BEMIDJI, Minn. – No. 6 North Dakota notched a 5-3 victory over Bemidji State on Friday night from Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minn.
 
The victory is the fifth in the last six games for North Dakota to improve to 9-4-0 this season and give the Fighting Hawks their first win in Bemidji since Oct. 15, 2021.
 
It was the rookies who led the way for the visitors, with freshmen forwards Cole Reschny (3A) and Ollie Josephson (1G, 2A) each notching a trio of points in the win. The contest marked the second three-point night of the season for Reschny and the first in the career for Josephson.
 
Fellow freshman forward Will Zellers found the back of the net for the eighth time this season while senior forwards Ben Strinden (8) and Dylan James (7) as well as sophomore forward Cade Littler (2) also potted goals.
 
Rookie netminder Jan Špunar improved to 5-0-0 between the pipes to begin his collegiate career, as he finished with 17 saves on 20 shots.
 
It was a bit of slow start for North Dakota out of the gate, with Bemidji State (9-6-2) striking first off a turnover in the defensive zone by UND to make it 1-0 in favor of the hosts just prior to the halfway point of the opening period.
 
After the BSU goal, UND started to settle in. The Fighting Hawks dominated the final 10 minutes of the frame and eventually knotted the contest when Strinden sniped home his eighth of the season to cap off an 8-0 stretch of shots on goal for NoDak after the Bemidji State goal.
 
The second period turned into a wild one, as the teams combined for five goals over the stanza. UND took its first lead of the night on the power play when Zellers blasted home a perfect feed from Mac Swanson to make it 2-1 for the visitors just over eight minutes into the frame.
 
Just over a minute later, BSU knotted the contest at 2-2 on a goal off the rush, but UND struck back with its special teams again when James and Reschny connected on a shorthanded 2-on-1 rush that was finished off by James to quickly restore the UND lead just 53 seconds after the Beaver goal.
 
Immediately after UND killed off a 1:43 5-on-3 power play, BSU broke through and tied the game at 3-3 on a scramble in front of the net, but once again, the game did not stayed tied for long. With UND now on the man advantage, Littler tipped home his second goal of the season on an Abram Wiebe shot to make it 4-3 NoDak after 40 minutes.
 
UND held down the fort in the final 20 minutes before eventually icing the game on an empty netter from Josephson to seal the 5-3 victory.
 
North Dakota will go for the weekend sweep tomorrow night as the series shifts to Ralph Engelstad Arena at 6:07 p.m. on NCHC.tv, TSN2, Midco Sports and the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.
 
Postgame Notes 

• UND improves to 38-6-8 all-time against Bemidji State and 12-3-3 in Bemidji
• NoDak is now 5-2-0 in nonconference play this season – matching last season's win total with three games remaining
• The Hawks snapped a two-game winless streak to Bemidji State
• Ben Strinden scored his eighth goal of the season to give him 12 points (7G, 5A) in his last seven games
• UND finished a plus-1 in the third period to improve to plus-12 this season in the final 20 minutes
• The Hawks have also scored 21 goals in the third period
• Eight of UND's nine wins this season have been by multiple goals
• The Hawks have also scored at least five goals in a game for the seventh time this season
• Jan Špunar improved to 5-0-0 this season with 17 saves
• Will Zellers scored his eighth goal of the season to give him eight points (6G, 2A) over his last seven games
• Cole Reschny dished out a trio of assists for his second three-point game of the season
• Ollie Josephson struck for a trio of points on a goal and two helpers for the first time in his career
• Cade Littler scored his second goal of the season and first since the season opener vs. St. Thomas
• Dylan James moved into a tie for eighth all-time at UND with six shorthanded goals in his career
• Abram Wiebe notched an assist to give him eight on the season
• UND hit 40 shots for the third straight game – the first time doing so since Jan. 2009
• NoDak went 2-for-5 on the power play while Bemidji State was 0-for-4
• The Hawks improved to 5-1-0 this season on the road
• Faceoffs were 38-33 UND, with Reschny, Josephson and Littler all finishing above 60 percent

How It Happened 

First Period:                                                     
09:49 | BSU – Connor McClennon (8) from Max Namestnikov (8)
11:20 | UND – Ben Strinden (8) from Cole Reschny (10)

Second Period: 
08:33 | UND – Will Zellers (8, PP) from Mac Swanson (7) and Ollie Josephson (5)
09:54 | BSU – Jake McLean (4) from Jaksen Panzer (3) and Luke Roelofs (3)
10:47 | UND – Dylan James (7, SH) from Reschny (11)
13:27 | BSU – Maxon Vig (3) from McLean (4) and Isa Parekh (2)
16:24 | UND – Cade Littler (2, PP) from Abram Wiebe (8) and Josephson (6)
 
Third Period:
19:55 | UND – Josephson (3, EN) from Reschny (12)

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