GRAND FORKS, N.D. – No. 6 North Dakota saw its four-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday night with a 4-2 loss to Arizona State in front of a sellout crowd of 11,590 at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
 
The game was highlighted by Arizona State (4-7-1, 2-3-1 NCHC) netminder Connor Hasley, who finished with 39 saves on 41 shots against to help the Sun Devils overcome a 41-15 shot advantage by North Dakota (8-4-0, 4-2-0 NCHC) in the contest.
 
Senior forward Ben Strinden kept up his strong offensive play for the hosts, striking for a pair of goals to give him 11 points (6G, 5A) over his last six games. Freshman defenseman Keaton Verhoeff tallied an assist to give him four points (1G, 3A) over the last four contests while sophomore forward Cade Littler recorded his first point since Oct. 12 with a helper.
 
Graduate student goaltender Gibson Homer finished with 11 saves on 14 shots against in his first start against his former team to drop to 4-4-0 this season.
 
North Dakota got off to the start it wanted, striking just over two minutes into the contest when Strinden fired a shot that pinballed into the back of the net to give the hosts a 1-0 lead early in the tilt. ASU answered right back on a power play on a goal from Cullen Potter to even the game at 1-1 after 20 minutes.
 
The Sun Devils took the lead for the first time in the series in the final moments of the second period, striking for back-to-back goals in the final 2:54 of the middle stanza to turn the 1-1 stalemate into a 3-1 advantage for the visitors after 40 minutes.
 
UND pushed hard in the third period once again and eventually cut the deficit to 3-2 when Strinden sniped home his second of the night just over two minutes into the frame. The Fighting Hawks kept pushing for the equalizer, including a 17-4 shot advantage in the stanza, but ASU added an empty netter to seal the 4-2 win.
 
North Dakota will return to action on Friday night with an exhibition showdown with the U.S. Under-18 Team at 7:07 p.m. from the Ralph.
 
Postgame Notes 

• UND falls to 2-3-0 all-time against Arizona State and 1-1-0 in Grand Forks
• Ben Strinden scored a pair of goals to give him 11 points over the last six games
• Strinden has two multi-goal games over the last two weekends
• Keaton Verhoeff has four points in the last four games with an assist tonight
• UND is 0-4-0 this season when its opponent scores more than two goals
• NoDak falls to 3-2-0 this season on Saturday and 4-3-0 at home
• Gibson Homer finished with 11 saves on 14 shots against
• UND held a 41-15 shot advantage
• The weekend was the first time since Jan. 6-7, 2023 vs. Lindenwood that UND had 40+ shots in back-to-back games
• ASU went 1-for-2 on the power play while UND was 0-for-3
• Faceoffs were 34-25 UND, with Ollie Josephson leading everyone at 9-3

How It Happened 

First Period:                                                     
02:37 | UND – Ben Strinden (6) from Keaton Verhoeff (4)
05:08 | ASU – Cullen Potter (2, PP) from Cruz Lucius (5) and Bennett Schimek (12)

Second Period: 
17:06 | ASU – Logan Morrell (3) from Samuel Alfano (3) and Noah Powell (1)
19:54 | ASU – Sean McGurn (3) from Lucius (6) and Schimek (13)
 
Third Period:
02:17 | UND – Strinden (7) from Cade Littler (3)
18:30 | ASU – Schimek (5, SH, EN) from Morrell (3)

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