SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the first time since 2015-16, the University of North Dakota is headed to the NCAA Frozen Four.
No. 2 North Dakota (29-9-1) rolled past No. 11/10 Quinnipiac (27-10-3), 5-0, on Saturday night in the Sioux Falls Regional Final from the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. to punch its ticket to the 23rd Frozen Four in program history.
The Fighting Hawks will meet former WCHA rival Wisconsin in the national semifinals on Thursday, April 9 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The game time will be announced following the conclusion of the other regionals, which will be played on Sunday.
For the second straight game, it was Jan Špunar who stole the show. The freshman turned aside all 22 shots he faced to record his second straight shutout and earned Sioux Falls Regional Most Outstanding Player honors.
He becomes the first NoDak netminder to tally two consecutive shutouts in an NCAA Tournament and the first UND goalie to record multiple shutouts in the same national tournament. Špunar also joins Ed Belfour (29, 1986-87), Brad Eidsness (24, 2008-09) and Karl Goehring (23, 1997-98) as the only UND rookie goaltenders to win 20 games in a season.
Freshman forward Jack Kernan led the way offensively for North Dakota, striking for a pair of goals in the first period to help the Hawks jump out to a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. The two-goal game was the second for Kernan in his career and gives him nine points (4G, 5A) over his last seven games.
Fellow rookie forward Will Zellers made it back-to-back games with multiple points, as the Maple Grove, Minn., native dished out another pair of assists to close his weekend with four points while junior defenseman Abram Wiebe also tallied two helpers to record multiple points.
Cody Croal (10), Dylan James (21) and Cole Reschny (6) were the other Hawks to find the back of the net in the win, as UND improved to 3-0-0 all-time against the Bobcats in the NCAA Tournament.
It was quite the start for UND, as the green and white erupted offensively in the first period with a trio of goals to quickly build a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes.
The third line of Kernan, Croal and Tyler Young that set the tone in the opening 20, with Kernan breaking the 0-0 deadlock with a blast from the slot before Croal doubled the lead just over two minutes later by swatting a rebound between his legs to make it 2-0 just 8:14 into the contest.
Kernan added his second of the night with a snipe to chase the QU starting netminder and stake the Fighting Hawks to a 3-0 lead.
NoDak kept it rolling in the middle frame, as James made it four straight games with a goal as his shot deflected off a Bobcat defender and into the net to make it 4-0 while Reschny buried his sixth of the season to increase the advantage to 5-0 after 40 minutes.
Clinical was the word to describe the third period for the green and white, as the Hawks limited QU to just four shots on goal and closed out the 5-0 victory and a berth in the NCAA Frozen Four.
North Dakota will battle Wisconsin on Thursday, April 9 from Las Vegas on ESPN2 and the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- UND improves to 6-2-1 all-time against Quinnipiac and is now 3-0-0 in the NCAA Tournament vs. QU
- North Dakota advances to its 23rd NCAA Frozen Four – tied for fourth all-time in college hockey
- UND is now 9-4-0 all-time in regional finals since the tournament expanded to 16 teams in 2003
- Jan Špunar finished with 22 saves to record his second straight shutout of the weekend
- Špunar now has six shutouts this season to rank first in the nation
- Špunar is the first goaltender in UND history to record multiple shutouts in the same NCAA Tournament
- Jack Kernan scored two goals for the second time this season
- Dylan James extended his goal scoring streak to four games and now has as team-high 21 goals
- Cody Croal notched his third goal of the weekend and his 10th of the season
- Will Zellers tallied two assists for the second straight game to finish the weekend with four points
- UND is the first team since UMass and Denver in 2019 to not allow a goal in a regional
- The Hawks are now 23-3-0 in games decided in regulation since Nov. 1
- UND advances to the Frozen Four for the fifth time in eight tries as a No. 1 seed since 2003
- Kernan eclipsed 20 points to become the 11th player this season to reach the 20-point mark
- All nine of UND’s top-nine forwards recorded at least a point
- Abram Wiebe notched a pair of assists to give him 29 points on the season
- UND improves to 11-6-0 this season against ranked teams
- The Hawks are 23-0-1 this season when scoring at least four goals in a game
- Shots were 29-22 in favor of UND
- UND was 0-for-3 on the power play while QU was 0-for-2
- Faceoffs were 33-31 in favor of QU, with Cade Littler leading UND at 10-6
How It Happened
First Period:
06:02 | UND – Jack Kernan (10) from Will Zellers (15)
08:14 | UND – Cody Croal (10) from Tyler Young (7) and Abram Wiebe (23)
12:20 | UND – Kernan (11) from Wiebe (24)
Second Period:
04:08 | UND – Dylan James (21) from Zellers (16) and Ellis Rickwood (28)
11:31 | UND – Cole Reschny (6) from Ben Strinden (19) and Mac Swanson (17)
Third Period:
No scoring
For more information on North Dakota hockey, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmhockey.
