OMAHA, Neb. (UND Athletics)– No. 3 North Dakota dropped a 3-2 decision to No. 16/17 Omaha on Friday night from Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb.
UND (24-9-2, 15-7-1 NCHC), who has already locked up both the Penrose Cup and No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCHC postseason, was looking to play spoiler, but Omaha (19-10-4, 12-8-3) captures a big three points to remain alive for the final home ice spot in the NCHC Quarterfinals heading into tomorrow’s final day of the regular season.
Omaha’s Simon Latkoczy was tested through the final 20 minutes, as UND exploded for a 14-4 shot advantage in the final frame, but the goaltender stopped all 14 shots fired his way to keep the Mavericks in front by a goal and secure the victory.
After the Mavericks jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal from Jacob Guevin near the halfway point of the first, UND answered back a few minutes later with the man advantage. Former Maverick Cameron Berg wired home his 20th goal of the season in his first game back at Baxter Arena to even the contest at 1-1 after the opening 20 minutes.
UND looked to build some momentum in the middle stanza after drawing a pair of penalties to give the visitors a 5-on-3 advantage for over 90 seconds; however, the Mavericks killed off both penalties and took control of the contest by striking for a pair of goals in a 1:16 span to quickly grab a 3-1 advantage.
Logan Britt pulled the Fighting Hawks within a goal shortly after the quick strikes by the hosts, skating behind the net and banking a shot off the goaltender and in, but that was as close as UND would get with Omaha holding onto the 3-2 victory.
North Dakota will look to close the regular season with a victory tomorrow night at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena on Midco Sports Two, NCHC.tv and the Home of Economy Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- UND remains at No. 3 in the Pairwise Rankings heading into the final day of the regular season
- Cameron Berg scored his 20th goal of the season, becoming the second player since 2017 to reach 20
- Berg has 18 goals in his last 23 games, including nine on the power play
- Jackson Blake recorded an assist to hold the NCHC’s conference scoring record with 36 points
- Blake also extended his point streak to six straight games and has 25 points in his last 13 games
- The team that has scored first in the series has won 27 of the last 31 games
- Ludvig Persson finished with 20 saves on 23 shots against
- UND went 1-for-4 on the power play while Omaha was 0-for-2
- The Hawks have now killed 14 straight penalties since Feb. 16
- Jake Livanavage is just four points away from having the most points by a UND rookie defenseman since 1999-00
- UND blocked 11 shots, with Logan Britt leading the way with four
- Britt also scored his sixth goal of the season to pace all UND defensemen
- Abram Wiebe extended his point streak to four with an assist, a career long
- Omaha finished with a 27-19 faceoff advantage, with Louis Jamernik V pacing UND at 7-4
How It Happened
First Period
09:05 | UNO – Jacob Guevin fires a shot through traffic that gives Omaha a 1-0 lead
12:29 | UND – Cameron Berg ties the game at 1-1 with a power play goal
Second Period
10:11 | UNO – Tanner Ludtke restores the UNO lead on a shot off the rush
11:27 | UNO – Victor Mancini doubles the advantage with a snipe from the slot
12:49 | UND – Logan Britt banks a shot off the goaltender and in to cut the deficit to 3-2
Third Period
No scoring
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 3/8/2024 10:29:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
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