GRAND FORKS, N.D. — No. 19/19 North Dakota grabbed an early lead and went on to defeat the Miami University hockey team 7-1 Friday night at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
 
Blake Mesenburg scored his first career goal for the RedHawks (4-7-2, 0-6-1 NCHC). Jackson Blake scored two goals to lead North Dakota (5-5-2, 2-2-1 NCHC).
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• 3:31 1st (UND 1-0) | North Dakota struck first as Mark Senden pushed the puck up the right side and sent it across toward Louis Jamernik V. Jamernik managed to corral the puck after it deflected off a RedHawk's stick and drop it back to Gavin Hain trailing the play for the first goal of the game.
• 15:08 1st (UND 2-0) | The Fighting Hawks doubled their lead on an unassisted tally from Ben Strinden later in the opening period. He won the puck in the corner and skated it across the front of the crease to slide it past Ludvig Persson and give UND a 2-0 advantage.
• 6:41 2nd (UND 3-0) | UND took advantage of a Miami major penalty to pick up a pair of power play goals in the second period. The first came as Chris Jandric barely held the puck in at the blue line and managed to play it over to Riese Gaber. He passed the width of the ice to Blake, who scored to make it 3-0. The play was reviewed for a possible offside call but the goal stood.
• 9:31 2nd (UND 4-0) | After passes from Ty Farmer and Brent Johnson, Griffin Ness took a shot that redirected off a Miami defender in front and trickled into the back of the net to put UND on top 4-0.
• 10:57 2nd (UND 5-0) | As the RedHawks tried to set up a brief 5-on-4 power play, North Dakota's Tyler Kleven fired a long pass from his own end line that connected with Gaber to start a 2-on-1 break. He dished it over to Senden for a shorthanded goal.
• 18:15 2nd (Miami 5-1) | Miami got on the board late in the second period. Hampus Rydqvist fed Mesenburg at the right point, with his pass finding Matthew Barbolini behind the goal. Barbolini skated it to the corner and sent a return pass to Mesenburg in close. The freshman center fired it past UND's Jakob Hellsten to make it 5-1.
• 18:33 2nd (UND 6-1) | The Fighting Hawks responded on the next shift. After a scramble near the net, Strinden retrieved the puck from the end wall and wrapped a pass around the goalpost. Judd Caulfield batted it out of midair to give the home team a 6-1 advantage. Dylan James also picked up an assist on the play.
• 4:43 3rd (UND 7-1) | Blake finished off a third-period 2-on-1 with a tap-in at the far post on a pass from Jake Schmaltz. Brent Johnson added an assist for the home team.

 
NOTES

• Barbolini picked up his team-leading 11th point (4-7-11) and extended his point streak to four games.
• Mesenburg recorded the first point of his career.
• Rydqvist has a point in four of his last five games and matched his career high with five shots on goal for the second consecutive game.
• Persson made a total of 20 saves in the first two periods, with Logan Neaton recording eight in the third period.

 
UP NEXT:
The RedHawks and Fighting Hawks conclude their two-game series Saturday, Nov. 19. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. ET in Grand Forks.