With the win, UND (18-14-6) advances to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff for the ninth time in 10 years and will play St. Cloud State in the semifinals from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. on Friday night.
Griffin Ness broke a 2-2 deadlock at the 14:46 mark of the final stanza with his fifth goal of the season, sliding a puck through the legs of goaltender Simon Latkoczy to give the Fighting Hawks their first lead of the night.
Moments later, Tyler Kleven broke up a play in the neutral zone and took it end-to-end before wiring it past the glove hand of Latkoczy to double the advantage before Gavin Hain capped off the offensive onslaught just 17 seconds later on a rebound from a Judd Caulfield rush to make it 5-2 in favor of the visitors.
Drew DeRidder only needed to make 12 saves but stopped all three fired his way in the third period to preserve the victory and send UND into the semifinals.
North Dakota had a chance to grab momentum early, drawing a pair of minor penalties for a 5-on-3 advantage for two minutes; however, it was Omaha who took control with a strong kill and striking just moments later to take a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
Special teams dominated the second period, with both sides earning multiple power play opportunities. UND was the first to strike with the man advantage, as Gavin Hain threaded a beautiful pass to Jake Schmaltz for the sophomore’s fifth goal of the season to knot the game at 1-1 just 2:36 into the stanza.
After Omaha struck back near the midway point of the second, Dylan James showed off his speed again with his first-career shorthanded goal in the final minute of the period to tie the game at 2-2 after 40 minutes of play.
In the third, NoDak exploded for a trio of goals to complete the rally and notch the 5-2 victory.
North Dakota will play St. Cloud State on Friday, Mar. 17 from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, with the game time to be announced on Monday by the league office.
Postgame Notes
- The team that scores first is now 25-2-1 in the last 28 games of this series
- UND improves to 4-1-0 in non-NCAA Tournament elimination games since 2013-14
- The win was the first road playoff series win for UND since Mar. 10-11, 1995 at St. Cloud State
- Dylan James now has seven points (4G, 3A) in seven career games against Omaha
- UND has won 10 straight game 3’s and improves to 12-2-0 since 1987-88
- James also scored his first shorthanded goal of his career and third of the season for UND
- Tyler Kleven now has goals in back-to-back games
- UND advances to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff for the ninth time in 10 years
- North Dakota finished with a 36-14 shot advantage
- UND won the faceoff battle, 27-22, with Louis Jamernik V going 8-2 to lead the visitors
How It Happened
First Period
14:14 | UNO – Jimmy Glynn gives Omaha the lead on a deflection in front following a strong penalty kill
Second Period
2:36 | UND – Jake Schmaltz ties the game at 1-1 with a power play goal on a great feed from Gavin Hain
12:04 | UNO – Cameron Berg gets free in the slot and restores Omaha’s lead at 2-1
19:31 | UND – Dylan James speeds by everyone and beats Latkoczy for the shorthanded goal and a 2-2 game
Third Period
14:46 | UND – Griffin Ness slides a puck through the legs of the goaltender to give UND a 3-2 lead
16:11 | UND – Tyler Kleven wires home his second goal in as many nights to double the advantage
16:28 | UND – Gavin Hain makes it 5-2 just 17 seconds later on a rebound attempt in front
For more information on North Dakota hockey, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmhockey.
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 3/12/2023 9:39:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
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