GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics)– No. 3 North Dakota moved one step closer to its sixth Penrose Cup on Friday night with a 5-3 victory over No. 12/11 Western Michigan from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
UND’s (23-8-2, 14-6-1 NCHC) win coupled with a Denver victory over St. Cloud State moves the Fighting Hawks six points ahead of the Huskies for first place in the league standings and gives the hosts a chance to win the regular season title with a regulation victory in the series finale.
Depth was on full display in the victory for the green and white, with all four of the forward lines notching at least a goal and 12 players notching at least a point. Sophomore forward Jackson Blake continued his torrid pace with a pair of assists to move within two points of breaking the NCHC scoring record with 34 points in just 21 league games.
Goaltender Ludvig Persson was at his best once again, stopping 34-of-37 shots fired his way to improve to 20-8-2 on the campaign. The Swede was forced into action in all three periods, as the Fighting Hawks were outshot by a 37-17 margin, including 11-2 over the final 20 minutes.
Much like it has done often at home this season, North Dakota jumped out to an early lead as Blake sprung Owen McLaughlin on a breakaway for the sophomore to bury his 11th goal of the season to give UND a 1-0 lead just 1:50 into the contest.
After killing a penalty, NoDak got right back to work on the offensive end with Jackson Kunz collecting a loose puck in the crease and potting his second tally in the last two games while falling to the ice to double the UND lead just beyond the midway point of the opening stanza.
Western Michigan (18-12-1, 9-12-0 NCHC) cut the lead to one heading into the first intermission, but a pair of goals in the middle stanza by the hosts flipped the momentum right back towards UND. Louis Jamernik V struck just 1:26 into the second after blowing by the defender and tucking a backhander over the goaltender’s pads for his seventh of the season and a 3-1 NoDak advantage before Carson Albrecht increased the lead to 4-1 by burying a rebound off a Hunter Johannes shot at the end of 40 minutes.
The Broncos pushed for the equalizer in the third, cutting the lead to 4-3 with a pair of goals in a 1:33 span, but Persson and the rest of the Fighting Hawks were able to hold off the late charge while Cameron Berg salted away the win with an empty netter to seal the 5-3 victory.
North Dakota will go for the series sweep over Western Michigan on Saturday night at 6:07 p.m. from the Ralph. The contest will air on Midco Sports Two, NCHC.tv and the Home of Economy Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- UND improves to 29-12-1 all-time against Western Michigan and 13-6-0 in Grand Forks
- North Dakota moves within three points of winning its sixth Penrose Cup in the last 11 years
- Jackson Blake dished out two assists to give him 49 points this season and 91 for his career
- Blake moves into fourth nationally in points and first in the NCHC
- The sophomore is also just two points away from breaking the NCHC scoring record of 33
- Jackson Kunz has goals in back-to-back games and a three-game point streak
- The junior also has points in six of his last eight games
- Dylan James recorded an assist to give him six points in his last eight games
- UND blocked 26 shots, with Dylan James and Bennett Zmolek each blocking five
- Cameron Berg has 12 goals over his last 15 games and 19 on the season
- Ludvig Persson matched his season high of 34 saves
- The senior also tallied his third assist of the season
- UND is now 17-0-0 this season when leading after two
- The Hawks are also 19-5-1 when scoring first and 14-1-0 when going ahead 2-0
- Both teams finished 0-for-3 on the power play
- UND has killed 10 straight penalties dating back to Feb. 17 at Colorado College
- NoDak is 18-1-0 this season when scoring at least four goals
- WMU held a 30-29 faceoff advantage, with Louis Jamernik V going 6-2 for UND
How It Happened
First Period
01:50 | UND – Owen McLaughlin opens the scoring with a breakaway tally
12:08 | UND – Jackson Kunz buries a rebound in the crease to increase the lead to 2-0
14:13 | WMU – Samuel Sjolund gets the Broncos on the board with a goal off a deflection
Second Period
01:26 | UND – Louis Jamernik V blows by the defense and tucks in the breakaway goal to make it 3-1
14:12 | UND – Carson Albrecht pots home the rebound to increase the advantage to 4-1
Third Period
12:07 | WMU – Daniel Hilsendager gets his first goal of the season on a rebound to cut the lead to 4-2
13:40 | WMU – Matteo Costantini trims the advantage to 4-3 with a breakaway tally
17:47 | UND – Cameron Berg hits the empty net to seal the 5-3 victory
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 3/1/2024 11:48:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
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