COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Following Friday night's 5-2 win over Colorado College, North Dakota head coach Brad Berry made it quite clear he wanted his squad to avoid penalty trouble the following night.

That wasn't quite how it played out in Saturday's series finale, but top-ranked UND managed to remain unbeaten anyway.

Freshmen Shane Gersich and Christian Wolanin scored the goals -- meaning freshmen scored all seven UND goals on the weekend -- and Matt Hrynkiw stopped 29 shots as UND left town with a 2-0 win and series sweep.

But penalties were an obstacle for UND to overcome once again. UND only took six penalties in the game, but three of the game came late in the second period and included a 5-minute major and game misconduct by scoring leader Drake Caggiula. That particular penalty procession provided the Tigers with five-and-a-half minutes of power play time to close out the period.

UND's penalty killers, however, answered the bell.

The Tigers could only manage two shots on goal during that five-and-a-half minute sequence, and just three power-play shots total in a second period in which they enjoyed 6:41 with the man advantage.

“It wasn't our sharpest weekend as a team but I thought it was a weekend where we grew a little as a team on the road,” said Berry. “We took a bunch of penalties and again we came through it, but we've got to learn from that.

“It's so tough to sweep in the NCHC, let alone on the road. So I was extremely proud of how they battled. And tonight was a battle.”

UND improved to 6-0-2 on the season, its longest unbeaten streak to open a season since the 1999-2000 national champions started 8-0-1.

Hrynkiw was a key figure in holding the Tigers at bay, particularly while UND was shorthanded. The junior made 14 saves in the second period and eight in the third period, including stops on Grade A chances by Trevor Gooch, Sam Rothstein and Luc Gerdes.

In all, it was a 27-save shutout for Hrynkiw who stayed unbeaten at 5-0-1.

“It was definitely a tougher game than last night” said Hrynkiw. “They brought a chippier attitude and really tried to slow down the flow of the game. Our team just stuck with it. We battled through some penalty trouble and ultimately got the win.”

CC netminder Tyler Marble made 40 saves at the other end of the ice, but was done in by a pair of 5-hole goals.

First it was freshman defenseman Wolanin who the threw the puck on goal from the top of the right circle, and the puck snuck through the pads of Marble for a 1-0 UND lead at 8:30 of the first period. Then Gersich made it 2-0 midway through the second period, taking advantage of a CC turnover at the Tigers' blue line. Gersich skated in on a 2-on-1 and snapped the puck between Marble's legs for his second goal of the series.

Hrynkiw and the penalty killers did the heavy lifting the rest of the way, as UND improved to 6-0-2 overall and 2-0 in the NCHC.

After opening the season with six of seven games on the road, UND now returns home to host Wisconsin (Nov. 6-7) and Miami (Nov. 13-14).

“It'd be nice to get back in the 'Ralph' again,” said Berry. “I know my wife and kids will be happy about that. This first extended road trip was good for our guys. We had a lot of young guys come into our family and it was a great chance to bond together.”

Notes: Attendance was 4,032 ... Hrynkiw, Gersich and Marble were named the game's three stars ... Berry joined Rube Bjorkman (7-0-1 in 1968-69) as the only UND head coaches to begin their career unbeaten through eight games ... Senior forward Bryn Chyzyk had his career-best 5-game point streak come to an end.