First Loss of the Season: North Dakota Hockey Falls 5–3 at Minnesota After Closing Within One in the Third
On the night of October 22, 2026, in a college men's hockey rivalry game at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, the No. 3-ranked University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks lost 5–3 to the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, their first defeat of the season, dropping their record to 4–1.
North Dakota trailed 1–0 after the first period before Jack Kernan tied the game with a power-play goal in the second. But Minnesota scored three times in the first five minutes of the third period to stretch the lead to 4–1. The Fighting Hawks answered with goals from Anthony Menghini and Cole Reschny to close within 4–3 and still had a chance to tie with just over five minutes left, before Minnesota sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
North Dakota goaltender Jan Špunar made 30 saves but could not prevent the first loss; Minnesota outshot North Dakota 35–24. The two teams meet again at the same arena on Saturday night, October 24, with North Dakota looking to even the series.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Ralph Engelstad Arena 冰球比赛现场。摄影：Jackmar1，CC BY 3.0（Wikimedia Commons）。Photo: Inside Ralph Engelstad Arena during a hockey game. Photo by Jackmar1, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
