when St. Cloud State captain Drew LeBlanc blocked his shot from near the left-side boards inside the SCSU blue line and raced up ice alone. Howe stopped Leblanc's wrist shot from the low slot, but trailer Jonny Brodzinski poked home the rebound to make it 2-1 at 15:29.

Brodzinski and Leblanc joined Dowd in recording a goal and an assist apiece in the triumph. Howe finished with 24 saves compared to Faragher's 21.