No. 5 UND stunned No. 20 Minnesota State with a 3-2 comeback win

MANKATO, Minn. – No. 5 North Dakota rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat No. 20 Minnesota State 3-2 on Friday night at the Mayo Clinic Health Systems Event Center in Mankato, Minn.

Trailing 2-0 after 40 minutes, UND (2-0-0) struck three times in the third period to complete the comeback and win its first away debut since 2021-22 while improving to 2-0: 0 against ranked opponents improved young season.

After a serious penalty against Minnesota State (2-3-0) towards the end of the second period, UND jumped into the third period after just 40 seconds Cameron Berg achieved his second place of the year when he was previously in the lead Louis Jamernik V Just 18 seconds later, he tied the score by knocking the puck out of the air, sending the large crowd of NoDak fans into a frenzy.

Just before the halfway point of the period, Carter Wilkie flew down the wing and fired a shot through the legs of goalie Alex Tracy, giving UND the lead TJ Semptimphelter held the fort in the final minutes and made the 3-2 victory perfect.

Three Fighting Hawks scored multiple points in the win, with Berg and Jamernik V each having a goal and an assist. Freshmen forward Sacha Boisvert managed two points in two straight games early in his college career and dished out two helpers that gave him four points (1-3-4) in his first two games.

Semptimphelter had a solid performance in his first away start for the Green and Whites, stopping 23 of 25 goals, including all seven in the final stanza, to improve to 2-0-0 on the season.

It was a back and forth affair at the start of the game with both teams exchanging chances and zone time. Minnesota State took advantage in the final minutes of the stanza when Josh Groll slipped 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 scoring his second goal early in the period to increase the lead to 2-0. The hosts almost took a 3-0 lead, but a successful challenge with a big penalty by UND negated the goal and gave the Fighting Hawks a power play at the end of the second period.

UND bounced back with three straight goals in the third period, capped by Wilkie’s first goal as a Fighting Hawk midway through the quarter, to storm back for a 3-2 win.

North Dakota will go for the sweep tomorrow night at 6:07 p.m

Post-game notes

• UND improves to 41-13-9 all-time against Minnesota State and 16-6-5 in Mankato
• The win was NoDak’s first in Mankato since March 8, 2013 (0-2-1 since then)
• The Hawks improve to 2-0-0 against ranked opponents this season
• UND also wins its road debut (at Bemidji State) for the first time since 2021-22
• Cameron Berg scored goals in two consecutive games to start his season
• Louis Jamernik V scored multiple points for the seventh time in his career and the first time since January 12, 2024
• Sacha Boisvert has scored multiple points in each of his first two games of his college career
• Carter Wilkie scored his 44th career goal and his first for UND
• It is the first two-goal comeback in the third period since February 2, 2024 in Miami
• All four strikers recorded at least one point for the second game in a row
• Jayden Jubenvill made his collegiate debut on defense, as Bennett Zmolek was outside (unknown)
• UND went 2-for-4 on the power play while Minnesota State went 0-1
• TJ Semptimphelter finished with 23 saves while Alex Tracy had 19 for MSU
• MSU’s Wilkie, Josh Groll and Berg were named the game’s three stars in that order
• NoDak finished the game with a 27-22 lead Jake Schmaltz all walking up and down at a pace of 8-3

How it happened

First period
14:34 | MSU – Josh Groll (1) by Adam Eisele (1) and Rhett Pitlick (1)

Second period
02:20 | MSU – Grudge (2) by Eisele (2) and Pitlick (2)

Third period
00:40 | AND – Cameron Berg (2) from Sacha Boisvert (2) and Louis Jamernik V (1)
00:58 | AND – Jamernik V (1) from Boisvert (3) and Berg (2)
09:09 | AND – Carter Wilkie (1) from Jake Livanavage (1) and Owen McLaughlin (2)

For more information on hockey in North Dakota, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmhockey.