GRAND FORKS, N.D. – No. 4/6 North Dakota closed out the 2025 portion of its schedule in style on Saturday night, notching a 3-1 victory and securing a series sweep over Omaha at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
 
UND (14-4-0, 8-2-0 NCHC) heads into the Christmas break alone atop the NCHC standings with 25 points while also having won six straight games and 10 of its last 11 overall. The Fighting Hawks also closed out a season sweep against the Mavericks (6-10-0, 3-7-0 NCHC) for the first time in program history and have won six straight against Omaha.
 
The Hawks picked up goals from three different lines, with Anthony Menghini (2), Ellis Rickwood (2) and Cody Croal (5) all finding the back of the net in the win, while Jake Livanavage stretched his point streak to five with an assist on Menghini's goal.
 
Graduate student goaltender Gibson Homer returned to the pipes for the first time since Nov. 15 vs. Arizona State and shined with 29 saves on 30 shots against to grab his fifth win of the season and his second against Omaha. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native was huge in the third period, as he stopped all 10 shots fired his way to close out the victory.
 
After a scoreless first period, Omaha jumped on the board first with a power play goal just 89 seconds into the middle frame to give the Mavericks their first lead of the weekend. The advantage didn't last long, however, as Menghini flew down the wing and fired a puck through the goaltender's legs less than a minute later to knot the game at 1-1 with his second tally of the season.
 
The game looked to be headed to the second intermission deadlocked at 1-1, but Rickwood pounced on a loose puck in the slot and made a great move around the goaltender to tuck home his second goal of the season with just over two seconds remaining in the stanza to give UND a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.
 
Homer and the defense locked it down in the third, as the graduate student netminder made 10 saves, including a pair of highlight stops in the final minute, before Croal blocked a shot to gain possession and tucked it into the empty net to secure the 3-1 win and the series sweep.
 
North Dakota will enjoy a break before returning to action on Jan. 2 against Mercyhurst at 7:07 p.m. from Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Postgame Notes 

• UND improves to 43-23-2 all-time against Omaha and 22-11-1 in Grand Forks
• NoDak swept the season series with Omaha for the first time in program history
• UND ends the first half of the season on a six-game winning streak and 10 wins in its last 11 overall
• Ellis Rickwood scored his second goal of the season to give him points in three straight games
• Anthony Menghini also scored his second goal of the year – both coming against Omaha
• Cody Croal added the empty netter for his fifth of the year
• Gibson Homer finished with 29 saves on 30 shots against in his first start since Nov. 15
• UND did not score a power play goal for the first time in six games
• The 14 wins are tied for the most before Christmas with 2019-20 and trails only the 2002-03 and 2015-16 teams (16)
• UND is 11-0-0 this season when leading after two
• Jake Livanavage dished out an assist to give him six points (2G, 4A) in the last five games
• UND is now plus-14 this season in the third period and has 25 goals
• The Hawks are also outscoring NCHC opponents 17-4 over the final 20 minutes
• UND went 0-for-2 on the power play while Omaha was 1-for-5
• NoDak is now 6-2-0 this season in games decided by two goals or fewer
• Faceoffs were 33-27 UND, with Rickwood leading all skaters at 12-6

How It Happened 

First Period:                                                     
No scoring

Second Period: 
01:29 | OMA – Cameron Briere (2, PP) from Jeremy Loranger (4) and Luke Woodworth (8)
02:21 | UND – Anthony Menghini (2) from Jake Livanavage (12)
19:58 | UND – Ellis Rickwood (2)
 
Third Period:
19:18 | UND – Cody Croal (5, EN)

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