(UND Athletics) KALAMAZOO, Mich. – After allowing 13 goals last weekend at St. Cloud State, North Dakota capped off one of its best defensive performances of the season with a 3-0 win over No. 17 Western Michigan on Saturday night from Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich.
UND (7-8-4, 3-5-2 NCHC) opened the scoring in the first period, when forward Judd Caulfield continued to terrorize the Broncos (10-9-1, 5-4-1 NCHC) with his second goal of the weekend and ninth of his career against WMU with a power play tally to make it 1-0 after 20 minutes.
Western Michigan peppered goaltender Drew DeRidder in the second period, firing nine of the 11 total shots of the frame on goal, but the Fenton, Mich., native was up to the task to keep the visitors in front by a goal heading into the final 20 minutes.
The Fighting Hawks added some insurance near the midway point of the final stanza, as Nick Portz scored his first goal of the season on a redirect from a Chris Jandric shot to double the lead for the green and white. Dylan James added the empty netter in the final minutes to cap off the 3-0 victory and close out the first half of the season in style.
DeRidder continued his excellent performance from last night, stopping 25 shots fired his way for his second shutout of the season and sixth of his career.
North Dakota will enjoy a break over the holiday season before returning to exhibition action against the U.S. Under-18 Team on Dec. 31 from Ralph Engelstad Arena.
