(KNOX) – Jake Schmaltz scored 2:03 into the 3-on-3 overtime session to give No. 16/18 North Dakota a 4-3 win and a weekend sweep over No. 9 St. Cloud State on Saturday night at a sold-out Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, according to UND Hockey’s website.
The winner propels UND (11-7-1, 6-2-0 NCHC) into sole possession of second place in the NCHC standings with 17 points and sends the Fighting Hawks into the holiday break with a 6-1-1 record over the last eight games.
NoDak was in comeback mode the entire contest, having to battle back from a trio of one-goal deficits, but Schmaltz sealed the win for the hosts with his first OT goal of his career off a great feed from Dylan James to secure the first sweep over St. Cloud State since Nov. 2019.
Graduate student goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter put together another strong outing between the pipes in the win, finishing with 23 saves on 26 shots against to notch his fourth straight victory. The Marlton, N.J., native was at his best in the extra session, stopping a trio of St. Cloud State (10-7-0, 4-4-0 NCHC), including a pair of breakaways.
St. Cloud State broke through for its first goal of the weekend just beyond the midway point of the first period, as Grant Achan potted a shorthanded goal to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Much like Friday night, UND put together a strong middle frame and eventually knotted the contest at 1-1 when Jayden Perron danced around his defender and tucked a backhander past the goaltender for his sixth goal of the season, but the Huskies answered back with a power play tally from Austin Burnevik to restore the lead for the visitors.
Late in the second, Abram Wiebe made it back-to-back weekends with a power play goal when the sophomore wired home his fourth of the year in the final 110 seconds of the stanza to even the contest heading into the third.
SCSU grabbed its third lead of the night early in the third, when Barrett Hall finished off a 2-on-1 rush, but the Fighting Hawks responded again when Caleb MacDonald worked himself free and found Sacha Boisvert alone in the slot for the freshman’s eighth of the season to knot the contest at 3-3.
UND nearly won the game in regulation, but the contest headed to overtime tied at 3-3. After a trio of big stops from Semptimphelter, Schmaltz won the contest with his first overtime winner of his career to secure the victory and the series sweep.
North Dakota will enjoy a break before opening 2025 in an exhibition contest against Manitoba on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 6:07 p.m. from the Ralph.
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