Špunar, Croal lead No. 2 UND past No. 16 Merrimack in NCAA Regional Semifinal

(UND Sports Information) – SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 2 North Dakota is moving on in the NCAA Tournament, as the Fighting Hawks defeated No. 16 Merrimack, 3-0, in the Sioux Falls Regional Semifinal on Thursday evening from the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.

With the victory, UND (28-9-1) advances to the regional final against No. 11/10 Quinnipiac on Saturday, March 28 at 6:02 p.m. The Bobcats defeated seventh-ranked Providence, 5-2, in the other regional semifinal earlier in the day.

Sophomore forward Cody Croal led the way offensively for the green and white, striking for a pair of goals for the first time in his collegiate career in the victory. The North Branch, Minn., native opened the scoring in the first period before capping off the victory with an empty netter in the final minute of the third period.

Freshman netminder Jan Špunar was also the story between the pipes, as he turned aside all 31 shots fired his way to record his fifth shutout of the season. Špunar was clutch in the third period with 14 saves to become the first freshman goaltender at UND to record a shutout in an NCAA Tournament game since Jordan Parise in 2004 against Holy Cross.

Fellow rookie Will Zellers dished out a pair of assists for a multi-point game in his NCAA Tournament debut while senior forward Dylan James notched his 20th goal of the season with a tally in the third period.

It was a strong start for NoDak, as it broke through just under four minutes into the contest for the 1-0 lead. Andrew Strathmann made a great play to keep the puck in the offensive zone before Croal pounced a rebound off a Zellers’ shot to pot his eighth of the season and the early advantage.

The 1-0 lead had to hold for the remainder of both the first and second periods, as the score remained the same heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation.

Moments after Špunar came up with arguably his biggest save of the night on a one timer in the slot, UND’s top line of Ellis Rickwood, James and Zellers combined for a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play that resulted in a goal from James to make it 2-0 UND with just under 16 minutes to play.

Špunar and the rest of the Hawks held down the fort until Croal potted his second of the game into the empty net in the final minute to secure the 3-0 victory and a date with Quinnipiac on Saturday night.

UND will look to advance to its 23rd NCAA Frozen Four on Saturday at 6:02 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2.

Postgame Notes

UND improves to 3-0-0 all-time against Merrimack
The win was the first in the NCAA Tournament for UND since 2021 against AIC
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak in the NCAA Tournament for UND
Jan Špunar finished 31 saves to record his fifth shutout of the season
Špunar now has more shutouts (5) this season than losses (4)
Cody Croal tallied his first multi-goal game of his collegiate career
Will Zellers dished out two assists for a multi-point game
Dylan James scored his 20th goal of the season in the win
James becomes the first player since Jackson Blake and Cameron Berg in 2023-24 to have a 20-goal season at UND
Špunar is the first UND rookie goalie with a shutout in the NCAA Tournament since Jordan Parise in 2004 against Holy Cross
Špunar is also the first UND freshman netminder to win an NCAA Tournament game since Zane McIntyre in 2013 vs. Niagara
The shutout was the first by UND in the NCAA’s since Aaron Dell against RPI in 2011
UND improves to 54-29 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
The Hawks have won at least one game every time it has been a No. 1 seed since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 16 teams in 2003
Cole Reschny saw his point streak come to an end at eight
James has now scored in three straight games for UND
UND now has a plus-40 scoring advantage in the third period this season
The Hawks improved to 22-3-0 in games decided in regulation since Nov. 1
UND is 10-6-0 this season against ranked teams
NoDak is 21-0-0 when leading after two this season
The Hawks are also 8-3-1 this season when being outshot
UND went 0-for-3 on the power play while Merrimack was 0-for-1
The Hawks are 9-10-0 all-time against Hockey East teams in the NCAA Tournament
Faceoffs were 31-23 in favor of UND, with Reschny pacing everyone at 11-5