GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics) – No. 5 North Dakota battled back for a 4-2 victory over No. 5 Denver to secure a series sweep on Saturday night from a sold-out Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.

After UND (18-6-2, 9-4-1 NCHC) held the Pioneers (17-7-2, 8-5-1 NCHC) to under three goals for the first time all season on Friday night, the Fighting Hawks once again stymied the nation’s leading scoring offense to notch the weekend sweep and a big six points in the conference standings.

With the game deadlocked at 2-2 in the third period, Denver’s Sean Behrens was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for a high hit on Ben Strinden, and NoDak took full advantage of the power play with a pair of goals from Owen McLaughlin and Riese Gaber just 45 seconds apart to give UND a 4-2 lead.

Goaltender Ludvig Persson held down the fort for the remainder of the game, finishing with 22 saves on 24 shots against to become the first goalie to defeat Denver multiple times this season and hand the Pioneers their first loss on a Saturday night.

Denver jumped out to a 1-0 lead early in the first period, when Jared Wright was able to deposit his own rebound on a partial break to give the visitors the advantage just 1:46 into the contest. NoDak was able to rally back on the power play late in the frame, as Cameron Berg made it goals in five straight games with a snipe from the top of the circle to even the game at 1-1 after 20 minutes.

After Sam Harris gave DU the lead back on a slick shot midway through the second, Jackson Kunz broke free from the defense and cashed in his own rebound on the breakaway to knot the contest at 2-2 with his third tally of the season and send the game into the third tied.

In the third, UND struck twice on a major power play just 45 seconds apart, with McLaughlin sniping home his ninth of the season from the left circle before Gaber followed with a shot from the right circle to cash-in his 13th of the year and give the Fighting Hawks the 4-2 lead.

Denver pushed over the final four minutes for the equalizer, but Persson and the defense held strong to secure the weekend sweep with the 4-2 victory.

North Dakota hits the road for a showdown with Miami next weekend beginning on Friday night at 6:05 p.m. (CT) from Oxford, Ohio.