No. 1 UND rolls to 5-0 win over Bemidji State to secure weekend sweep

November 25, 2023

KVRR Staff,

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND ATHLETICS)– No. 1 North Dakota polished off a weekend sweep over Bemidji State with a 5-0 victory on Saturday night in front of another sellout crowd of 11,690 at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.

Senior goaltender Ludvig Persson was at his best once again between the pipes for the Fighting Hawks (11-2-1), stopping all 29 shots fired his way to record his third shutout of the season and stretch his winning streak to seven straight games while also recording his first-career assist on UND’s fourth goal of the night.

The win also boosts NoDak to its best start since the 2019-20 season, extends the nation’s longest winning streak to seven and caps a 8-1-0 month of November.

After falling behind 2-0 last night, North Dakota wasted no time jumping in front in the finale when Dane Montgomery struck for his goal at the Ralph just 4:37 into the opening period off a great forecheck and feed from Griffin Ness to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

Persson and the penalty kill took over late in the first period and early in the middle stanza when the Hawks were whistled for a major penalty and an ensuing minor gave the Beavers (5-9-0) a full 5-on-3 advantage for two minutes. Ben Strinden and Bennett Zmolek combined for seven blocked shots during the penalty kills while Persson made seven saves to keep the visitors off the scoreboard.

NoDak made the Beavers pay on a power play of its own following the kills, with Jackson Blake pinballing a puck off a BSU defender and into the net for his 10th goal of the season and a 2-0 lead for the green and white just over five minutes into the second period.

The hosts, who entered the game with an 8-0-0 record when leading after 40 minutes, put the game on ice in the third period with a trio of goals in a 3:15 span on goals from Strinden, Jackson Kunz and Garrett Pyke to secure the 5-0 victory.

North Dakota returns to NCHC play for a road showdown with Denver beginning on Friday night at 8:07 p.m. from Magness Arena.

Postgame Notes

UND improves to 37-5-7 all-time against Bemidji State and 26-3-4 in Grand Forks
Ludvig Persson, Dane Montgomery and Ben Stridnen were named the game’s three stars, in that order
Persson recorded his third shutout of the season and finished with 29 saves
UND has won seven straight games for the first time since 2021-22
The Hawks are off to their best start since the 2019-20 season at 11-2-1
NoDak finished with 18 blocked shots, improving to 5-1-1 when blocking at least 15 shots
Montgomery scored his first goal since Feb. 19, 2022 at Minnesota Duluth and first at home
Jackson Kunz and Garrett Pyke also notched their first goals of the season
12-different players had at least one point for NoDak in the win
Persson notched his first-career assist on UND’s fourth goal
UND finished 1-for-4 on the power play while BSU went 0-for-4
The Hawks held a 31-29 shot advantage, with Jayden Perron leading with five
North Dakota finished with a 29-24 faceoff advantage, with Cameron Berg going 11-7

How It Happened

First Period
04:37 | UND – Dane Montgomery scores his first of the year on a great feed from Griffin Ness

Second Period
05:13 | UND – Jackson Blake pinballs a puck off a BSU defender to make it 2-0 on the power play

Third Period
14:05 | UND – Ben Strinden speeds past the defense and scores on a breakaway to increase the lead to 3-0
15:05 | UND – Jackson Kunz follows his own rebound for his first of the season and a 4-0 advantage
18:28 | UND – Garrett Pyke blasts a shot home to cap off the 5-0 victory