GRAND FORKS — Anthony Menghini scored twice, Cole Reschny added a goal and an assist and UND beat rival Denver 5-0 in the series opener in Ralph Engelstad Arena. Ellis Rickwood and Jack Kernan also scored for the Fighting Hawks, while Jan Špunar posted an 18-save shutout.
First star: Anthony Menghini, UND, 2 goals.
Second star: Cole Reschny, UND, 1 goal, 2 points.
Third star: Jan Špunar, UND, 18-save shutout.
UND 1, Denver 0 — Ellis Rickwood 5 (Mac Swanson, Will Zellers) 1:03. UND scores on the second shift of the game after a couple of bad turnovers by Denver in the defensive zone. Zellers gets the puck to Swanson below the goal line. Swanson centers it to Rickwood, who partially fans on a shot, but Denver defenseman Kent Anderson’s attempt to get the puck out of the slot goes right back to Rickwood, who scores to tally his 12th point in the last eight games.
UND 2, Denver 0 — Anthony Menghini 3 (Sam Laurila, Tyler Young) 8:32. Laurila makes an excellent play to hold a puck in the zone at the blue line, then he beats a Denver defender along the way, skates it to the side of the crease and slips a cross-ice pass to Menghini, who is at the bottom of the right circle. Menghini, from a tough angle, one-times it home. Menghini now has six points in the last nine games.
UND 3, Denver 0 — Jack Kernan 6 (Tyler Young, Cade Littler) 7:08. Young makes a chip off the boards to try to get a puck out of the zone. Denver defenseman Kent Anderson attempts to hold it at the line, but can’t and Kernan goes off to the races with Littler on a two-on-one. Kernan takes the shot himself and snipes it for his sixth goal of the season.
UND 4, Denver 0 — Anthony Menghini 4 (Cole Reschny) 10:47. Reschny pokes the puck off of Denver forward James Reeder’s stick in the neutral zone and starts a rush the other way. Reschny loses his balance, but gets off a pass to Menghini. The UND junior forward takes two steps in the right circle, then sends the puck past Quentin Miller’s blocker for his second goal of the game. Menghini has back-to-back multi-point games.
UND 5, Denver 0 — Cole Reschny 4 18:46. Reschny picks up a loose puck high in the zone and snipes one through a Dylan James screen for his fourth goal of the season. Reschny now has goals in back-to-back games. It’s the first collegiate goal allowed by Johnny Hicks, who replaced Quentin Miller in the third period.
Forwards
7 Mac Swanson—29 Ellis Rickwood—9 Will Zellers
26 Dylan James—17 Cole Reschny—21 Ben Strinden
8 Ollie Josephson—15 Jack Kernan—20 Cade Littler
27 Anthony Menghini—22 David Klee—14 Tyler Young
Defensemen
4 Jake Livanavage—2 Bennett Zmolek
25 Abram Wiebe—18 Keaton Verhoeff
16 Andrew Strathmann—6 E.J. Emery
13 Sam Laurila
Goaltenders
35 Jan Špunar
31 Gibson Homer
1 Zach Sandy
Not in lineup: F Josh Zakreski (inj), F Cody Croal (ill), F Dalton Andrew, D Jayden Jubenvill, D Ian Engel
Forwards
12 Sam Harris—11 Samu Salminen—27 James Reeder
28 Reid Varkonyi—24 Kieran Cebrian—14 Rieger Lorenz
16 Kyle Chyzowski—25 Clarke Caswell—8 Kristian Epperson
10 Brady Milburn—19 Jake Fisher—13 Hagen Burrows
18 Payton Nelson
Defensemen
9 Boston Buckberger—23 Eric Pohlkamp
15 Eric Jamieson—5 Garrett Brown
3 Cale Ashcroft—21 Kent Anderson
6 Alec Whipple
Goaltenders
29 Quentin Miller
30 Paxton Geisel
31 Johnny Hicks
Not in lineup: F Brendan McMorrow (inj), D Tory Pitner (inj)
Referees — Brandon Schmitt and Brian Hankes
Linesmen — Kyle Stephens and Tyler Landman
Supervisor — Brian Mach
UND is making one change from last Saturday — defenseman Sam Laurila is in for Jayden Jubenvill. . . Denver remains without two injured players — forward Brendan McMorrow (hand) and defenseman Tory Pitner, who made the trip to Grand Forks and skated with a no-contact jersey Friday morning. . . This is the only regular-season series between the teams this season. . . UND goalie Jan Špunar is making his third start in a row. Quentin Miller is starting for Denver.
Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the top beat writer for the Herald’s circulation division four times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year twice. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at bschlossman@gfherald.com.
