GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics) – No. 3 North Dakota struck four times in a 4:20 span in the first period to jump out in front and never look back in a 6-0 opening win over Holy Cross on Friday night from Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Jackson Blake scored his first career goal on the power play at the 8:24 mark of the opening frame before graduate student forward Mark Senden cashed in just 17 seconds later to double the NoDak lead and spark the offensive onslaught.
Goals by Gavin Hain and Cooper Moore less than a minute apart capped off the four-goal barrage in the opening 20 minutes while goaltender Drew DeRidder stopped all 27 shots fired his way to notch his first shutout in a North Dakota uniform.
North Dakota struck twice on the power play in the final two frames, with Riese Gaber and Jake Schmaltz each finding twine to polish off the largest opening night win since Oct. 7, 2016 vs. Canisius.
DeRidder kept the Crusaders at bay in the second period, turning aside all 12 shots in a frame that saw the visitors hold a 12-5 shot advantage. The fifth year goaltender made his best stop late in the stanza, sliding across the crease to deny a power play chance with the pad.
UND will go for the weekend sweep tomorrow night at 6:07 from Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Postgame Notes
· NoDak finished with a 31-27 shot advantage
· UND went 3-for-8 on the power play, firing 16 shots on goal, while Holy Cross went 0-for-4
· The four goals to open the game came in a 4:20 span
· UND improves to 59-4-2 since 2018-19 when scoring at least four goals
· The Hawks are now 17-3-0 when Mark Senden scores a goal over his career
· Nick Portz missed the first game of his career, snapping a streak of 39 straight appearances
· Jackson Blake tallied his first-collegiate goal, opening the scoring in the first period
· Ben Strinden notched the first point of his career, assisting on Moore’s tally
· Gavin Hain scored his first goal since Dec. 11, 2021 at Colorado College
· Drew DeRidder picked up an assist on UND’s opening goal, the third helper of his career
· DeRidder becomes the first goalie at UND to notch a shutout in his debut since Aaron Dell on Oct. 23, 2009 at Alaska Anchorage
· Chris Jandric recorded his second multi-point game at UND, last coming Dec. 10, 2021 at CC
· The trio of assists by Jandric are a career high in helpers and points
How It Happened
First Period
· 8:24 | UND – Jackson Blake notches his first UND goal on a slick feed from Chris Jandric to make it 1-0
· 8:41 | UND – Mark Senden strikes just 17 seconds later following an odd-man rush
· 11:48 | UND – Gavin Hain scores his first goal since returning from injury after Louis Jamernik V created a turnover in the neutral zone
· 12:44 | UND – Cooper Moore caps off the four-goal period with a one timer from the point to make it 4-0
Second Period
· 8:39 | UND – Riese Gaber snipes his first of the year on the power play from his usual spot
Third Period
· 15:05 | UND – Jake Schmaltz deflects home a Moore shot on the power play to increase the lead to 6-0
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 10/7/2022 11:10:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com