OMAHA, Neb. – Goaltender Simon Latkoczy stopped 40-of-41 shots thrown his way to help No. 17 Omaha defeat North Dakota, 2-1, on Friday night in the opening game of the NCHC Quarterfinals from Baxter Arena in Omaha.
 
UND (16-14-6) nearly overcame a 2-0 deficit in the final 90 seconds, cutting the lead to 2-1 with 1:14 to play on Riese Gaber's 20th goal of the season before the junior rang one off the crossbar in the dying seconds to snap the unbeaten streak at six for the visitors.
 
Drew DeRidder kept his team in it during the opening 20 minutes, turning aside all 17 shots fired his way to keep the game scoreless after 20 minutes. The Michigan State transfer finished the contest with 26 saves on 28 shots, but suffered only his fourth loss since Dec. 9.
 
Following a scoreless first period, Omaha (19-13-3) jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 4:29 into the period, Jacob Guevin's shot from the point hit a body and deflected in to get the hosts on the board. The Mavs doubled their advantage less than three minutes later on Davis Pennington's first goal on the season, sneaking down from the point and firing it through the legs of DeRidder to increase the lead to 2-0 after 40 minutes of play despite a 17-6 shot advantage for North Dakota.
 
NoDak started to push in the final 20 minutes of regulation, firing 13 shots on goal compared to just five for Omaha. With the goalie pulled, Gaber wired home a shot to cut the lead to 2-1 in the final moments, but UND could not complete the comeback.
 
North Dakota will look to even the best-of-3 series at one on Saturday night at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena. Fans can catch the game on Midco Sports or listen on the Home of Economy Radio Network through the iHeart app.  
 
Postgame Notes 

• UND has its unbeaten streak come to an end at six games
• Gaber becomes the first UND player with 20 goals since Shane Gersich in 2016-17
• The Hawks fall to 2-1-2 this season when having over 40 shots on goal
• Chris Jandric picked up an assist to give him 29 on the season
• UND finished 0-for-3 on the power play while Omaha was 0-for-5
• NoDak lost its first one-goal game since Jan. 21 vs. Minnesota Duluth, having won four straight
• Omaha won the faceoff battle, 34-26, with Jake Schmaltz leading UND at 13-10
• Simon Latkoczy is the first goalie with 40-plus saves against UND since Mar. 12, 2021 vs. Miami (Ludvig Persson)

  
How It Happened 

First Period                                                     

No scoring
 
Second Period 

4:29 | UNO – Jacob Guevin's shot from the point hits a UND defender and goes in to give Omaha a 1-0 lead
7:00 | UNO – Davis Pennington doubles the advantage for the Mavs with his first goal of the year


Third Period 

18:46 | UND – Riese Gaber cuts the lead to 2-1 with his 20th goal of the season


For more information on North Dakota hockey, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmhockey.