GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- There's a reason why the Ottawa Senators of the NHL made Jacob Bernard-Docker their first-round draft pick in 2019, the 26th player chosen overall from around the world in that draft.

Bernard-Docker put his outstanding overall skills on full display Friday night at Ralph Engelstad Arena, figuring in on three of North Dakota's four goals in a 4-1 victory over Nebraska-Omaha. That win moved UND a win away (or a St. Cloud State loss Saturday) from clinching its second straight Penrose Cup as National Collegiate Hockey Conference champions.
 
Bernard-Docker scored the first goal of the game on a screened shot from the point in the first period and added assists on Jackson Keane's goal in the second period and Jasper Weatherby's closing goal in the third to complete a three-point night for the defenseman from Canmore, Alberta.

His big night was one point shy of his career best at UND, a four-assist night against Canisius last season.

"I'm playing with some pretty good players out there,'' JBD said, mentioning fellow defensemen Matt Kiersted and Jake Sanderson specifically. "Those guys make my life pretty easy.''

Said UND head coach Brad Berry: "When Jacob Bernard-Docker is assertive on the ice, I don't know if there's a better 'd-man' in the country.''

He showed all of that to the 2,410 fans at The Ralph Friday.

He wristed in a point shot for his goal second goal of the season at 10:07 of the first period to put his team ahead to stay at 1-0, dangled through traffic to set up Keane for a rebound goal in the second period, then drew the first assist as Weatherby extended his streak of games with a goal of more to five, on the power play in the final period.

"I thought he had a really good game,'' Berry said of Bernard-Docker. "I thought it was probably one of his best all year.''

Keane's goal was his first of the season in 18 games and just his fourth in 65 career games. UND's other goal came from freshman defenseman Tyler Kleven, the Fargo product who blasted his fourth goal of the season in 14 games on a high slap shot from center point.

After a slow opening period, UND turned up its offense and clamped down on the Mavericks over the last two periods, outshooting UNO 31-11 over the final 40 minutes. Omaha's goal came on a shot wide of the net that kicked off the end boards out front on the opposite side of the net for Tyler Weiss to slap into an open goal.

Scheel, who missed last Saturday's win over Denver with a leg injury suffered at the end of Friday's win, didn't miss a beat in stopping 25 of the 26 shots he faced. He had14 in the opening period when the Mavs outshot North Dakota 14-10.

"He didn't miss a beat,'' Berry said of Scheel. "He had to make some tough saves in the first. He made some key saves at key times.''

UND increased its record at home over the last two seasons to 23-1 and has outscored opponents 21-4 at home this season through five games.

"Over the past couple years we have established an identity here at home,'' Berry said.

And a chance to hoist the Penrose Cup in front of home fans Saturday night is big incentive, Berry said.
 
"It's going to be a hard-fought battle, we know that,'' he said. "We're probably going to have to play our best game to get a win tomorrow. ''

Berry noted that Omaha has won all five back-ends of NCHC series' this season.
 
UND ranked 1/2 in two national polls, improved to 16-4-1 overall while dropping the Mavericks to 13-8-1.

Game notes:
* JBD, Scheel and Keane were named the three stars of the game by the media, in that order
* Shane Pinto had his six-game goal-scoring streak snapped. He had 9 goals and 2 assists in his previous 6 games.
* UND's 6-3 loss to Omaha at REA last season was UND's only blemish at home over the last two seasons.
* UND's 41 shots on goal is the second highest this season, trailing only the 47 the Fighting Hawks had in a 5-4 loss at Omaha on Jan. 30.
* Weatherby led UND in shots on goal with 7, followed by Sanderson with 5 and Keane and Gavin Hain with 4.
* Pinto, who leads the NCHC in faceoff wins, won 13 of 20 draws against Omaha.
*UND improved to 15-0-0 when it scores first.
*North Dakota would clinch at least a share of the NCHC's Penrose Cup before tomorrow's game if St. Cloud State loses or ties vs. Colorado College Saturday at noon. If SCSU wins, UND could still clinch at least a share with a win over Omaha Saturday. 
*Weatherby has now scored in five straight games (six goals in that span). 
 
 Virg Foss covered UND hockey for 35 seasons for the Grand Forks Herald, including 5 NCAA title teams, before his retirement. Since his retirement, he's written about UND hockey games exclusively for FightingHawks.com. This marks his 51st  season since he began covering UND hockey in 1969.