GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Cameron Rowe stopped all 25 shots thrown his way while the nation’s top scorer Jason Polin struck twice in a 4-0 victory by No. 12 Western Michigan over North Dakota on Friday night from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
UND (9-9-4, 3-6-2 NCHC) generated plenty of chances on the offensive side but couldn’t solve Rowe as the netminder secured the first shutout by a visiting goaltender in Grand Forks since Nov. 16, 2018, which also came against Western Michigan.
Jack Perbix, Cedric Fiedler and Polin (2x) each found the net for the Broncos (13-9-1, 5-5-1 NCHC), with the visitors grabbing a 1-0 lead just 7:46 into the contest before doubling the advantage on a 3-on-1 rush in the final five minutes of the middle frame.
Following a major penalty and game misconduct to Tyler Kleven, Polin extended the lead to 3-0 early in the third on the power play before icing the game with his second of the net into the vacated cage to seal the 4-0 victory.
North Dakota will look to battle back for a series split on Saturday night at 6:07 p.m. from the Ralph.
- The 25-save shutout by Rowe was the first by a visiting goaltender since WMU did it on Nov. 16, 2018
- Polin now has an NCAA-leading 21 goals after his pair tonight
- Jakob Hellsten stopped 23 shots, one off his career-high also set against the Broncos
- WMU finished with a 27-25 shot advantage
- Owen McLaughlin and Dylan James both paced UND with four shots on goal
- The Broncos were 1-for-4 on the power play while NoDak was 0-for-2
- UND drops to 1-9-3 this season when scoring fewer than four goals in a game
- WMU won the faceoff battle, 34-28, with Jake Schmaltz finishing 9-9 to pace UND
