DULUTH, Minn. – Tenth-ranked North Dakota put an end to its three-game skid in style, cruising to a 7-3 win over Minnesota Duluth on Friday night from AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn.
 
UND (4-4-0, 1-0-0 NCHC) started quickly and never took its foot off the gas, scoring seven of the game's first eight goals by seven-different scorers to record its ninth win in the last 10 tries against Minnesota Duluth (3-5-0, 0-1-0 NCHC).
 
Mac Swanson (2), Jackson Kunz (3), Cade Littler (1), Louis Jamernik V (4), Jayden Perron (2), Abram Wiebe (2) and Ben Strinden (2) all found the back of the net while goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter carried a shutout into the third period and finished with 32 saves to improve to 4-2-0 on the season.
 
Four Fighting Hawks notched multiple points, with defenseman Jake Livanavage and forward Jake Schmaltz each dishing out a trio of assists for the first time in their careers to lead all skaters. Swanson added an assist alongside his goal to give him his second multi-point outing of the season while Jamernik V notched his third contests of the campaign with multiple points and Strinden followed with his first since Jan. 7, 2023 vs. Lindenwood.
 
After struggling to get off to good starts on the road so far this year, North Dakota wasted no time grabbing the lead in the early going on Friday. Swanson slammed home a perfect pass from Livanavage just under three minutes into the period to give the Hawks an early 1-0 lead.
 
UND kept up the pressure in opening six minutes, with Kunz blasting home a feed from McLaughlin to quickly double the advantage for the visitors and carry a 2-0 lead at the end of one period.
 
The dominance continued over the next 20 minutes, with the Hawks adding on another trio of goals in the middle frame to build a 5-0 lead after two.
 
Following an early push by the Bulldogs, Littler cashed in on a scramble in front of the net to pot his first goal of his career and extend the lead to 3-0 before that line struck again on their next shift when Schmaltz feeding a streaking Jamernik V in front of the net to quickly push the advantage to 4-0 just after the midway point of the game.
 
The power play struck as well, with Perron deflecting home a shot from Livanavage for the sophomore's second tally of the season and a 5-0 NoDak lead on the road.
 
It took just 97 seconds into the final period to increase the lead to six, as Wiebe wired a shot off the post and into the net for UND's second power play goal of the night and a 6-0 advantage. Minnesota Duluth began to find power play success of its own in the third, with Anthony Menghini striking three times in the period with the man advantage while UND's Strinden added a shorthanded goal to close out the 7-3 victory.
 
North Dakota will go the series sweep on Saturday night at 6:07 p.m. from Duluth. Fans can catch the contest on Midco Sports Two, NCHC.tv or the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.
 
Postgame Notes 

• UND had all 19 healthy skaters in the lineup, with no healthy scratches for the entire weekend
• Cameron Berg returned to the lineup after missing last weekend's games with an injury
• Jake Livanavage dished out three assists for the first time in his career
• Jake Schmaltz also notched a trio of helpers for the first time in his career
• Mac Swanson recorded his second multi-point game of his career
• Louis Jamernik V tallied multiple points for the third time this season
• UND improves to 20-2-1 all-time when Jamernik V scores a goal
• Ben Strinden recorded multiple points for the first time since Jan. 2023 vs. Lindenwood
• NoDak scored seven goals at Minnesota Duluth for the first time since Nov. 12, 2005 in a 7-4 win
• The Hawks are now 9-1-0 in their last 10 games against Minnesota Duluth
• UND has also won six straight games against UMD at AMSOIL Arena and five straight overall
• NoDak has outscored UMD by a 23-7 margin over that five-game winning streak
• UND is now 10-2-0 in NCHC openers and have won seven straight
• Dane Montgomery has points in back-to-back games, notching an assist
• Friday marked UND's first game this season against an unranked opponent
• T.J. Semptimphelter finished with a season-high 32 saves on 35 shots
• Both teams went 50% on the power play (2-for-4 UND, 3-for-6 UMD)
• UND finished with 11 blocked shots, with EJ Emery pacing everyone with three
• For the first time away from home and only third time this season, NoDak scored the first goal
• Cade Littler scored his first-career goal
• 12-different players notched at least a point for UND in the win
• North Dakota finished with a 37-32 advantage in the faceoff dot, with Cameron Berg pacing UND at 11-7

How It Happened 

First Period                                                     
02:52 | UND – Mac Swanson (2) from Ben Strinden (1) and Jake Livanavage (3)
06:44 | UND – Jackson Kunz (3) from Owen McLaughlin (6) and Livanavage (4)

Second Period 
07:05 | UND – Cade Littler (1) from Jake Schmaltz (2) and Louis Jamernik V (3)
10:11 | UND – Jamernik V (4) from Schmaltz (3) and Dane Montgomery (2)
14:18 | UND – Jayden Perron (2, PP) from Livanavage (5) and Cameron Berg (4)

Third Period 
01:37 | UND – Abram Wiebe (2, PP) from Swanson (3) and Schmaltz (4)
06:54 | UMD – Anthony Menghini (2, PP) from Jayson Shaugabay (2) and Owen Gallatin (6)
11:07 | UND – Strinden (2, SH)
12:49 | UMD – Menghini (3, PP) from Blake Bechen (3) and Shaugabay (3)
17:58 | UMD – Menghini (4, PP) from Gallatin (7) and Shaugabay (4)

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