OMAHA, Neb. – Riese Gaber struck twice to help lead No. 10/11 North Dakota to a 4-1 victory over Omaha on Friday evening from Baxter Arena in Omaha.
UND (4-3-1, 1-0-0 NCHC) opened up its defense of three straight Penrose Cups with a dominating performance, striking three times in the second period and adding an insurance tally in the third to cruise to the 4-1 victory.
Gaber paced the offensive charge for the Fighting Hawks with a pair of goals, both coming at even strength, while Ethan Frisch added a power play goal and Jackson Kunz also found the back of the net in a game that saw the visitors finish with a 38-22 shot advantage.
Drew DeRidder had to be sharp on those 22 shots he saw, making 21 saves to improve to 3-2-1 on the season. Despite surrendering seven power play opportunities to Omaha (4-4-1, 0-1-0 NCHC), North Dakota held the Mavericks to just two shots on goal during those man advantages.
Following a scoreless first period, UND jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Frisch wired a one-time pass from Chris Jandric for his second goal of the season just 1:52 into the middle stanza. Just 15 seconds later, Jackson Kunz won a race to the puck and potted home his own rebound to quickly double the advantage for the Hawks.
Omaha looked to cut the lead to 2-1 moments later, but DeRidder was ruled to have been interfered with and the goal was disallowed following a successful challenge. NoDak took hold of the momentum and made it 3-0 just past the midway point of the second, with Gaber firing through the legs of Jake Kucharski to make it goals in five of the last six tilts for the junior.
The Mavericks finally got on the board in the final minute of the second, but Gaber struck again in the third period to restore the three-goal cushion following another won battle along the wall, this time by Nick Portz, and his centering pass to the Gilbert Plains, Man., native for the insurance tally.
North Dakota will go for the series sweep tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Baxter Arena. Fans can watch the game on Midco Sports or NCHC.tv, as well as tune into the Home of Economy Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- UND did not have any healthy scratches, with five players out due to injuries
- Chris Jandric extended his point streak to eight straight games, the longest of his career
- Riese Gaber now has goals in five of his last six games, including points in each game
- UND has now scored a power play goal in every game this season
- Nick Portz tallied his second multi-point game of his career, last coming on Jan. 29, 2022 vs. SCSU
- Owen McLaughlin notched his first game with multiple points
- Gaber recorded his fifth game with two goals, last coming on Jan. 28, 2022 vs. SCSU
- North Dakota finished with a 38-22 shot advantage, led by Jandric's five
- UND went 1-for-6 on the power play while holding Omaha to an 0-for-7 mark
- The Hawks edged the Mavericks, 34-33, in the faceoff dot
- Riese Gaber, Nick Portz and Jonny Tychonick were named the game's three stars, in that order
How It Happened
First Period
No scoring
Second Period
1:52 | UND – Ethan Frisch rockets a one-time pass from Chris Jandric for his second goal of the year and a 1-0 lead
2:07 | UND – Jackson Kunz follows his own shot and pots a rebound to make it 2-0 just 15 seconds later
13:51 | UND – Riese Gaber fires home his sixth of the year on a feed from Owen McLaughlin to make it 3-0
19:04 | Omaha –
Jonny Tychonick gets the Mavs on the board with less than a minute to play in the second
Third Period
11:33 | UND – Gaber pots his second of the game following a slick pass from Nick Portz to make it 4-1 UND
For more information on North Dakota hockey, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmhockey.
