KALAMAZOO, Mich. – After allowing 13 goals last weekend at St. Cloud State, North Dakota capped off one of its best defensive performances of the season with a 3-0 win over No. 17 Western Michigan on Saturday night from Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich.
UND (7-8-4, 3-5-2 NCHC) opened the scoring in the first period, when forward
Judd Caulfield continued to terrorize the Broncos (10-9-1, 5-4-1 NCHC) with his second goal of the weekend and ninth of his career against WMU with a power play tally to make it 1-0 after 20 minutes.
Western Michigan peppered goaltender
Drew DeRidder in the second period, firing nine of the 11 total shots of the frame on goal, but the Fenton, Mich., native was up to the task to keep the visitors in front by a goal heading into the final 20 minutes.
The Fighting Hawks added some insurance near the midway point of the final stanza, as
Nick Portz scored his first goal of the season on a redirect from a
Chris Jandric shot to double the lead for the green and white.
Dylan James added the empty netter in the final minutes to cap off the 3-0 victory and close out the first half of the season in style.
DeRidder continued his excellent performance from last night, stopping 25 shots fired his way for his second shutout of the season and sixth of his career.
North Dakota will enjoy a break over the holiday season before returning to exhibition action against the U.S. Under-18 Team on Dec. 31 from Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Postgame Notes
- Jackson Blake extended his point streak to 10 games, the longest of his career
- Shots finished 25-20 in favor of WMU, with Jason Polin leading everyone with six
- The Broncos finished with a 33-28 advantage in faceoffs, with Louis Jamernik V winning 10 for UND
- Judd Caulfield now has nine goals and 11 points in 12 career games vs. WMU
- Caulfield also now has points in eight of his last 11 games
- Nick Portz scored his first goal of the season
- Chris Jandric tallied his fifth multi-point game of the season and crossed the 20-point plateau
- Drew DeRidder recorded his second shutout of the season and sixth of his career
- Dylan James scored the empty netter for this third goal of the season
- UND improves to 2-6-2 this season against ranked teams
- The Hawks also grab their first win when scoring fewer than four goals (1-8-3 now)
How It Happened
First Period
6:46 | UND –
Judd Caulfield opens the scoring on a redirect from
Jackson Blake on the power play
Second Period
No scoring
Third Period
8:26 | UND –
Nick Portz scores his first of the year on a deflection of a
Chris Jandric shot to make it 2-0 UND
17:11 | UND –
Dylan James seals it with an empty netter to make it 3-0 for the visitors
For more information on North Dakota hockey, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmhockey.
