MANKATO, Minn. – No. 5 North Dakota rallied from two goals down in the third period to stun No. 20 Minnesota State, 3-2, from the Mayo Clinic Health Systems Event Center on Friday night in Mankato, Minn.
Trailing 2-0 after 40 minutes, UND (2-0-0) struck three times in the third to complete the comeback and win its first road debut since 2021-22 while also improving to 2-0-0 against ranked foes on the young season.
Following a major penalty call on Minnesota State (2-3-0) late in the second, UND jumped on the board just 40 seconds into the third when Cameron Berg potted his second of the year on a scramble in front before Louis Jamernik V evened the score just 18 seconds later by batting the puck out of the air to send the large contingent of NoDak fans into a frenzy.
Just prior to the midway point of the period, Carter Wilkie flew down the wing and blistered a shot through the legs of goaltender Alex Tracy to give UND the lead while T.J. Semptimphelter held down the fort in the closing minutes to close out the 3-2 victory.
Three Fighting Hawks recorded multiple points in the win, with Berg and Jamernik V each potting a goal and an assist. Freshman forward Sacha Boisvert made it back-to-back games with two points to begin his collegiate career, dishing out a pair of helpers to give him four points (1-3-4) over his first two games.
Semptimphelter was solid in his first road start for the green and white, stopping 23-of-25, including all seven in the final stanza, to improve to 2-0-0 on the season.
It was a back-and-forth affair to begin the game, with both teams trading chances and zone time. Minnesota State took advantage in the final minutes of the stanza, as Josh Groll poked a loose puck through the legs of Semptimphelter to give the Mavericks a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Minnesota State gained control in the middle stanza, with Groll adding his second of the game early in the period to increase the advantage to 2-0. The hosts nearly took a 3-0 lead, but a successful challenge for a major penalty on the play by UND took away the goal and gave the Fighting Hawks a power play at the end of the second.
UND rallied in the third with three straight goals, capped off by Wilkie’s first as a Fighting Hawk at the midway point of the period, to storm back for the 3-2 win.
North Dakota will aim for the sweep tomorrow night at 6:07 p.m.
