North Dakota came to Denver to finish off the season series this past weekend. Denver took Friday night’s game with a commanding 4-0 win and lost a tight 3-1 game on Saturday. 

It was all Denver during Friday’s contest, and the Crimson and Gold came out flying in the opening frame of the weekend, pushed UND to defend and had the majority of high-danger chances in the period. Though the first period was quiet in goals, DU had a commanding shot advantage at 16-5, something uncommon between the two rivals. 

At 14:21 of the middle period, a point shot from sophomore defenseman Eric Pohklamp missed the net and bounced off the end wall, and the puck went onto the tape of sophomore forward Kieran Cebrian who backhanded it over the pad of UND’s goaltender TJ Semptimphelter to give Denver the 1-0 lead. 

UND pushed back in the middle period, and the shots were even in the period at nine, but Denver would get the goal advantage in the middle frame. The momentum continued at 17:04 when a point shot from sophomore defenseman Boston Buckberger beat Semptimphelter clean through a plethora of bodies and gave DU the 2-0 lead late in the period. 

“A great play by the guys down low, and they were able to get the puck up high to me. I saw a lane and threw it on the net. Samu [Salminen] had a great screen and was fortunate it went in,” Buckberger said. 

At 5:43 in the third period, DU would have a scare when senior goaltender Matt Davis went down on the ice and called for a trainer. Davis exited the game early in the third. Sophomore goaltender Freddie Halyk replaced him for the remainder of the game and the weekend. 

At 8:24, Denver continued the offensive dominance despite the exit from Davis. Senior forward Jack Devine received a centering pass from junior forward Aidan Thompson and wired a shot through the arm of Semptimphelter, giving Denver the 3-0 lead early in the final frame. 

On the goal, Buckberger got his third assist of the night and was one of the biggest contributors on offense during the two-game series. 

“He’s been progressing his game a lot the past couple of years, and it’s coming together for him both offensively and defensively. I really like the way he and Eric [Pohlkamp] have found chemistry, and he’s been impactful on both sides of the ice,” Devine said about Buckberger’s performance. 

Around the 13:30 mark of the final period, UND pulled their goalie to get themselves on the board and back into the game, and Halyk came up with some key saves to keep UND off the board. 

At 16:57, Devine got a pass from senior forward Carter King and Devine slid the puck into the empty net on the breakaway to seal the game and put DU up 4-0 in the final few minutes of the game. 

After a grind of a series a week ago at Arizona State, The Crimson and Gold came back home and got the weekend off on the right foot. 

“The ability to stick with it and play a complete 60-minute hockey game was huge — the penalty kill having two big kills and the ability to finish and extend the lead,” Head Coach David Carle said as to why DU came away with the victory. 

“We haven’t been playing as good as we know we can on Friday nights, especially two weeks ago against Omaha. It’s really big to have momentum and we know how tight the race is in the NCHC,” Devine said of their Friday performance. 

North Dakota came out flying on Saturday to send a message to Denver that they weren’t going out easy. Saturday’s contest was the epitome of a Denver vs. North Dakota contest that went back and forth with a lot of physicality and fast play. 

Just past the midway point of the first period, at 11:57, North Dakota got on the board. A point shot got through bodies in front of the net and a net-front battle ensued. Ben Strinden, a Nashville Predators seventh-round pick from 2022, found the loose puck and shot it over a sprawling Halyk to give UND the 1-0 lead. 

Early in the second period, at 2:24, UND took a holding penalty, and over a minute later, UND took a cross-checking penalty at 3:33. This put Denver on a 5-on-3 powerplay, and at 4:19, King pushed off the UND defender, and a sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium pass found King for the wide open net tap-in, tying the game at 1-1. 

Later in the middle frame, at 13:27, Denver took an interference penalty, and at 14:21, UND answered the bell. A one-timer from Cameron Berg set up by a great seam pass from UND’s leading point-getter, Jake Livanavage, and beat Halyk and gave UND back the lead at 2-1. 

UND’s goaltender TJ Semptimphelter stood on his head the whole night, making it hard for DU to score. After the second period, the shots were in favor of DU, 22-20, with Semptimphelter making huge key saves when needed. 

“We’ve had difficult games this year and we know that. But, we learn a lot from it, and every time we got to learn and get better,” King said on facing challenging goaltending during key situations. 

A Denver penalty at 18:54 of the second period carried over into the third period. Then, UND took a cross-checking penalty 53 seconds into the final period of the weekend, putting the game 4 on 4. 

Six seconds later at 1:00, UND’s leading goal scorer Dylan James picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, entered from the left side and wired a shot that sniped Halyk over the glove side. The 2022 Detroit Red Wings 2nd rounder extended the UND lead, 3-1.

After the third goal, UND shut down the game and didn’t allow many high-danger chances for Denver. But when Denver got high-danger chances, UND’s goaltender Semptimphelter was there to make the key saves when needed. 

Denver threw the kitchen sink and outshot UND, 35-23, but the strong defensive play from the Fighting Hawks shut down the game and ultimately earned them the split. 

The series-ending game didn’t go without fireworks as, at the final buzzer, a line brawl ensued between the two rivals, and chaos broke out with a full-on fight between two players. The game ended with an influx of penalty minutes, UND with 74 and DU with 82. 

The Crimson and Gold are back in action this week as they travel to Miami, Ohio to take on the Redhawks on Feb. 21 and 22.