DULUTH, Minn. -- Junior Peter Rouleau (Hancock, Mich.) notched his team-best fourth multi-point game of the year with three assists, but Minnesota Duluth used a three-goal third period to record a 5-3 win and series sweep of Michigan Tech in front of 4,287 in Western Collegiate Hockey Association action at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center Saturday night.

In sharp contrast to Friday's first period in which neither team scored, Saturday's opening stanza featured four goals -- two from each squad.

The Bulldogs struck first just 1:06 into the contest after they converted a 2-on-1 opportunity. MacGregor Sharp took a well-timed pass through the slot from linemate Michael Gergen and beat MTU goalie Rob Nolan (Sherwood Park, Alta.) with a high shot on the glove side. Nick Kemp picked up the second assist on the marker.

Michigan Tech knotted the score at one apiece at the 7:33 mark of the frame when rookie Drew Dobson (Palatine, Ill.) garnered his first goal as a collegian with a bomb from the right point that beat UMD netminder Alex Stalock on the glove side. Peter Rouleau chipped the puck over to Dobson near the corner boards to pick up his first of three helpers, while Phil Axtell (New Windsor, Md.) was credited with his fifth assist of the campaign as well.

UMD regained the lead at 13:01 as it scored on what technically was a 5-on-4 power play, but the goal came in the waning seconds of a two-man advantage the Bulldogs held. Matt McKnight slipped a shot from the slot five-hole past Nolan. Matt Niskanen notched his third point of the weekend by providing the first assist on the tally and Mason Raymond added the second helper.

The Huskies again evened the score with just over three minutes left in the period with a lamplighter off the stick of Geoff Kinrade (Nelson, B.C.) With the puck near the left point, Tyler Shelast (Kelowna, B.C.) directed a pass down to Peter Rouleau in the left circle, where the centerman used some handy stickwork to draw the Minnesota Duluth defensemen and goaltender toward the front of the net. From there, Rouleau spotted Kinrade streaking down the slot and the blueliner did his part by putting the puck into an open net. Kinrade's marker was his second of the season and 10th point of the campaign. Shelast notched his sixth assist, pushing his point total to 12.

Tech took its first lead of the weekend at the 16:45 mark of the second stanza as a result of another outstanding personal effort from Rouleau. While holding the puck near the left corner boards, Rouleau skillfully flipped the puck in the direction of the front of the net. The pass wound up finding the stick of co-captain Mike Batovanja (Hinton, Alta.), who wasted little time in knocking the puck top shelf, giving Stalock little chance to make the save. The goal was Batovanja's first of the 2006-07 slate. Fellow co-captain Lars Helminen (Brighton, Mich.) who made the intitial pass to Rouleau on the left wing, extended his point total to 1-7--8 with the second assist.

For the third time of the evening, the score was tied up, this time by the home team, just three minutes into the third period. MacGregor Sharp capitalized on a rebound attempt just to Nolan's right. Michael Gergen and Nick Kemp each earned assists on the play.

The Bulldogs moved ahead again at 12:10 of the period as the result of Mason Raymond's seventh goal of the year off assists from Bryan McGregor and Matt McKnight. Raymond used a nifty move to get Nolan down on the nice and then wristed a backhander into an open net.

MTU head coach Jamie Russell took a timeout to talk things over with his troops with 1:47 left in regulation. A quick icing call allowed Tech to pull netminder Nolan for a sixth skater 13 seconds later. The chess match continued, as UMD then called a timeout of its own.

Tyler Skworchinski (Marathon, Ont.) nearly tied the game with less than a minute left in the contest, but Stalock sent the puck away without incident.

Matt Greer put the game out of reach at the 19:21 mark with an empty-netter to seal a sweep for the Bulldogs.

UMD finished with a 29-25 shot advantage in the game.

Nolan made 24 saves for the Huskies, while Stalock stopped 22 shots for the Bulldogs.

Michigan Tech plays its first-ever two-game series against Bemidji State next Friday (Jan. 12) and Saturday (Jan. 13) at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.