GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) - After coming from two goals down to beat Bemidji State on Friday, North Dakota had to hang on to beat the Beavers on Saturday.
The top-ranked Fighting Hawks took a three-goal lead in the third period and held on to beat the Beavers 5-4 for a sweep of their weekend series.
Brock Boeser followed up his hat trick on Friday with two more goals. Boeser has scored eight goals in his last three games against Bemidji State.
Zach Yon, Rhett Gardner and Shane Gersich also scored goals for UND (5-0-0).
“It’s never easy, and (Bemidji State coach Tom) Serratore said it’s always a one-goal game,” UND coach Brad Berry said. “He wasn’t lying. That team over there has a lot of heart.”
At 3:44 of the third, Rhett Gardner scored to make it 5-1. But Jay Dickman (6:07), Brendan Harms (10:05) and Dillon Eichstadt (19:19) scored for the Beavers to make it 5-4.
“We sat on our heels a little bit. We’ll have to learn from this,” Berry said of the third period.
For the fourth straight game, UND gave up a goal to start the game. This time, Leo Fitzgerald scored with an assist by Gerry Fitzgerald at 2:53 of the first.
UND needed just 50 seconds to answer. A shot by Boeser deflected off Tyson Jost’s skate and into the net. The goal was first awarded to Jost, then to Boeser, who had a hat trick in Friday’s 3-2 come-from-behind win.
Jost figured in UND’s go-ahead goal with 21 seconds left in the first period. His shot hit the pipe and rebounded out to Gersich, who scored his third goal of the season from a tough angle.
“I was trying to drive the net and he tried to throw it over to me and I knew it hit a skate,” Jost said. “I knew I didn’t score but they gave it to me so I was joking with Brock about it.”
The Fighting Hawks made it 3-1 just 23 seconds into the second period, when Yon finished off a 3-on-1 rush with Gardner and Austin Poganski.
North Dakota outshot the Beavers 33-29. UND goalie Cam Johnson stopped 25 shots, while Michael Bitzer had 28 saves for Bemidji State.
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