courtesy from UND Athletics via Ashley Huss WMU Athletics
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (UND Athletics)– No. 4 Western Michigan held off a late charge from No. 18 North Dakota to grab a 6-4 victory and claim the program’s first Penrose Cup on Friday night from Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich.
The loss, coupled with Denver’s win over St. Cloud State, drops UND (17-13-2, 12-8-1 NCHC) into fifth place in the league standings, but remain just one point behind Omaha for fourth and two points behind Denver for third place with three contests remaining.
The Fighting Hawks overcame an early two-goal deficit, pulling even after an early pair of Western Michigan (24-6-1, 17-3-1 NCHC) in the first period, but the Broncos broke a 2-2 deadlock late in the second period before the teams traded five goals over the final 20 minutes to give WMU the 6-4 victory.
Dylan James (12), Carter Wilkie (7), Sacha Boisvert (13) and Jake Schmaltz (6) all found the back of the net for the visitors while goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter stopped 27 shots to suffer only his second loss in the month of February.
North Dakota will look to salvage a series split on Saturday night at 5:07 p.m. (CT). Fans can watch the game on NCHC.tv or listen on the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- All healthy skaters were dressed for UND, as five players missed the game due to injury
- North Dakota drops to fifth in the NCHC standings with 37 points
- The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for UND
- UND drops to 7-8-1 this season on Friday night and 1-5-1 since the calendar flipped to 2025
- Sacha Boisvert scored for the third straight game to give him 13 goals on the season
- UND went 1-for-4 on the power play while WMU was 2-for-4
- The Hawks allowed multiple power play goals for the first time since Jan. 18 vs. WMU
- Owen McLaughlin dished out an assist to give him six points over his last two games
- Jackson Kunz had two assists for his second multi-point game of the year (Oct. 25 vs. BU)
- Carter Wilkie scored a goal to give him eight points in his last eight games and five in his last three
- NoDak dropped to 7-3-1 this year in road conference games
- Dylan James scored his 12th goal of the season and has 13 points in the last 14 games
- The Hawks are 3-2-1 this year in the black uniforms, losing for the first time since Nov. 2 at Cornell
- Ben Strinden notched an assist to give him six points over his last eight games
- UND falls to 30-15-1 all-time against Western Michigan and has lost three straight
- Faceoffs were 36-27 WMU, with Jake Schmaltz leading the way at 11-11
How It Happened
First Period
05:44 | WMU – Matteo Costantini (6, PP) from Owen Michaels (12) and Alex Bump (20)
06:09 | WMU – Grant Slukynsky (6) from Zach Nehring (12) and Brian Kramer (10)
18:49 | UND – Dylan James (12) from Jake Schmaltz (8) and Jackson Kunz (4)
Second Period
10:44 | UND – Carter Wilkie (7) from Ben Strinden (6)
16:42 | WMU – Bump (16, PP) from Joona Vaisanen (16) and Michaels (13)
Third Period
08:55 | WMU – Iiro Hakkarainen (9) from Tristan Lemyre (7) and Tim Washe (13)
11:06 | UND – Sacha Boisvert (13) from Louis Jamernik V (6) and Kunz (5)
16:24 | WMU – Washe (10) from Hakkarainen (11) and Vaisanen (17)
17:43 | UND – Schmaltz (6, PP, EA) from Cameron Berg (8) and Owen McLaughlin (19)
18:22 | WMU – Samuel Sjolund (3, EN) from Hampton Slukynsky (1)
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
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