UND men's hockey shut out St. Thomas 2-0 Friday night at Lee and Penny Anderson Arena in St. Paul. Goaltender Jan Špunar stopped all 19 shots he faced for his seventh career shutout, UND Athletics reported. The No. 8/7 Fighting Hawks won the series opener and can sweep the weekend tonight.
The Grand Forks Herald reported that Friday's game was UND's first win at the arena, which opened Oct. 24, 2025. UND Athletics reported that UND is 3-0-0 all-time against St. Thomas and 2-0-0 in St. Paul.
How It Went
- Fast start. UND Athletics reported that Will Zellers scored 2:04 into the first period, his fourth goal of the season, with assists to Ethan MacKenzie and Cooper Simpson. The Grand Forks Herald reported that MacKenzie's shot from the point hit Zellers' foot in the slot before going in.
- Insurance in the third. UND Athletics reported that Anthony Menghini scored at 3:51 of the third period, his fourth goal of the season, with assists to Ollie Josephson and Keaton Verhoeff. Per UND Athletics, the assist extended Josephson's point streak to four games.
- Špunar's night. UND Athletics reported that Špunar's 19 saves gave him his first shutout of the season and seventh of his career, one behind Adam Scheel for sixth on UND's all-time list. The Herald noted that Brasen Boser blocked a St. Thomas shot with Špunar out of his net in the third period.
- The other end. UND Athletics reported that UND outshot St. Thomas 31-19 and won 35 of 60 faceoffs. Tommies goaltender Will Ingemann made 29 saves, the Grand Forks Herald reported, and the Herald counted 15 UND shots blocked by St. Thomas. Neither team scored on the power play: UND went 0-for-2 and St. Thomas 0-for-3, according to UND Athletics.
- Carels leaves. The Grand Forks Herald reported that defenseman Carson Carels was hit by St. Thomas defenseman Cole Miller with 15:22 left in the third period and did not return. The Herald reported no update on his condition. Carels was the No. 6 overall pick of the Calgary Flames in the 2026 NHL Draft, and the Herald reported he leads UND in ice time.
- Killing it off short-handed. The Herald reported that E.J. Emery took two third-period penalties after Carels left, so UND killed them without two of its best penalty killers. Verhoeff carried much of the first kill, and freshman Garrett Lindberg was on the ice for the final minute-plus while St. Thomas played 6-on-4, according to the Herald.
The Season So Far
- UND is 6-3-1 overall and 2-0-1 in the NCHC, UND Athletics reported. St. Thomas is 4-5-0 and 1-2-0.
- UND is unbeaten in its last three games (2-0-1), per UND Athletics.
- The Herald reported that Friday was the third straight game in which UND held its opponent under 20 shots. That followed a late-October stretch in which UND allowed 15 goals in three games.
- UND Athletics reported that Friday was the first time since an Oct. 17 game against Bentley that UND allowed no third-period goal.
- The Grand Forks Herald reported that St. Thomas's three-game winning streak ended Friday.
Next Up
- Who/where: UND at St. Thomas, series finale, Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, St. Paul
- When: Tonight, Saturday, Nov. 14, 7 p.m. CT, according to UND Athletics and the Grand Forks Herald — some listings show a different time, so check fightinghawks.com before puck drop
- Watch/listen: UND Athletics lists Midco Sports and NCHC.tv, plus the Fighting Hawks Radio Network. Check fightinghawks.com for local channel and station details.
- Tickets: Check tommiesports.com.
Sources
- UND Athletics game recap — scoring summary, saves, records and tonight's broadcast details
- Grand Forks Herald: 5 things you might have missed from UND's 2-0 win over St. Thomas — Carels, the penalty kill
- Grand Forks Herald game story (via Yahoo Sports) — how the goals were scored and the defensive trend
