2023-10-21 08:13:42
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics)– Top-ranked Minnesota used a dominant middle frame to notch a 4-0 victory over No. 5 North Dakota on Friday night from a sold-out Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
The Golden Gophers (3-0-0) struck twice in the middle frame and finished with an 11-4 shot advantage to turn a scoreless deadlock into a lead after 40 minutes on goals from Brody Lamb and Oliver Moore.
Goaltender Justen Close finished with 25 saves to record his second straight shutout and first against North Dakota (2-1-0) in his career. The netminder was busiest in the opening 20 minutes, making 13 saves and was aided by his post on a near-snipe by Jayden Perron just past the midway point of the first.
North Dakota looked to have momentum going early in the second period, starting the stanza on the man advantage, but it was the visitors who jumped in front just two minutes in. Lamb snuck behind the defense and originally fanned in his shot attempt before still corralling the loose puck and firing it over the goaltender to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
The Gophers extended the advantage to 2-0 exactly eight minutes later, as Moore scored his first collegiate goal on a rush before adding an empty netter and a fourth tally in the final two minutes to close out the 4-0 victory.
North Dakota and Minnesota will close out the weekend series on Saturday night at 6:07 p.m. from the Ralph. Fans can watch all the action on Midco Sports or listen on the Home of Economy Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
Minnesota improves to 3-6-0 in the last nine meetings against North Dakota
The Gophers finished with a 32-25 shot advantage
Ludvig Persson notched 28 saves on 32 shots
Jackson Blake, Hunter Johannes and Riese Gaber all paced UND with three shots on goal
Garrett Pyke recorded five blocked shots
Minnesota led, 30-26, in faceoffs, while Cameron Berg led UND at 10-8
The shutout was the first for Minnesota in Grand Forks since Oct. 23, 2004
The Hawks went 0-for-4 with the power play while Minnesota was 0-for-3
How It Happened
First Period
No scoring
Second Period
02:00 | UM – Brody Lamb opens the scoring with a breakaway tally early in the second
12:00 | UM – Oliver Moore fires home a shot off the rush to extend the lead to 2-0
Third Period
17:13 | UM – Bryce Brodzinski scores into the empty net to make it 3-0
17:31 | UM – Jimmy Snuggerud strikes just 18 seconds later to cap off the victory
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 10/20/2023 10:34:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
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