POTSDAM, N.Y. – No. 8 North Dakota dropped its second straight game of the season, falling by a 5-2 score at Clarkson on Friday night from Cheel Arena in Potsdam, N.Y.
 
UND (3-2-0) saw the Golden Knights (2-3-0) strike four unanswered goals over the first and second periods to skate away with the victory and hand the Fighting Hawks their first loss against Clarkson in program history (7-1-0).
 
Ben Strinden and Will Zellers potted the goals for North Dakota, with Strinden scoring his first of the season and Zellers notching his second of the year. Rookies Sam Laurila and David Klee each recorded their first-collegiate points in the contest, grabbing assists on Strinden's tally in the first period.
 
Graduate student goaltender Gibson Homer finished with 24 saves on 28 shots against to drop to 3-2-0 on the season.
 
North Dakota got off to a strong start on the road, grabbing a 1-0 lead just over four minutes into the contest when Klee drove to the net and had his shot sit right in front for Strinden to pot home for his first of the season and an early advantage for the visitors.
 
Clarkson struck back as the period wore on, however, potting a pair of goals in the final half of the opening frame to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
 
The Golden Knights carried the momentum into the second period, extending the lead to 3-1 just over 90 seconds into the middle stanza before striking for another power play goal to make it 4-1 with just over eight minutes to play in the frame.
 
UND cut into the deficit just seconds after the fourth Clarkson goal, with Zellers blasting home a power play goal of his own off a feed from Abram Wiebe to trim the Golden Knight lead to 4-2 after 40 minutes.
 
NoDak pushed hard over the final 20 minutes to try and chip away at the deficit, but Clarkson weathered the storm and added on an empty netter to secure the 5-2 victory.
 
North Dakota will aim for a series split on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. (CT) on ESPN+ and the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.
 
Postgame Notes 

• UND drops to 7-1-0 all-time against Clarkson and 2-1-0 in Potsdam
• David Klee and Sam Laurila each notched their first-collegiate point for UND
• Will Zellers scored his second goal of the season and first on the power play
• Ellis Rickwood saw his point streak come to an end at four games, matching his career-long
• NoDak has now lost six straight games in New York dating back to 2018-19
• The Hawks fall to 1-1-0 this season on the road
• Gibson Homer finished with 24 saves on 28 shots against
• Shots were 29-20 in favor of Clarkson
• The Golden Knights blocked 21 shots compared to just 10 for UND
• UND went 1-for-5 on the power play while Clarkson was 2-for-4
• Faceoffs were even at 28-28, with Ellis Rickwood pacing UND at 10-6

How It Happened 

First Period                                                     
04:23 | UND – Ben Strinden (1) from David Klee (1) and Sam Laurila (1)
12:22 | CU – Owen Van Steensel (2) from Ty Brassington (2) and Ryan Bottrill (5)
14:06 | CU – Luka Sukovic (2, PP) from Bottrill (6) and Tate Taylor (1)

Second Period 
01:38 | CU – Tristan Sarsland (1) from Talon Sigurdson (2) and Bottrill (7)
11:53 | CU – Taylor (2, PP) from Adrian Misaljevic (2) and Sukovic (2)
12:07 | UND – Will Zellers (2, PP) from Abram Wiebe (3) and Mac Swanson (2)

Third Period
18:57 | CU – Erik Bargholtz (3, EN) from Sarsland (3)


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