GRAND FORKS, N.D. – No. 2/3 North Dakota opened up postseason play with a 5-3 victory over Omaha on Friday night from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
The win gives UND (26-8-1) a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three NCHC Frozen Faceoff Quarterfinals and extends the program’s home postseason winning streak to 17 straight games.
Despite missing two key regulars in the lineup due to illness, it was the depth that rose to the top again as eight different forwards and two defensemen potted at least one point in the win. Freshmen forwards Jack Kernan (1G, 2A) and Ollie Josephson (1G, 2A) each tallied a trio of points while sophomore forward Cade Littler (1G, 1A) was the third Fighting Hawk with multiple points to pace the offensive attack.
Dalton Andrew (1) and Mac Swanson (9) were the other two Hawks to find the back of the net while rookie netminder Jan Špunar bounced back from a tough first period and finished with 17 saves on 20 shots to notch his first postseason win as a collegian and improve to 17-3-1 on the season.
NoDak jumped out to a quick start on the power play, as Littler tipped home a shot from Kernan to give the hosts a 1-0 lead just over seven minutes into the period. After the goal, however, it was Omaha (12-23-0) who seemed to have the better play, as the Mavericks answered with a pair of tallies just 1:31 apart to take a 2-1 lead after one.
The intermission seemed to awaken the Hawks, with the green and white exploding for four goals in the second period to flip the game and grab a 5-2 advantage.
Kernan got it started in the early moments of the frame, as the rookie got his stick on a shot from Bennett Zmolek to score his ninth of the season and knot the contest at 2-2. Just under two minutes later, Andrew, playing in his first game in nearly two months, drove hard to the net and fired a shot that trickled over the goaltender’s pad and into the net for his first goal of the season and a 3-2 NoDak lead.
Josephson got in on the action as well, as he had Tyler Young’s centering pass legally deflect off his skate and in for his sixth of the season to make it 4-2 UND just over five minutes into the middle stanza.
Swanson capped off the dominant period for UND with a power play goal off a slick feed from Kernan to pot his ninth of the year and send the hosts into the locker room with a 5-2 cushion after 40 minutes.
Omaha pulled one back in the third period but could not get any closer as UND closed out the 5-3 victory.
North Dakota will go for the series sweep and will look to advance to the Frozen Faceoff Semifinals with a win on Saturday night at 6:07 p.m.
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