OMAHA, Neb. (UND Athletics)– A night ago, goaltender Simon Latkoczy stole the show with 40 saves and tonight, it was the guy on the other end who took centerstage, as Drew DeRidder stopped 24-of-25 to help North Dakota defeat No. 17 Omaha, 3-1, on Saturday night from Baxter Arena in Omaha.
DeRidder put together yet another solid performance between the pipes, improving to 4-1-1 this season against the Mavericks with his 24-save performance. The fifth year once again held his opponent without a goal at even strength, marking the eighth time over the last 14 games doing so.
UND (17-14-6) grabbed an early 1-0 lead just past the midway point of the first period, as Jackson Blake cut to the middle of the slot and wired home his 16th goal of the season to give the visitors its first advantage of the series.
Omaha (19-14-3), who controlled most of the play through the opening portion of the stanza, knotted it at 1-1 just 2:23 later on a power play goal to send the game to the locker room even after 20 minutes.
Late in the second, it was UND’s turn to strike with the man advantage, with Tyler Kleven firing home a great feed from Louis Jamernik V to give the green and white a 2-1 lead. The goal was only the third on the power play for NoDak since Feb. 18 and the fifth of the season for Kleven.
DeRidder kept the Fighting Hawks ahead throughout the final 23 minutes following the goal, turning aside multiple chances in the dying moments of the middle stanza before making five saves in the third period to preserve the win.
Dylan James sealed the victory, using his speed to force a turnover at the blueline, winning a race to the puck and depositing into the empty net for his sixth point in six career games against Omaha.
North Dakota and Omaha will play for the right to advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff on Sunday night at 6:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena. Fans can catch the game on Midco Sports or listen on the Home of Economy Radio Network through the iHeart app.
Postgame Notes
- The team that scores first is 25-1-1 in the last 27 games of this series
- UND improves to 3-1-0 in non-NCAA Tournament elimination games since 2013-14
- The win was the first road playoff win for UND since Mar. 11, 1995 at St. Cloud State
- Dylan James now has six points (3G, 3A) in six career games against Omaha
- UND has allowed just 20 goals at even strength over the last 14 games
- The Hawks are 3-1-2 in their last six games when scoring under four goals after starting 1-12-3
- UND had killed 20 straight penalties prior to Omaha’s power play goal in the first period
- Riese Gaber played in his 100th career game tonight
- Tyler Kleven scored his first goal since Jan. 27 at Miami and his seventh of the year
- UND went 1-for-3 on the power play while Omaha was 1-for-5
- Louis Jamernik V dished out a pair of assists for the second time in his career (Oct. 7, 2022 vs. Holy Cross)
- Omaha won the faceoff battle, 31-27, with Jake Schmaltz pacing UND at 11-11
How It Happened First Period 10:01 | UND – Jackson Blake snipes in his first of the postseason to give UND a 1-0 lead
12:24 | UNO – Joaquim Lemay answers back with a power play goal from the point to even it at 1-1
Second Period 16:37 | UND – Tyler Kleven fires home a power play goal on a pass from Jamernik V to restore the UND lead
Third Period 18:59 | UND – Dylan James seals the win with the empty netter to make it 3-1 NoDak
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 3/11/2023 10:35:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
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