GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Jared Wright broke a 2-2 tie with his first-career goal in the third period to help No. 2 Denver defeat No. 12/13 North Dakota, 3-2, on Friday night from Ralph Engelstad Arena.
UND (4-4-2, 1-1-1 NCHC) rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the final stanza on a power play goal from Chris Jandric (2) just 33 seconds into the frame, but Denver (8-3-0, 4-1-0 NCHC) broke the deadlock on a rebound tally from Wright to hand the Pioneers only their third win in Grand Forks over the last 20 contests.
Both teams had plenty of opportunities on the man advantage, with Denver finishing 0-for-6 and North Dakota going 1-for-5. The Pios had 1:47 of 5-on-3 power play time in the first two minutes of the game, but the Fighting Hawks were up to the task to keep the game scoreless.
Moments later, however, Carter King found a puck in the slot and wired it over the shoulder of Drew DeRidder to put the visitors in front, 1-0, just beyond the five-minute mark of the opening period.
UND tied the game at 1-1 late in the first, when Ryan Sidorski tracked down a loose puck behind the net and centered to Griffin Ness for his first goal of the season and a knotted contest after 20 minutes.
Denver took a 2-1 lead in the second period to head into the final stanza with an advantage, but Jandric's power play tally just 33 seconds into the third evened it up at 2-2. Exactly six minutes later, Wright hopped on a rebound and slid a puck through DeRidder for his first-career goal and a 3-2 DU advantage.
North Dakota threw everything at the net in the final moments but could not beat goaltender Magnus Chrona as the Pios held on for the 3-2 victory.
The two teams will close out the weekend series on Saturday night at 6:07 p.m. from Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Postgame Notes
- UND finished with a 23-19 shot advantage
- Chris Jandric extended his team lead in points to 13 with a goal
- Riese Gaber also pushed his point streak to a career-high eight games with an assist
- UND has now scored a power play goal in every game this season
- Dylan James notched an assist on UND's first goal, making it points in two straight games
- Drew DeRidder finished with 16 saves on 19 shots
- The Pioneers snapped a six-game losing streak to North Dakota with the win
- Denver improves to 3-15-2 over the last 20 games played vs. UND at Ralph Engelstad Arena
- UND went 38-22 in the faceoff dot, with Jake Schmaltz going 18-10 to pace the hosts
- The Hawks drop to 0-4-1 this season when scoring fewer than four goals
How It Happened
First Period
5:09 | DU – Carter King opens the scoring with a shot from the slot over DeRidder's shoulder
17:01 | UND – Griffin Ness buries a centering pass from Ryan Sidorski for his first goal of the season and a 1-1 tie
Second Period
2:17 | DU – Aidan Thompson restores the Denver lead with his first-career goal on a quick shot
Third Period
0:33 | UND – Chris Jandric snaps a shot from the point on the power play to tie the game at 2-2 early in the third
6:33 | DU – Jared Wright breaks the tie with his first-career goal on a rebound to give DU a 3-2 lead
For more information on North Dakota hockey, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmhockey.
