The Terriers (4-2-1) rode their special teams to the victory, finishing 2-for-5 on the power play and killing off all three man advantages for North Dakota (4-2-1) to grab the upset win and drop the winless streak to six for the Fighting Hawks against BU.
It was a similar story to the last few meetings between the two storied programs, with UND controlling play 5-on-5 and dominating the shot count at 34-20, but goaltender Mathiew Caron stopped 32 shots to notch the victory.
For the sixth time in seven games, UND jumped out to a 1-0 lead on strike from Jackson Blake just over four minutes into the opening period on the sophomore’s fifth goal of the season. Blake played catch with Jake Schmaltz before wiring a puck through the legs of Caron to get the visitors rolling.
After the early push from NoDak, the Terriers were able to knot the game at 1-1 late in the first period on a deflection goal from Dylan Peterson to send the game into the intermission tied before penalties took over in the middle frame.
With two players in the box for the green and white, Lane Hutson gave BU the 2-1 lead at the 12:41 mark of the second with a 5-on-3 power play goal, but the Fighting Hawks responded just 26 seconds later when Ben Strinden sniped a shot past the goaltender on a shorthanded rush to quickly tie the game at 2-2 with UND’s third shorthanded tally of the year.
Despite a 16-5 shot advantage in the third period by UND, it was the home side who took the lead early in the final stanza on Tuch’s fourth goal of the year and second of the game for the Terriers on the man advantage. NoDak pushed for the equalizer, but could not rally back as the Terriers held on for the 3-2 win.
North Dakota will look to even the series on Saturday night at 6:07 p.m. from Agganis Arena. Fans can catch the game on ESPN+ or listen to the Home of Economy Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- UND falls to 12-12-2 all-time against Boston University and 8-4-1 in Boston
- The Hawks are winless in their last six games against BU, going 0-5-1
- NoDak drops to 4-11-2 in Boston since 1990 and have not won at BU since Mar. 16, 1990
- UND finished with a 34-20 shot advantage, with Owen McLaughlin and Hunter Johannes leading with five
- Strinden scored his first goal since Jan. 28, 2023 at Miami
- UND now has three shorthanded goals this season
- BU finished 2-for-5 on the power play while UND was 0-for-3
- The power play goal by BU was the first allowed by UND since Oct. 13 vs. Army West Point
- UND went 34-24 in the faceoff dot, with Cameron Berg finishing 12-6
How It Happened
First Period
04:18 | UND – Jackson Blake fires home a shot through the legs of the goaltender to give UND a 1-0 lead
16:33 | BU – Dylan Peterson deflects home a puck from the crease to knot the game at 1-1
Second Period
12:41 | BU – Lane Hudson strikes on a 5-on-3 power play to give BU a 2-1 advantage
13:07 | UND – Ben Strinden ties it just 26 seconds later with a shorthanded snipe
Third Period
04:19 | BU – Luke Tuch gives BU a 3-2 lead with a power play goal early in the third