North Dakota
Major penalty dooms UMD in loss to North Dakota
DULUTH — North Dakota scored on its power play chances Saturday, and Minnesota Duluth did not.
The result was a 4-1 victory for the No. 3-ranked Fighting Hawks over the No. 10 Bulldogs in NCHC play at Amsoil Arena.
Sophomore wing Mac Swanson, freshman wing Will Zellers and senior wing Dylan James scored for the Hawks, all in the third period. James scored two breakaway goals to clinch the win, putting his second into an empty net.
Sophomore center Zam Plante was credited with the Bulldogs’ lone goal after a shot by his younger brother and linemate, wing Max Plante, went in off the elder Plante’s skate with 7:58 to play, pulling UMD within a goal before James answered.
Freshman goaltender Jan Spunar made 25 saves for North Dakota while Bulldogs sophomore Ethan Dahlmeir finished with 24 saves.
“That’s playoff hockey, that’s how tight it is going to be,” said Bulldogs senior defenseman and captain Joey Pierce about how UMD’s series with North Dakota felt. “That’s how small the margin is — one little shift, one little decision. That’s something we need to learn from and think about. Everyone has to realize every decision they’re making matters. I think we do that at times, but we have to be able to do that all the time.”
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
North Dakota took command on a five-minute power play in the third period to break open a scoreless game. Zellers and Swanson both scored while UMD senior center Kyle Kovich sat for five minutes in the penalty box for boarding.
The Hawks finished the game 2-for-5 on the power play, going 2-for-3 on the Kovich major that came 3:37 into the third period.
“We took a bad penalty in the third period and it cost us the game,” Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said. “That’s all that needs to be said.
“We’re in a tight game. It was back and forth, 0-0. Going into the third period we had a chance to win a game. We take a penalty. Good teams, like they usually do, capitalize. I would hope we do the same thing. It’s the difference in the game.”
The Bulldogs went 0-for-3 on the power play in the first period,
just as they did Friday night in the 3-2 overtime win.
North Dakota took three penalties in less than four minutes in the first period, giving UMD a 5-on-3 advantage for 46 seconds at one point.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
UMD had the best power play in the NCAA coming into the weekend at 32.3%, but dropped to second behind Minnesota after Friday’s results — the Gophers entered Saturday 32.5% — as UND held UMD to 1-for-5 on Friday.
North Dakota took a fourth penalty to close the first period, giving UMD a power play to start the second period. UMD didn’t convert on that one, either, and finished the game 0-for-4 after not getting another power play Saturday.
UMD put seven shots on Spunar on four power plays that spanned 7:14, but Max Plante said he didn’t feel good about how the power play performed.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
“We’re having chances, the power play should have chances, but we’ve got to capitalize on them,” Max Plante said. “I don’t know what needs to change. Maybe move the puck faster. Myself, I need to make smarter plays. It just needs to be better.”
North Dakota had a goal overturned by a UMD challenge early in the second period. The Bulldogs successfully challenged for offside, wiping out what would have been the first goal of the season for Hawks sophomore defenseman Jayden Jubenvill.
There were three video reviews Saturday. The first two — the offside challenge by UMD and a North Dakota challenge for a missed major penalty — both went in the Bulldogs’ direction. The referees initiated the third review, which was of Kovich’s hit in the North Dakota zone, ruling it was worthy of a major penalty.
Why did Sandelin not challenge a hit from behind on Luke Bibby in the third period? The Bulldogs freshman wing was hit from behind into the wall with UMD down 2-1. The hit looked similar to what landed Kovich in the penalty box for five minutes.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Sandelin had a conversation with the referees, and then decided not the challenge the hit.
“They came over and told me it was a dive,” Sandelin said. “I said, ‘Well then why don’t you call the penalty on us?’”
Sandelin didn’t blame the referees for the loss. He blamed his team’s lack of discipline, something they discussed after the second period ended with a scrum that had UMD junior defenseman Brady Cleveland and North Dakota sophomore wing Cody Croal starting the third in the penalty box.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
The coach felt the momentum of Saturday’s game was swinging in their favor, that North Dakota was getting frustrated. Then Kovich took a major penalty.
“We did it to ourselves. We put ourselves in a bad position and can’t do that,” Sandelin said. “We talked about it in between periods. Stay disciplined. You know what? Every time we talk about it, we do something dumb. It’s unbelievable, so I don’t know if I should stop talking about it?”
Dahlmeir suffered his first loss in the UMD net Saturday. The Bulldogs backup is filling in for starter Adam Gajan, who is with Slovakia at the 2026 Olympics in Italy. Dahlmeir, a transfer from Miami, started his UMD career 3-0, including a win Friday in goal against North Dakota. He’s now 4-11-1 as the goalie of record in his college career.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
The Hawks leave Duluth battered and bruised. UND was without one half of its top defensive pairing Saturday — senior Bennet Zmolek — because of an undisclosed injury.
Freshman center Cole Reschny left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury after getting slashed by Cleveland on a breakaway. He and Cleveland got tied up and crashed hard into the end wall together.
Reschny had to be helped off the ice, unable to put weight on his left leg.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
The Bulldogs got their first sellout of 2025-26 on Saturday, with an announced crowd of 6,869. That tops Friday’s season-high of 6,668, which was 88 tickets short of a sellout. The previous high at Amsoil Arena in 2025-26 over the first 13 home games was 5,801 on Saturday, Jan. 4 against Western Michigan. UMD entered the weekend averaging 5,337 fans per game, which ranked 10th in the NCAA and fourth in the NCHC.
The Bulldogs have two regular season home games remaining, Feb. 27-28 against Colorado College, and hold the final spot to host a best-of-three NCHC quarterfinal series March 6-8, sitting fourth in the NCHC.
The Bulldogs are idle next weekend before hitting the road for the final time in the 2025-26 regular season at Miami. The Bulldogs and RedHawks drop the puck at 4:30 p.m. CST on Feb. 20 and at 5:05 p.m. CST on Feb. 21.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
North Dakota 0-0-4—4
Minnesota Duluth 0-0-1—1
First period
No scoring.
Second period
No scoring.
Third period
1. ND, Mac Swanson (Will Zellers, Abram Wiebe), 4:49 (pp)
2. ND, Zellers (Wiebe, Swanson), 7:35 (pp)
3. UMD, Zam Plante (Max Plante, Aaron Pionk), 12:02
4. ND, Dylan James (Wiebe), 14:44
5. ND, James (Ben Striden), 17:06 (en)
Saves — Jan Spunar, ND, 25; Ethan Dahlmeir, UMD, 24.
Power play — ND 2-5; UMD 0-4. Penalties — ND 5-10; UMD 4-11.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Submitted Photo
U.S. soldiers with the Nebraska and North Dakota National Guards, assigned to Joint Task Force-District of Columbia in support of the DC Safe and Beautiful mission, pose for a group photo at a hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, April 28. N.D. National Guard 2nd Lt. Caleb Hill, front row, far left, served as the officer in charge of the mission when soldiers assigned to JTF-DC responded to the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner April 25. About 2,500 National Guard members are supporting the DC Safe and Beautiful mission, providing critical assistance to the Metropolitan Police Department to help ensure the safety of residents, commuters and visitors throughout the District. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Thomas Norris.
WASHINGTON – U.S. soldiers with the North Dakota, Arkansas and Nebraska Army National Guard, assigned to Joint Task Force-District of Columbia in support of the DC Safe and Beautiful mission, responded to a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner (WHCAD) at the Washington Hilton in Northwest Washington April 25.
The Guardsmen were at the WHCAD at the request of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) as an additional patrol unit created specifically for the event, which celebrates the contribution of news organizations and independent journalists alike who provide notable coverage relating to the presidential administration.
“Our mission was to assist the U.S. Secret Service with crowd control,” said Capt. Kevin Peatrowsky, an operations officer with the Nebraska National Guard (NENG) assigned to JTF-DC.
As the Guardsmen were monitoring their area of operations, they saw USSS agents sprint toward the hotel entrance.
“They were running full speed with their weapons drawn,” said Sgt. 1st. Class Allen Haney, a team member with the Arkansas National Guard. “We immediately followed suit.”
Staff Sgt. Kirsten Confer, a NENG combat medic and battle captain, recalled her response to the incident: “We fell back on our basic training. You run toward danger and move in a way that makes sense for the situation.”
According to Confer, the Guardsmen entered the hotel and immediately began securing the scene and ensured that the guests evacuated safely. At the direction of a federal agent, Confer began a rapid trauma assessment on the suspect which resulted in finding knives and ammunition on the shooter. Simultaneously, the Arkansas soldiers moved outside to provide crowd control at a pedestrian barricade outside the hotel.
“From there, we assisted wherever we could,” said 2nd Lt. Caleb Hill, a National Guardsman from North Dakota who served as the officer in charge for the mission. “We were initially helping with crowd control. After that, we realized that the USSS had begun rerouting everyone in the hotel, so we moved to the doors. We were controlling entry into the venue, so we had moved a couple more people outside, so we had five inside, eight outside.” Both Arkansas and Nebraska worked well alongside one another and, alongside the federal agencies. Hill also noted that relying on his soldiers allowed him to move to different teams, which helped allow him to plan and coordinate with different agencies.
According to 1st Lt. Jonathan Goins, a platoon leader with the Arkansas National Guard, Arkansas soldiers also helped establish a security perimeter for the staging of the presidential motorcade. Later, the team assisted federal agencies and MPD with crowd control, which helped clear the way for the president and administration officials, he said.
“Guardsmen on this mission represent the very best of the nation,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard II, the interim commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard. “The world got a brief glimpse, but I see them each day serving and doing amazing things across the District.”
FARGO, N.D. (KELO) — The Sioux Falls Stampede staved off elimination with a 2-1 overtime win over the Fargo Force in game four of the USHL Western Conference Finals Saturday night.
Thomas Zocco scored the game-winner 12 minutes into the extra period. Arseni Marchenko put Fargo on the board first in the first period. Noah Mannausau tied the game for the Herd in the second period.
Sioux Falls outshot Fargo 53-49, including 9-5 in overtime. Linards Feldbergs made 48 saves.
Three of the four games of the series have gone to overtime. The winner-take-all game five is Tuesday at the Premier Center.
New ballot measure guide to be mailed to North Dakota voters ahead of election
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