GRAND FORKS, N.D. – No. 17/18 North Dakota picked up a big, 4-2 victory over Minnesota Duluth on Friday night from a sold-out Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
 
UND (16-12-2, 11-7-1) snaps a five-game winless drought on Friday nights, grabbing its first victory in a series opener since Dec. 13 vs. St. Cloud State and puts together back-to-back regulation wins for the first time since Dec. 7-13 against Miami and SCSU.
 
NoDak also grabs a crucial three points in the league standings to remain ahead of both Denver and Colorado College for fourth while also jumping up one spot to No. 18 in the Pairwise Rankings – the highest placement of the season for the green and white.
 
The depth was on full display for the hosts, as the entire group of bottom six forwards recorded at least one point and accounted for all four goals. Carter Wilkie had his best night as a Fighting Hawk, scoring a goal and dishing out two assists for a trio of points while forward Cody Croal had his second two-point night of his career (Dec. 6 at Miami) in the win.
 
Ben Strinden (7), Cade Littler (4) and Sacha Boisvert (10) also potted goals for UND as well as reigning NCHC Goaltender of the Week T.J. Semptimphelter stopped 30-of-32 to improve to 3-1-0 with a .943 save percentage over his last four starts.
 
After being plagued by slow starts over the last few weeks, North Dakota got off to its best start in awhile by striking just 1:41 into the contest on Strinden's seventh goal of the season to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead. The junior pounced on a rebound following a great chance from Wilkie to give the Fargo, N.D., native his third tally in the last four games.
 
The fourth line made its impact late in the opening frame, as Croal chipped a puck up to Litter and the freshman danced around the defenseman and lofted a puck over the goaltender for his fourth of the season and a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
 
Minnesota Duluth (11-16-2, 7-11-1 NCHC) had the better of play to begin the second, however, cutting the deficit to 2-1 early in the stanza, but the fourth line responded again when Boisvert finished off a nice feed from Croal to restore the two-goal lead at 3-1 near the midway point of the second.
 
The 3-1 advantage did not last for long, as the Bulldogs answered the Boisvert goal just 21 seconds later to trim the lead to 3-2 heading into the final 20 minutes.
 
In the third, UND killed off a pair of penalties and Semptimphelter stopped all eight shots thrown his way before Wilkie launched a puck nearly 200 feet into the empty net to seal the 4-2 victory for the Fighting Hawks.
 
UND will go for its first sweep of 2025 on Saturday night at 6:07 p.m. on Midco Sports, NCHC.tv and the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.
 
Postgame Notes 

• Forwards Sacha Boisvert and Jackson Kunz returned to the lineup after missing Saturday's game
• Forward Jayden Perron missed his fourth straight game with an injury
• Defenseman EJ Emery served his game suspension in tonight's game
• UND has now won seven straight games over Minnesota Duluth, all by multiple goals
• The Hawks have also won 11 of the last 12 games against the Bulldogs
• NoDak won its first game on Friday since Dec. 13 vs. St. Cloud State, snapping a five-game winless streak
• Carter Wilkie recorded his first three-point game at UND and has six points in his last six games
• Cody Croal dished out two assists for the first time in his career and his second multi-point game
• Cade Littler has three goals in three games against Minnesota Duluth
• T.J. Semptimphelter finished with 30 saves on 32 shots
• UND improved to 13-2-0 this season when scoring first
• Ben Strinden has five points over his last six games and three goals in his last four
• NoDak is now 12-1-1 this season when leading after two periods
• UND blocked 17 shots to improve to 8-1-1 this season when blocking at least 15
• Sacha Boisvert recorded his 10th goal of the season and first at even strength since Dec. 14 vs. SCSU
• UND went 0-for-2 on the power play while Minnesota Duluth was 0-for-2
• The Hawks have now killed 13 of their last 14 penalties taken
• Mac Swanson has points in five of his last seven games
• Wilkie, Semptimphelter and Strinden were named the game's three stars
• Faceoffs were 35-30 North Dakota, with Wilkie leading the way at 9-4

How It Happened 

First Period                                                     
01:41 | UND – Ben Strinden (7) from Carter Wilkie (5) and Mac Swanson (15)
18:47 | UND – Cade Littler (4) from Cody Croal (4) and Wilkie (6)

Second Period 
02:31 | UMD – Joe Molenaar (3) from Carter Loney (4) and Joey Pierce (4)
09:11 | UND – Sacha Boisvert (10) from Croal (5) and Abram Wiebe (16)
09:32 | UMD – Blake Bechen (5) from Dominic James (13) and Aiden Dubinsky (8)

Third Period
18:54 | UND – Wilkie (6, EN)


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