GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Fifth year goaltender
Drew DeRidder stopped 23 shots while four-different goal scorers found the back of the net to help North Dakota defeat Minnesota Duluth, 4-2, on Friday night from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
UND (10-10-4, 4-7-2 NCHC) never trailed in the contest to improve to 6-1-1 against Minnesota Duluth (9-13-1, 4-9-0 NCHC) over the last eight regular season games, including four straight wins.
DeRidder was sharp in his first start since Jan. 6 vs. Lindenwood, stopped 23-of-25 shots fired his way to improve to 5-4-2 on the season and his fourth straight start with three-or-fewer goals allowed.
It didn't take long for the Fighting Hawks to get rolling, with
Riese Gaber tipping home an
Ethan Frisch shot on the power play to put the hosts in front, 1-0, just 3:36 into the contest. Despite an 11-5 shot advantage for the Bulldogs, DeRidder and his team held strong to carry the advantage into the intermission after 20 minutes.
In the second, UND started to take control. Following multiple shifts in the offensive zone that created a plethora of chances,
Gavin Hain took a centering pass from
Mark Senden, made a move to his backhand and roofed it over the goaltender Matthew Thiessen to extend the lead to 2-0 just beyond the midway point of the middle frame.
Following a quick response by Minnesota Duluth to cut the advantage to 2-1 after 40 minutes,
Louis Jamernik V pounced on a loose puck near the side of the net to restore the two goal advantage, 3-1, just 43 seconds into the third period.
After Kyle Bettens scored his second of the night to once again trim the lead to one with just over six minutes to play, UND held the lead for the remainder of the game before
Jackson Blake sealed the win with an empty netter to close out the 4-2 victory.
North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth close out the weekend series on Saturday night at 6:07 p.m. from the Ralph.
Postgame Notes
- Hain, Gaber and Ryan Sidorski were named the game's three stars
- Jackson Blake notched his eighth multi-point game of the season and leads UND with 26 points
- UND improves to 3-0-0 this season in games decided by two goals
- Sidorski now has points in six of the last eight weekends and his seven points are a career-high in a season
- The Hawks have won four straight games over Minnesota Duluth
- UND is now 67-5-3 since 2018-19 when scoring at least four goals and 9-1-1 this season
- NoDak has 31 power play goals on the season, tied with Denver for the most in the NCAA
- UMD finished with a 25-22 shot advantage
- The Hawks won the faceoff battle, 34-26, with Riese Gaber going 8-1 in the dot
- UND is aiming for its first sweep of Minnesota Duluth in Grand Forks since 2016
How It Happened
First Period
3:36 | UND –
Riese Gaber opens the scoring with a power play goal on a deflection of
Ethan Frisch's shot
Second Period
12:01 | UND –
Gavin Hain makes a nifty move to his backhand before roofing it to make it 2-0 UND
13:26 | UMD – Kyle Bettens scores on his own rebound to cut the lead to 2-1
Third Period
0:43 | UND –
Louis Jamernik V wires home a loose puck at the side of the net to restore the two-goal lead
13:42 | UMD – Bettens gets his second on a cross-ice pass to trim it back to a one-score game, 3-2
19:55 | UND –
Jackson Blake scores his 10th of the season into the empty net to seal the 4-2 win
For more information on North Dakota hockey, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmhockey.
