GRAND FORKS, N.D. - No. 10 UND finished its NCHC opening weekend unbeaten Saturday night, beating No. 5 Western Michigan 4-1 at Ralph Engelstad Arena, according to the UND athletics recap.
The Fighting Hawks played in front of a sellout crowd of 11,622, per the UND recap. Friday's opener ended in a 2-2 tie, and Western Michigan took the extra point by winning the shootout, according to WMU Athletics.
Cole Reschny and Gavin Lindberg scored in the first period, and junior forward Cody Croal added two goals, one in the second period and one into an empty net late in the third, the UND recap said. Sophomore goaltender Jan Špunar stopped 17 of 18 shots, per UND athletics.
UND's power play went 0-for-5, the first time it has been shut out this season, the Grand Forks Herald reported. The Hawks scored four goals anyway.
The defensive numbers stand out. Western Michigan put 35 shots on goal on the weekend (17 Friday, 18 Saturday), its fewest in a weekend in 17 seasons, the Herald reported.
The win leaves UND 1-0-1 in the NCHC, per the UND recap, which also described it as ending a four-game winless streak.
Western Michigan's Adam Benák received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a stick swing at Croal on the empty-net goal, the Herald reported. The league reviews all five-minute majors as standard procedure, and no decision had been reported.
What's next: UND travels to St. Paul to play St. Thomas on Nov. 13 and 14, per UND athletics; check the schedule for start times. The Hawks are back at the Ralph on Nov. 20 and 21 against St. Cloud State, then host Lindenwood on Nov. 27 and 28, according to the 2026-27 schedule on fightinghawks.com.
