GRAND FORKS, N.D.(UND Athletics) – Second-ranked Denver tallied a trio of goals in the second and third period en route to a 6-3 victory over No. 12/13 North Dakota on Saturday night from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
The Fighting Hawks (4-5-2, 1-2-1 NCHC) jumped out to a 1-0 lead just seven seconds into the game when Judd Caulfield buried a centering pass from Dylan James to give the hosts the early advantage, but Denver (9-3-0, 5-1-0 NCHC) rallied to capture its first sweep in Grand Forks since Jan. 29-30, 2010.
Carter Mazur and McKade Webster gave the Pioneers a 2-1 lead midway through the second period, but Cooper Moore knotted the game at 2-2 with a 5-on-3 power play tally with just over five minutes to play in the middle stanza.
The contest looked destined to head to the third deadlocked at two, but Aidan Thompson scored his second goal of the weekend to put the visitors in front, 3-2, after 40 minutes of play.
NoDak couldn’t rally on consecutive nights, with Denver potting three goals over the final 20 minutes to seal the 6-3 victory and the sweep.
North Dakota remains home next weekend to battle Miami on Friday and Saturday from Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Postgame Notes
- North Dakota broke out the white “NoDak” jerseys for the first time this season
- Denver finished with a 33-24 shot advantage
- Jakob Hellsten made his first start since Oct. 15, making 27 saves
- Dylan James extended his point streak to three games with a pair of assists
- DU notched its first sweep in Grand Forks since Jan. 29-30, 2010
- This marks the first three-game losing streak at home since Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2017
- Denver improves to 4-15-2 over the last 20 games played vs. UND at Ralph Engelstad Arena
- Judd Caulfield now has two goals over his last three games
- Brent Johnson scored his first goal of the season
- The Hawks have a power play goal in every game this season
- UND went 41-31 in the faceoff dot, with Jake Schmaltz going 15-9 to pace the hosts
- The Hawks drop to 0-5-1 this season when scoring fewer than four goals
How It Happened
First Period
0:07 | UND – Judd Caulfield scores just seven seconds into the game on a centering feed from Dylan James
Second Period
3:41 | DU – Carter Mazur ties the game at 1-1 with a power play goal, snapping a streak of 17 straight kills
7:40 | DU – McKade Webster gives DU a 2-1 lead on a tip-in from the slot
14:32 | UND – Cooper Moore knots it back up with a power play goal, his second of the year
18:23 | DU – Aidan Thompson scores Denver’s second tally with the man advantage to give the Pios a 3-2 lead
Third Period
10:12 | DU – Jared Wright extends the lead to 4-2 midway through the third period
12:20 | DU – Carter Mazur scores his second of the night on a shot from the slot to make it 5-2 DU
13:41 | UND – Brent Johnson cuts the lead to 5-3 with his first goal of the season
18:03 | DU – Jared Wright scores into the empty netter to make it 6-3 Denver
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com