GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The time when moral victories were a good thing for Colorado College hockey is past.

The Tigers are headed home with another frustrating loss after they fell 5-3 at No. 2 North Dakota on Saturday, although they scored with an extra attacker to put the outcome of the game in doubt until the final seconds.

Coming close is no longer good enough, CC coach Mike Haviland said.

“We need to find ways to get over that hump,” he said. “We’re close but it is time to get wins. We have 10 (regular-season) games left with (seven) at home. It’s time to start making some noise.”

But the North Dakota seniors kept the eighth-place Tigers (5-16-1, 1-11-1 National Collegiate Hockey Conference) from doing so before a sellout crowd of 11,860 fans at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

North Dakota’s Mark MacMIllan added to his personal highlight collection against CC with 2:41 left in the second period. He recorded his seventh goal – out of his 13 this season – against the Tigers when he entered the CC slot undefended and one-timed a pass by senior Michael Parks to put UND ahead 3-2.

“That was a big one for them,” Haviland said. “You have to get out of that period with a tie. We missed a defensive assignment in the slot and they took advantage.”

That said, the Tigers did enough good things well. CC used effective screens in front of UND junior goalie Zane McIntyre (25 saves) for all three goals.

Senior defenseman Aaron Harstad fired a shot that found its way through traffic and made it 4-3 with 1:53 left. An empty-netter for UND’s Drake Caggiula with 27 ticks remaining dashed CC’s hopes.

“We need to find a way to win these winnable games,” Harstad said.

Junior Bryn Chyzyk’s shot clanged in off the cross bar for a 4-2 lead midway through the third for what proved to be the game-winner.

“Every win is critical and all of them are going to be as close as this was tonight,” UND coach Dave Hakstol said.

The Tigers power play surged to life to forge a 2-2 tie through the first 20 minutes. CC senior Charlie Taft batted in a rebound off a hard shot by Peter Stoykewych to tie the game at 1-1 with 7:19 remaining in the first.

CC answered a Stephane Pattyn goal on its next power play to set up the decisive second and third periods.

Tigers freshman Teemu Kivihalme ripped a shot that glanced in off CC senior Scott Wamsganz’s left shin pad to tie the game at 2-2.

The sweep for North Dakota (18-5-2, 9-4-1 NCHC) sets up a possible return to No. 1 in the national rankings after Minnesota State’s 3-1 loss to Bemidji State earlier Saturday.

UND took advantage of its first power-play chance when defenseman Luke Johnson ripped a wrister that a partially screened CC goalie Tyler Marble (30 saves) could not stop.