GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- It was difficult to tell Saturday what was colder, the morning temperature in Grand Forks (minus 31 below zero) or the play on the ice Saturday afternoon of the University of North Dakota hockey team.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team put the Fighting Hawks in the offensive deep freeze at Ralph Engelstad Arena, skating away with a 2-0 victory, the program's first win over a UND team in 11 tries over the years in exhibition action.

Goals by Rutger McGroarty (Michigan commit) in the second period and by Minnesota Duluth commit Isaac Howard on a 2-on-1 rush in the third period were all the offense the U-18s needed to beat a UND team which mustered just 17 shots on goal.

That left little to cheer for an announced crowd of 10,291, as the Fighting Hawks got the 2022 part of the season off to a slumbering start.

"It wasn't the result we wanted,'' UND forward Riese Gaber said."Very disappointed. Got to give them a little credit. They played very well and they're a fast team.''

While the game doesn't count on the record of UND, the U.S. National Under-18 Team boosted its resume with wins over college teams Michigan State, Notre Dame, Michigan Tech, Wisconsin, Boston University and now UND among its victims. The USNTDP, with every player in its lineup a college commitment, is now 10-4 against NCAA Division I teams this season.

"I don't think we brought our 'A' game,'' said Gaber, as the Fighting Hawks prepare to resume play that counts this weekend with a non-conference series against ECAC power Cornell next Friday and Saturday. Cornell is in first place in the ECAC while UND (13-6-0 overall), leads the NCHC and is ranked fifth nationally in the Pairwise Rankings. "I think they were a little hungrier than us.''

Freshman goalie Jacob Hellsten, from Sweden, made his second start of the season and played well, stopping 16 shots as veteran UND goalie Zach Driscoll was held out.. Tyler Muszelik (New Hampshire commit), had 17 saves in his shutout.

"We know what it takes to bring our 'A' game,'' Gaber said. "We've done it all first half. I'm confident in our group that we're going to have a good week of practice and we're going to be ready to go (against Cornell) on Friday night.''

The sluggish performance didn't suit UND coach Brad Berry well, either. "We weren't sharp,'' he said. "We didn't execute the way we wanted.''

UND played without key defenseman Jake Sanderson, who spent some delayed Christmas time with family after the World Junior tournament he was played in was canceled due to COVID-19. He'll be back to join the Fighting Hawks on Monday when practice resumes, Berry said. 

Berry was pleased with the play of Hellsten. "I thought he was sharp, and you couldn't fault him on any of the goals he let in,'' Berry said. 

It was the first time in 11 meetings UND has lost to a USNTDP team. "For the most part, when we have played the USA team, we have been sharp, or sharper, and got the result we wanted,'' Berry said.  "Tonight we didn't.''

NOTES: Prior to the game, former UND coach Dean Blais was honored on the ice for his recent induction into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. He was head coach of two UND teams (1997 and 2000) that won NCAA championships . . . Seven UND players had two shots on goal each (Brady Ferner, Chris Jandric, Jake Schmaltz, Matteo Costantini, Nick Portz, Judd Caulfield and Gaber) to account for 14 of UND's 17 shots on goal . . . Named three stars by the media were McGroarty, Muselik and Frank Nazar III, in that order . . . UND was 0-4 on the power play with 6 shots on goal, USA 0-1 with 0 shots . . . McGroarty (5) and Logan Cooley (3) led USA in shots on goal . . . Connor Ford won 14 of the 20 faceoffs he took to lead UND to a 28-18 edge in that category . . . Being it was an exhibition game, UND dressed Jackson Kunz, Dane Montgomery and Ferner as spare players and all of them some action . . . Grand Forks native and UND commit Cole Spicer , age 17, was announced in the starting lineup at center for Team USA. He was credited with one blocked shot but registered no shots on goal, or penalties. He has 8 goals and 18 points in 29 games for the Under-18 team.