Grand Forks (UND Athletics) – No. 5 North Dakota notched a pair of goals from its freshman to collect a 2-1 victory over top-ranked Minnesota and salvage a series split on Saturday night from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.

After failing to crack the scoreboard last night, UND (3-1-0) finally broke through early in the second period on a Jayden Perron deflection off a Garrett Pyke shot that found its way past goaltender Justen Close to give the Fighting Hawks a 1-0 lead less than six minutes into the stanza.

NoDak controlled the play for a majority of the opening 40 minutes, holding a 24-12 shot advantage through the second intermission, but once again felt a bit unlucky that the lead was only 1-0 entering the final frame.

That changed just 59 seconds into the third, as Jake Livanavage fired a puck from an awkward angle into the crease that found its way into the net to increase the advantage to 2-0 and give the Phoenix, Ariz., native his first-career goal.

Minnesota (3-1-0) clawed back into the contest with a deflection goal of its own by Jaxon Nelson at the 8:04 mark of the third, but UND did not let the Golden Gophers get any closer and closed out the 2-1 victory.

Ludvig Persson was strong between the pipes once again for the hosts, finishing with 21 saves on 22 attempts to improve to 3-1-0 on the season. He also received plenty of help from the group in front of him, as the Fighting Hawks blocked 16 shots to record double-digit blocks for the third straight game.

North Dakota closes out its month-long homestand to begin the season with another old conference foe, Minnesota State, beginning Friday night at 7:07 p.m. from the Ralph. Fans can watch all the action on Midco Sports or NCHC.tv as well as listen on the Home of Economy Radio Network.

Postgame Notes 

  • UND improves to 136-143-16 all-time against Minnesota and 73-58-8 in Grand Forks
  • NoDak has also won five straight Saturday meetings between the two teams
  • Jake Livanavage tallied his first-career goal, with it eventually being the game winner
  • The Hawks finished with a 34-22 shot advantage, with Owen McLaughlin firing seven
  • Ludvig Persson has now allowed two-or-fewer goals in three of his first four starts at UND
  • Faceoffs were even at 24-24, with Cameron Berg leading all skaters with 10 victories
  • Carson Albrecht blocked a trio of shots to pace UND
  • Jayden Perron, Persson and Livanavage were named the game’s three stars, in that order
  • Griffin Ness made his season debut in the win
  • UND improves to 8-7-2 against No. 1 teams since 2014
  • The Hawks went 0-for-6 with the power play while Minnesota was 0-for-2

How It Happened 

First Period                                                     
No scoring
Second Period 
05:48 | UND – Jayden Perron tips home a Garrett Pyke shot from the point to give UND a 1-0 lead

Third Period 
00:59 | UND – Jake Livanavage sneaks a shot under the pad of the goaltender to increase the advantage to 2-0
08:04 | UM – Jaxon Nelson cuts into the lead with a deflection in front

Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 10/21/2023 9:56:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com