SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the first time since 2016, North Dakota is heading to the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four. The top-seeded and No. 2 ranked Fighting Hawks dominated third-seeded and No. 11 Quinnipiac in the NCAA Midwest Region Final Saturday night at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., blanking the Bobcats, 5-0, to book their ticket to Las Vegas.
 
With the win, UND (29-9-1) advances to its 23rd Frozen Four in program history. North Dakota will face old WCHA rival Wisconsin in the National Semifinals on Thursday, April 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, home of the 2026 Men’s Frozen Four.
 
Freshman and NCHC Goaltender of the Year Jan Špunar recorded his second straight shutout in the regional, stopping all 22 Quinnipiac shots to earn Most Outstanding Player of the Sioux Falls Region. He also made 31 saves in Thursday’s regional semifinal shutout of Merrimack, as he now has an NCAA-best six shutouts on the season. Špunar is the first goaltender in UND history to record multiple shutouts in the same NCAA Tournament.
 
North Dakota jumped out to a fast start thanks to freshman forward Jack Kernan, who scored two goals in the first period for his second career multi-goal game. His first tally came 6:02 into the contest, beating QU goalie Dylan Silverstein five-hole with a low shot from the left circle.
 
UND then made it 2-0 only 2:12 later when sophomore Cody Croal knocked in a rebound in front of the net with some nice hand-eye coordination on a bouncing puck. It was his third goal of the regional and 10th of the year. Kernan made it 3-0 just over four minutes later when he snapped a wrist shot top shelf from the right circle, giving him 11 goals on the year. Both Croal and Kernan earned All-Tournament Team honors at the regional, along with Špunar.
 
The Fighting Hawks remained in control the rest of the way, adding two more tallies in the second stanza after three in the first frame. Senior Dylan James notched his second goal of the weekend and team-leading 21st on the season when his shot deflected off a Bobcat defenseman and into the net. James was also named to the All-Region Team. NCHC Rookie of the Year Cole Reschny then rounded out the scoring midway through the second period to make it 5-0.
 
UND outshot Quinnipiac, 29-22, in the win, including 7-4 in a scoreless third period. The teams went a combined 0-for-5 on the power play. Along with Kernan’s two tallies, freshman Will Zellers and junior defenseman Abram Wiebe each dished out two assists in the victory for multi-point games.
 
The time for North Dakota’s Frozen Four semifinal against Wisconsin is still to be announced. National Semifinals are set for 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.
 
Up Next
While one Frozen Four semifinal is determined, the second semifinal will be decided on Sunday with three more NCHC teams in action. The National is guaranteed to have at least two teams in the Frozen Four as No. 4 Denver and No. 5 Western Michigan meet in the all-NCHC Loveland Region Final at 1 p.m. MT, with the game on ESPN2. In the nightcap, No. 6 Minnesota Duluth battles No. 1 Michigan in the Albany Region Final at 4:30 p.m. CT with the game on ESPN.
 
The National Collegiate Hockey Conference has never had three teams in the Frozen Four, but will place at least two teams in the National Semifinals for the seventh time in 12 NCAA Tournaments since the NCHC began play in 2013-14.

Sioux Falls Region All-Tournament Team
F - Cody Croal, NoDak
F - Jack Kernan, NoDak
F - Dylan James, NoDak
D - Abram Wiebe, NoDak
D - Elliott Groenewold, Quinnipiac
G - Jan Špunar, NoDak (MOP)