(UND Athletics/Russel Hons)
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics)– Top-ranked Denver showed why they have the No. 1 ranking in front of its name on Friday night, taking down No. 9/10 North Dakota, 5-2, from a sold-out Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
Denver (11-0-0, 1-0-0) defenseman Zeev Buium struck for a trio of goals while goaltender Matt Davis finished with 22 saves on 24 shots against to help the Pioneers win their first game in Grand Forks since Nov. 2022 and hand the Fighting Hawks (5-5-0, 2-1-0 NCHC) their first back-to-back home losses in regulation since Jan. 2023 vs. Western Michigan.
Junior defenseman Dane Montgomery (1) and junior forward Ben Strinden (4) each found the back of the net for UND in the loss. Montgomery now has points in a four straight games to set a new career high while Strinden made it three straight contests with a goal for the first time in his career.
Graduate student goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter was strong throughout the night, finishing with a season-high 34 saves on 38 shots against to keep the hosts within striking distance. The Marlton, N.J., native was at his best in the opening 20 minutes, finishing with 16 saves to help withstand an early attack from the Pioneers.
Despite an early pair of power play opportunities, it was Denver who broke the ice just under six minutes into the contest when Buium scored his first of the night on a 3-on-2 rush to give the visitors the early 1-0 lead. The lead didn’t last for long, however, as Montgomery wired home his first of the season to pull the Hawks even just before the midway point of the stanza.
UND ran into penalty trouble as the first wore on, giving the Pioneers a trio of opportunities on the man advantage. The visitors capitalized on one of its opportunities with Buium’s shot deflecting off a UND defender and into the net to give DU a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
Momentum swung back-and-forth over the middle frame, with Sam Harris giving DU a 3-1 lead just 3:07 into the period, but UND began to climb back into it later in the stanza. After a DU defenseman lost an edge at the point, Strinden picked up the loose puck, skated in on a breakaway and fired one blocker side past Davis to trim the deficit to 3-2.
Seconds later, Dalton Andrew nearly tied the game with his second breakaway of the game, but Davis made his biggest save of the night before Aidan Thompson restored the two-goal advantage moments after the save to make it 4-2 after 40 minutes.
UND couldn’t put together a rally in the third, as Buium completed his hat trick with an empty netter to seal the 5-2 DU win.
North Dakota will look to secure a series split tomorrow night at 6:07 p.m. at the Ralph. Fans can watch the game on Midco Sports or listen on the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- North Dakota had only 18 healthy skaters in the lineup
- Cam Berg was sidelined for this weekend’s series and is considered week-to-week
- Denver snaps a two-game losing streak at the Ralph
- UND falls to 7-7-2 in the last decade against No. 1 ranked teams
- The Hawks have lost back-to-back home games in regulation for the first time since Jan. 2023 vs. WMU
- Dane Montgomery extended his point streak to a career-long four games with his goal
- Ben Strinden made it three straight games with a goal for the first time in his career
- UND drops to 3-2-0 this season on Friday nights
- The Hawks also fall to 3-5-0 this season against ranked opponents
- NoDak is now 1-5-0 this season when the opponent scores first
- DU finished 1-for-4 on the power play while UND was 0-for-4
- Shots were 39-24 in favor of Denver
- North Dakota finished with a 30-29 advantage in the faceoff dot, with Jake Schmaltz pacing UND at 9-7
How It Happened
First Period
05:57 | DU – Zeev Buium (1) from Jack Devine (17) and Aidan Thompson (11)
09:34 | UND – Dane Montgomery (1)
13:00 | DU – Buium (2, PP) from Devine (18) and Sam Harris (5)
Second Period
03:07 | DU – Harris (10) from Samu Salminen (5) and James Reeder (5)
16:13 | UND – Ben Strinden (4)
17:05 | DU – Thompson (8) from Devine (19) and Kent Anderson (2)
Third Period
19:58 | DU – Buium (3, EN)
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 11/15/2024 10:46:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
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