ST. PAUL, Minn. – Zach Okabe scored at 5:45 of overtime to lead No. 7 St. Cloud State to a 3-2 victory over No. 17 North Dakota in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.  

UND (18-15-6) sees its season come to an end in overtime for the third straight year and fifth time in the last six seasons.  

The Fighting Hawks held a 2-1 lead heading into the third period on a goal from Judd Caulfield just past the midway point of the contest, but Jami Krannila knotted the game with his 20th tally of the season on a rush at 5:06 of the final stanza to send the game into the extra session.   

In the overtime, Griffin Ness, who was last weekend's hero against Omaha on Sunday to send UND to St. Paul, nearly had a chance to win it, but the puck rolled off his stick with a yawning cage before Okabe struck less than two minutes later to send the Huskies (23-12-3) into the championship game against No. 7 seed Colorado College.  

Drew DeRidder finished with 18 saves on 21 shots in his final collegiate game, collecting only his second loss in his last 10 starts. The fifth year was crucial in the dying moments of regulation, making a trio of grade-A stops to prevent SCSU from grabbing a late winner.  

North Dakota jumped out to a 1-0 lead early in the contest, with Ethan Frisch burying a power play goal on a great passing play from Jake Schmaltz and Jackson Blake for the senior's seven tally of the season. SCSU answered back with a power play goal of its own from Veeti Miettinen to even the game at 1-1 after 20 minutes of play.  

UND took control in the second period, outshooting the Huskies by an 11-3 margin and moving back in front on the tally from Caulfield to carry the lead and the momentum into the final frame.  

It was SCSU who had a bit more jump to begin the third; however, eventually tying the game at 2-2 before a back-and-forth remainder of the period sent the game into overtime.  

Following a great penalty kill and a bevy of chances for the Fighting Hawks, it was St. Cloud State who ended the game on Okabe's rush to the net and backhander over DeRidder to hand UND only its second loss in overtime in 11 contests.  
 

Postgame Notes  

• UND's season comes to an end with an 18-15-6 record, the 21st straight winning season for the program 
• It marks the third straight year and fifth time since 2016-17 that UND's season ends in overtime 
• Ethan Frisch (7) and Judd Caulfield (10) each scored for North Dakota tonight 
• UND finished with a 25-21 shot advantage, with Jaxon Castor finishing with 23 saves  
• Jackson Blake ends his freshman season with 16 goals and 26 assists for 42 points 
• The 42 points by Blake are the most by a UND rookie since 2015-16 (Brock Boeser – 60) 
• UND falls to 4-2-6 this season in overtime games, its first loss since Oct. 21 at Minnesota  
• NoDak suffers its seventh loss since 2018-19 when leading after two, with four of those coming this year 
• The Fighting Hawks drop to 8-4 all-time on St. Patrick's Day  
• UND won the faceoff battle, 39-27, with Jake Schmaltz leading UND at 18-10 

  
How It Happened 

First Period                                                     

6:18 | UND – Ethan Frisch opens the scoring on a tic-tac-toe passing goal from Jake Schmaltz to make it 1-0 UND 

17:16 | SCSU – Veeti Miettinen ties the game at 1-1 with a power play goal 

Second Period 

12:29 | UND – Judd Caulfield pounces on a rebound in front of the net to give UND a 2-1 lead 

Third Period 

5:06 | SCSU – Jami Krannila knots it back up at 2-2 on a 3-on-2 rush  

Overtime 

5:45 | SCSU – Zach Okabe gets behind the defense and beats DeRidder for the OT winner 

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