UND (4-3-1, 0-0-1 NCHC) carried a 2-1 lead late in the third period, but Western Michigan (6-1-1, 0-0-1 NCHC) knotted the game on the power play with just under five minutes remaining before grabbing the extra point in the NCHC standings with a shootout victory.
The Fighting Hawks put together one of their better defensive performances of the season, as they held the nation’s top scoring offense to just 17 shots on goal and the two goals. Sophomore goaltender Jan Špunar finished 15 saves on 17 shots against to improve to 2-2-1 on the season.
Hudson Malinoski (3) and Brasen Boser (2) each found the back of the net for the Hawks while Jack Kernan (3), Sam Laurila (5), Ollie Josephson (2) and Cody Croal (2) each picked up a helper to extend UND’s point streak to nine in NCHC openers.
It was an uneasy start for the home side, as WMU jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 52 seconds into the game on a seeing-eye shot from Adam Benak to give the visitors the early advantage. NoDak answered back on the power play, as Malinoski deflected home a point shot for his third of the season and evened the contest at 1-1 after 20 minutes.
Early in the second period, it was the Hawks who found the back of the net in the opening minute, with Boser ripping one over the goaltender’s blocker for his second of the season to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. UND dominated the middle 20 with a 13-3 shot advantage but could not build on its lead heading into the final stanza.
With the Broncos on the power play, Ty Henricks tied the game at 2-2 with a deflection of his own with just under five minutes remaining in regulation to send the contest into overtime and secure a point in the NCHC standings for both teams.
In the extra session, UND had a look on the power play, but Špunar had to make a trio of saves to close out the OT and end the game officially in a tie. WMU earned the extra point with a 1-0 shootout victory in three rounds.
North Dakota will look for a series win on Saturday night at 6:07 p.m. (CT) on Midco Sports, NCHC.tv and the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- UND is now 32-17-2 all-time against Western Michigan and 14-8-1 in Grand Forks
- The Hawks are now winless in their last four games (0-3-1)
- Hudson Malinoski scored his third goal of the season – all coming on the power play
- Brasen Boser matched his career-best with his second goal of the season
- NoDak lost the third period scoring battle for the fourth straight game (-5)
- UND has gone nine straight NCHC openers without a loss in regulation and is 7-1-1 in those games
- The Hawks have scored a power play goal in every game this season
- Sam Laurila notched his fifth assist of the season to lead all UND defensemen in points and assists
- Ollie Josephson has points in back-to-back games after no points in his first six
- Jack Kernan tallied an assist to give him 15 points (7G, 8A) over his last 16 games
- NoDak is now 0-1-1 this season against ranked opponents
- UND is 3-0-1 this season at home
- The Hawks were 1-for-4 on the power play while WMU was 1-for-6
- Four straight series between UND and WMU has featured an OT game
- Shots were 26-17 UND
- Faceoffs were 30-24 UND, with Cole Reschny leading everyone at 11-5
First Period:
00:52 | WMU – Adam Benak (4)
06:25 | UND – Hudson Malinoski (3, PP) from Jack Kernan (3) and Sam Laurila (5)
Second Period:
00:41 | UND – Brasen Boser (2) from Ollie Josephson (2) and Cody Croal (2)
Third Period:
15:52 | WMU – Ty Henricks (4, PP) from Joona Vaisanen (8) and Tommy Lafreniere (6)
Overtime:
No scoring
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