SAINT PAUL, Minn. –  After coming up a goal short in last year’s national title game, this year Minnesota Duluth made sure they were on the right side of history. For the third straight NCAA Tournament game, third-seeded UMD jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and like the other two, held on for a 2-1 win to knock off top-seeded Notre Dame and capture the 2018 NCAA National Championship Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center.

The victory gave the Bulldogs (25-16-3) their second national title in program history, both of which have come at Xcel Energy Center, after claiming their first in 2011. It also marked the third straight national champion from the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) after North Dakota won in 2016 and Denver won last year, knocking off Minnesota Duluth, 3-2, in the final in Chicago.

As was the case in their West Region final win over Air Force and Frozen Four semifinal win over Ohio State, the Bulldogs grabbed control with a pair of first-period goals. Senior forward and captain Karson Kuhlman, who was named Most Outstanding Player at the Frozen Four, opened the scoring with a snipe from the right circle, beating Notre Dame goalie Cale Morris over his left shoulder 9:06 into the game.

Minnesota Duluth then doubled its lead with 1:21 remaining in the first frame when Kuhlman helped force a turnover in the corner boards, which led to classmate Jared Thomas beating Morris from a sharp angle to make it 2-0 after 20 minutes. It was Thomas’ second goal of the Frozen Four, after also tallying the game-winner in the victory over the Buckeyes Thursday, as he joined Kuhlman on the Frozen Four All-Tournament Team.

Notre Dame (28-10-2) cut the deficit in half 7:40 into the second stanza on the power play, as Andrew Oglevie slipped the puck past UMD sophomore goalie Hunter Shepard following tic-tac-toe passing from Cam Morrison and Jake Evans. Shepard nearly made the save, but it snuck over his leg pad to make it a 2-1 game. The contest remained a one-goal game after 40 minutes, with UMD outshooting the Fighting Irish, 18-8, over the middle 20 minutes.

In the third period, the Irish looked to rally, but the Bulldog defense held strong. Shepard turned aside all five Notre Dame shots in the final frame, as the Irish pulled Morris for an extra attacker with 1:28 to play. However, Notre Dame was unable to mount any type of threat as Minnesota Duluth closed out the win for its second national title in eight years.

Shepard totaled 19 saves in the victory, as the Bulldogs outshot the Fighting Irish, 35-20, in the game. Shepard joined Kuhlman and Thomas on the Frozen Four All-Tournament Team, along with freshman defenseman Scott Perunovich, who won the Tim Taylor Award as National Rookie of the Year on Friday.

The Bulldogs finished 0-for-3 on the power play, with all three coming in the second stanza, while Notre Dame was 1-for-2 on the man advantage Saturday.

In addition to its three 2-1 victories in the NCAA Tournament, Minnesota Duluth won its regional semifinal, 3-2, in overtime over Minnesota State making them the first team to win all four NCAA Tournament games en route to a national title by one goal. The NCHC also became the first conference to win three straight NCAA national championships since the WCHA won five straight from 2002-06.

--#NCHCHockey--