2024-01-28 04:08:40
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND ATHLETICS)– No. 5 North Dakota battled back for a 4-2 victory over No. 5 Denver to secure a series sweep on Saturday night from a sold-out Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
After UND (18-6-2, 9-4-1 NCHC) held the Pioneers (17-7-2, 8-5-1 NCHC) to under three goals for the first time all season on Friday night, the Fighting Hawks once again stymied the nation’s leading scoring offense to notch the weekend sweep and a big six points in the conference standings.
With the game deadlocked at 2-2 in the third period, Denver’s Sean Behrens was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for a high hit on Ben Strindenand NoDak took full advantage of the power play with a pair of goals from Owen McLaughlin and Riese Gaber just 45 seconds apart to give UND a 4-2 lead.
Goaltender Ludvig Persson held down the fort for the remainder of the game, finishing with 22 saves on 24 shots against to become the first goalie to defeat Denver multiple times this season and hand the Pioneers their first loss on a Saturday night.
Denver jumped out to a 1-0 lead early in the first period, when Jared Wright was able to deposit his own rebound on a partial break to give the visitors the advantage just 1:46 into the contest. NoDak was able to rally back on the power play late in the frame, as Cameron Berg made it goals in five straight games with a snipe from the top of the circle to even the game at 1-1 after 20 minutes.
After Sam Harris gave DU the lead back on a slick shot midway through the second, Jackson Kunzbroke free from the defense and cashed in his own rebound on the breakaway to knot the contest at 2-2 with his third tally of the season and send the game into the third tied.
In the third, UND struck twice on a major power play just 45 seconds apart, with McLaughlin sniping home his ninth of the season from the left circle before Gaber followed with a shot from the right circle to cash-in his 13th of the year and give the Fighting Hawks the 4-2 lead.
Denver pushed over the final four minutes for the equalizer, but Persson and the defense held strong to secure the weekend sweep with the 4-2 victory.
North Dakota hits the road for a showdown with Miami next weekend beginning on Friday night at 6:05 p.m. (CT) from Oxford, Ohio.
Postgame Notes
- UND jumps to second in the Pairwise Rankings following the sweep
- NoDak also sits four points ahead of St. Cloud State in the NCHC standings with 32 points
- The sweep is UND’s first over Denver since Nov. 5-6, 2021 in Grand Forks
- The Hawks finish the regular season series with a 3-1-0 record against DU
- UND extended its regulation unbeaten streak to 19 games, the third-longest in school history
- Jackson Blake recorded a pair of assists to extend his point streak to eight games
- The sophomore also has 12 points over that span
- Cameron Berg scored for the fifth straight game, giving him nine points in the last eight games
- Jake Livanavage also recorded a pair of assists to give him three points on the weekend
- Owen McLaughlin has multiple points in five of his last eight games, notching three points tonight
- The sophomore also has five games this season with three points
- UND blocked 13 shots on the night, with Bennett Zmolek leading with four
- NoDak held DU’s top line to just one point on the weekend
- The Hawks went 3-for-4 on the power play while DU was 0-for-2
- UND is 11-for-23 since the calendar flipped to 2024 on the power play
- McLaughlin, Jackson Kunz and Livanavage were named the game’s three stars, in that order
- UND finished with a 35-21 faceoff advantage, with Cameron Berg going 14-8
How It Happened
First Period 01:46 | DU – Jared Wright opens the scoring with a rebound goal13:20 | AND – Cameron Berg ties the game at 1-1 with a snipe on the power play
Second Period 07:17 | DU – Sam Harris fires one over the shoulder of the goaltender to give DU a 2-1 lead13:25 | AND – Jackson Kunz pounces on his own rebound to even the game at 2-2
Third Period 12:01 | AND – Owen McLaughlin roofs a shot over the goaltender on the power play to give UND a 3-2 lead12:46 | AND – Riese Gaber follows up with a power play goal just 45 seconds later to make it 4-2 UND
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