GRAND FORKS, N.D. – If history indeed repeats itself, Brock Boeser added another chapter to his book of glittering accomplishments as a hockey player tonight.

Boeser's 3-goal hat trick sparked the University of North Dakota to a 5-2 non-conference victory over Bemidji State in the home opener for UND in front of a sellout of 11,888 at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Boeser became the first UND freshman with a hat trick since T.J. Oshie came out of Warroad High School to post a hat trick in a 5-1 win over the same Beavers on Dec. 17, 2005.

Oshie has gone on to great success on the elite stages of the National Hockey League and Olympic Games, marking the path for Boeser.

"All-around team effort,'' Boeser said. "I couldn't have done it without the guys on my line."

Besides the hat trick by Boeser, center Nick Schmaltz had two assists and left wing Drake Caggiula a goal and three assists. It was the first time those three have played together as a line.

A night after UND and Bemidji battled to a 4-4 overtime tie in Bemidji, two goals by Boeser and one by junior defenseman Troy Stecher snapped a 2-2 tie in the third period and lifted UND (2-0-2) to its second win of the season.

Stecher slid in from the point and somehow found an opening through four or five bodies piled in front of BSU goalie Michael Bitzer (25 saves) to bury his game-winner at 11:37 of the third period, putting UND ahead to stay at 3-2.

Boeser tapped in a rebound at 12:15 on a power play to make it 4-2, just seven seconds after Bemidji's Leo Fitzgerald drew a 5-minute major and game misconduct for contact to the head of Stecher.

Boeser completed his hat when Caggiula, who tied his career best with a 4-point game, dug a puck off the side wall and centered it to Boeser. The rookie from Burnsville, Minn., saw the puck bounce off his skate and into an empty net with BSU's goalie pulled to complete scoring at 18:40.

"We challenged our guys today,'' UND head coach Brad Berry said, after UND lost a pair of two goal-leads Friday night. "We set the bar high here.''

UND junior goalie Matt Hrynkiw, making his first career start because of a lower-body injury suffered by goalie Cam Johnson during Friday's game, allowed goals on two of the first four shots he faced. He then settled in to stop the next 15 to finish with 19 stops and get his first college win.

"I think I was more nervous yesterday than I was today,'' said Hrynkiw, who played the third period and overtime in Friday's game after Johnson's injury. "Definitely more comfortable coming out for warmup. I got to feel a few pucks, so that was nice.''

It was nice for UND, too, in having a goalie who hadn't seen a minute of varsity action as a starter in three seasons play quite well in his starting debut -- and help his team win.

"He came in and played big for us,'' Boeser said of Hrynkiw.

"I think it was incredible,'' Hrynkiw said of making a start in front of nearly 12,000 fans. "Just having that team I've been with for three years, and they're playing their hearts out, I just wanted to do my part the whole day. That's kind of what I've prepared for the last two years.''

Berry was pleased with Hrynkiw's performance as well.

"I thought he did an excellent job,'' Berry said. "He made some tough saves in the third, including a wrap-around, to keep us in the game. I'm really proud of the way he played. If anybody deserves it, it's him. Every workout, every practice, he's there. You kind of like to see those guys get an opportunity, and have success.''

Gerry Fitzgerald scored twice for the Beavers, at 5:23 and 14:07 of the first period, for a 2-2 tie after one period. After a scoreless second period, Stecher collected his first goal of the season and Boeser finished his hat trick to complete a strong third period for UND.

"You know what? Big-time players make big-time plays,'' Berry said, "and the line of Schmaltz, Boeser and Caggiula did a great job.''

UND notes: Caggiula led UND in shots on goal with eight, followed by defenseman Paul LaDue with 4 ... UND was 1-of-6 on the power play with eight total shots, Bemidji 0-2 with two shots ...  UND had a 35-29 edge in faceoff wins with Schmaltz winning 15 of 25 ... UND plays seven of its first eight games on the road to start this season.

Virg Foss covered UND hockey for the Grand Forks Herald for 35 seasons before his retirement. He's now in his 11th season of reporting on UND hockey exclusvely for UNDsports.com.