Ashley Huss, WMU Athletics via UND Athletics
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (UND Athletics)– Sophomore defenseman Jake Livanavage blasted home the winner at 3:19 of the overtime session to give No. 18 North Dakota a 4-3 win over No. 4 Western Michigan on Saturday night from Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich.
UND (18-13-2, 13-8-1 NCHC) had to rally back again, drawing the game level at 3-3 in the final minute of the third period on a goal from Sacha Boisvert before the freshman drew a power play opportunity in the overtime that led to Livanavage’s winner and a crucial two points in the NCHC standings.
Graduate student T.J. Semptimphelter kept the Fighting Hawks in the game, finishing with 33 saves on 36 shots against to earn the victory. The Marlton, N.J., native had to battle over all three periods, facing 11 shots in each of the stanzas during regulation before making three saves in the extra session to help NoDak grab a win.
Ben Strinden (8), Dylan James (13), Boisvert (14) and Livanavage (4) all found the back of the net in the win, with Livanavage also notching an assist for a multi-point game. Junior forward Owen McLaughlin also dished out another pair of helpers, both coming on the last two goals, to give him eight points (1G, 7A) over the last three games.
The opening minutes saw back-and-forth action, with both teams earning chances. The Fighting Hawks had a pair of breakaways, including one rifled off the post, but it was a shot from the point through traffic that gave WMU the lone goal of the stanza and a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Despite going over half of the second period without a shot on goal, UND made its first one count when Strinden wired home his eighth of the season off a faceoff win from Jake Schmaltz to knot the game at 1-1 before James turned his defender over and put it between the legs of the WMU goaltender to give the visitors a 2-1 lead after two.
WMU pushed hard for the equalizer and eventually broke through on a broken play when a loose puck fell in the slot to a Bronco forward and he tied the game at 2-2 with just over 11 minutes to play in regulation. The Broncos then took the lead minutes later, as Henricks got his second in as any many shifts to make it 3-2 in favor of the hosts.
In the final minute, Boisvert brought the contest level on a scramble in front of the net to pot UND’s seventh goal this season with an extra attacker and send the game into to overtime for the second time this season between the two teams.
Boisvert was the center of it in the extra session as well, drawing a penalty to give the Fighting Hawks a power play chance before clearing a puck off a shorthanded chance to help lead directly to the winner. Livanavage potted the game winner with just one second remaining on the man advantage, blasting home a shot from the top of the circle to give UND a 4-3 victory.
North Dakota will close out the regular season at home against Omaha beginning on Friday night at 6:36 p.m. on CBS Sports Network and the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- All healthy skaters were dressed once again for UND, as five players missed the game due to injury
- UND improves to 4-1-2 this season in overtime
- Jake Livanavage scored the first OT goal his career and first by a d-man since Ethan Frisch in Mar. 2023
- Sacha Boisvert potted his 14th goal of the season and has goals in four straight games
- Dylan James notched his 13th goal of the season and has 14 points in his last 15 games
- Owen McLaughlin dished out two helpers to give him eight points in his last three games
- T.J. Semptimphelter finished with 33 saves on 36 shots against
- WMU finished with a 36-18 shot advantage
- UND went 1-for-4 on the power play while WMU was 0-for-3
- The Hawks improve to 6-4-2 this season following a loss and 4-1-1 since 2025 began
- UND is also 9-1-1 in its last 11 games played on Saturday, having won five straight
- NoDak is 105-8-3 since 2018-19 when scoring at least four goals and 13-2-0 this season
- Carter Wilkie has nine points in his last nine games and six points over his last four
- The Hawks finished the conference season 8-3-1 on the road, trailing only the 2015-16 team
- UND improves to 4-2-1 this season in the black uniforms
- NoDak is now 7-4-0 this season in games decided by one goal
- The Hawks are 9-12-0 this year against ranked teams
- UND is 14-1-1 when leading after two periods this season
- Livanavage moves past Andy Schneider for the most points in two seasons by a defenseman this century
- UND blocked 14 shots
- The Hawks have seven goals this season with the extra attacker
- Ben Strinden scored a goal to give him seven points over his last nine games
- Jake Schmaltz extended his point streak to three games, matching his career long
- Faceoffs were 41-30 WMU, with Jake Schmaltz leading the way at 13-6
How It Happened
First Period
06:29 | WMU – Robby Drazner (5) from Tim Washe (14)
Second Period
13:04 | UND – Ben Strinden (8) from Jake Schmaltz (9)
18:11 | UND – Dylan James (13)
Third Period
08:31 | WMU – Ty Hendricks (4) from Samuel Sjolund (22) and Joona Vaisanen (18)
10:34 | WMU – Hendricks (5) from Brian Kramer (11) and Cam Knuble (7)
19:24 | UND – Sacha Boisvert (14, EA) from Owen McLaughlin (20) and Jake Livanavage (23)
Overtime
03:19 | UND – Livanavage (4, PP) from McLaughlin (21) and Carter Wilkie (8)
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
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