GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Senior forward Dylan James struck for a trio of goals to help No. 4 North Dakota defeat Mercyhurst, 6-1, in front of a sellout crowd of 11,586 on Saturday night from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
 
James becomes only the third UND player since 2018 to score three goals in a game, joining Riese Gaber (Jan. 28, 2023 at Miami) and Rhett Gardner (Nov. 2, 2018 vs. Wisconsin) while also becoming the first player since Brock Boeser (Oct. 21, 2016 vs. Bemidji State) to have a natural hat trick.
 
The Calgary, Alberta, native helped UND (16-4-0) pull away from the pesky Lakers (0-17-1), as the senior struck once in the second and twice in the third to turn a 2-1 lead into a 5-1 cushion en route to the eighth straight win and 12th in the last 13 games for the Fighting Hawks.
 
James was one of five Fighting Hawks to record multiple points, with fellow senior forward Ellis Rickwood leading the way with four points. Rickwood struck for the game's opening goal before dishing out a trio of assists to give him his second four-point game of his career and six points (1G, 5A) on the weekend.
 
Freshman forward Jack Kernan kept up his strong weekend, as the rookie made it back-to-back games with multiple points with his first two-goal game of his collegiate career. Junior defenseman Jake Livanavage tallied his fourth three-assist night and sixth three-point game of his career while fellow junior blueliner Abram Wiebe dished out a pair of helpers in the win.
 
Graduate student goaltender Gibson Homer was a little busier than his teammate Jan Špunar was last night, as the netminder stopped 10-of-11 to secure his second straight win.
 
It was not the start that UND wanted, as Mercyhurst struck first just under seven minutes into the contest to give the Lakers their first goal of the weekend and first lead. It did not last long, however, as Rickwood blasted home a perfect pass from Mac Swanson to level the contest at 1-1 after 20 minutes.
 
The power play came up clutch in the middle frame, as Kernan worked himself free in the high slot and wired home a shot over the goaltender to give UND a 2-1 lead early in the second before James potted his first of the night on a similar shot from the slot to quickly extend the advantage to 3-1 near the midway point of the stanza.
 
UND, who entered as one of the best teams in the nation in the third period, showed why by striking for a trio of goals in the final 8:09 of regulation to put the game away. James started it with his second of the night by deflecting home a Livanavage point shot before completing the hat trick a few minutes later with a power play tally.
 
Kernan secured the sweep and notched the third power play goal of the night for NoDak with a deflection of his own off a Wiebe shot to give him a pair of goals and the 6-1 UND win.
 
North Dakota will jump back into NCHC play with a trip to Colorado Springs to battle Colorado College beginning on Friday night at 8:00 p.m. (CT) on NCHC.tv and the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.
 
Postgame Notes 

• UND improves to 2-0-0 all-time against Mercyhurst
• The Hawks are 38-2-0 and 31-0-0 at home against Atlantic Hockey America programs
• NoDak has won eight straight games – its longest winning streak since Nov. 2023 (8)
• Dylan James notched his first-career hat trick and first by a UND player since Riese Gaber in Jan. 2023
• It was also the first hat trick at home since Rhett Gardner on Nov. 2, 2018 vs. Wisconsin and the first natural hat trick since Brock Boeser on Oct. 21, 2016 vs. Bemidji State
• James has eight goals in the last 12 games and 10 points in that span
• Ellis Rickwood tallied four points for the second time in his career and first time in a UND uniform
• Rickwood finished the weekend with six points (1G, 5A) and has 10 points (2G, 8A) in his last five games
• Jack Kernan had his first multi-goal game and his second multi-point game of the weekend
• Jake Livanavage dished out a trio of assists for the second time this season and fourth time in his career
• Livanavage has nine points (2G, 6A) over his last seven games
• Abram Wiebe had a pair of assists to give him nine points (1G, 8A) in his last 12 games
• UND held a 41-11 shot advantage and limited Mercyhurst to just 19 shots all weekend
• Will Zellers recorded an assist in his return to the lineup following World Juniors
• EJ Emery also returned to the lineup following World Juniors and had four shots on goal
• UND finishes nonconference play with an 8-2-0 record
• NoDak has allowed two-or-fewer goals in 14 games this season and five straight overall
• The Hawks went 3-for-4 on the power play and are 11-for-24 (45.8%) over the last eight games
• UND also went 1-for-1 on the penalty kill and has killed 23 of its last 25 penalties
• NoDak is now plus-18 in the third period and has scored 29 goals over the final 20 minutes
• UND improves to 13-0-0 when leading after two and 9-3-0 at home this season
• The Hawks are 7-2-0 this season on Saturday and 5-2-0 when giving up the first goal
• Faceoffs were 37-18 UND, with Jack Kernan pacing all skaters at 10-4

How It Happened 

First Period:                                                     
06:49 | HURST – Dominik Bartecko (3)
14:14 | UND – Ellis Rickwood (3) from Mac Swanson (10) and Jayden Jubenvill (2)

Second Period: 
07:19 | UND – Jack Kernan (4, PP) from Jake Livanavage (13) and Rickwood (11)
10:03 | UND – Dylan James (9) from Ollie Josephson (8) and Abram Wiebe (10)
 
Third Period:
11:51 | UND – James (10) from Livanavage (14) and Will Zellers (6)
14:01 | UND – James (11, PP) from Rickwood (12) and Livanavage (15)
19:05 | UND – Kernan (5, PP) from Wiebe (11) and Rickwood (13)

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