Colorado College Athletics

Bret Link scored twice and Owen Beckner added a goal and two assists to lead No. 9 Colorado College to a 5-3 victory over 7^th-ranked Minnesota Duluth Saturday night at Ed Robson Arena.
 
Carmelo Crandell and Drew Montgomery also scored and Jackson Unger finished with 29 saves as the Tigers rebounded from Friday's 1-0 loss to improve to 6-2-0 overall and 1-1-0 in the NCHC.
 
After a scoreless first period, Link put the Tigers on the board for the first time during the weekend with a shorthanded goal, CC's first of the season, at the 6:54 mark of the second period. He gathered the puck from Beckner in the CC zone, took it down the left side and fired a rocket past UMD goalie Carl Axelsson from the top of the left circle.
 
The senior from Anchorage, Alaska, made it 2-0 at the 8:25 mark with a power-play goal. Connor Hvidston sent a cross-ice pass to Link and he easily beat Axelsson from the bottom of the left circle. Max Burkholder also collected an assist on the play.
 
UMD's Callum Arnott cut the lead in half with a goal at the 11:41 mark of the middle frame, but Beckner scored just seven seconds later and the Tigers regained the two-goal advantage.
 
Off the faceoff, Beckner knocked the puck to Philippe Blais-Savoie, who got it back to Beckner and the junior from Victoria, B.C, rushed the net. He sent a centering pass from the left side to the front of the net and the puck deflected off a Bulldog defender past Axelsson.
 
Crandell made it 4-1 at the 16:02 mark with his fourth goal in as many games, taking a pass from Tomas Mrsic and firing a wrister from the slot that beat Axelsson top shelf.
 
It marked the first time CC has scored four goals in a period since Feb. 7, 2025, in a 6-4 victory at North Dakota with four goals in the third period.
 
The Bulldogs battled back in the third period, scoring a couple of goals to cut the lead to 4-3. Carter Murphy beat Unger from the slot at the 5:59 mark, then Zam Plante scored with 2:29 remaining and the lead was one.
 
With Axelsson (18 saves) on the bench in favor of an extra skater, Montgomery scored an empty-net goal with 27 seconds remaining off a feed from Beckner for the final margin.
 
UMD (6-2-2, 1-1-0 NCHC) outshot the Tigers, 32-23, including a 16-2 advantage in the third period. CC converted on its only power play opportunity of the weekend and killed all three penalties Saturday night.
 
The Tigers remain at home and will face Lindenwood in a non-conference series at Robson Arena, Nov. 6-7.