No. 3 North Dakota falls, 5-3, at Minnesota in series finale

MINNEAPOLIS (UND Athletics)– Minnesota freshman forward Wyatt Cullen scored three times and added an assist to help the Golden Gophers defeat No. 3 North Dakota, 5-3, and sweep the series on Friday night from 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, Minn. North Dakota (4-2-0) suffers its first sweep away from Grand Forks since Nov. 1-2, 2024 at Cornell and is swept for the first time in Minneapolis since Nov. 4-5, 2011. Senior forward Hudson Malinoski (2), junior forward Cody Croal (3) and sophomore defenseman Sam Laurila (1) potted the goals for North Dakota, as the Fighting Hawks finished the night with a 45-22 shot advantage. Malinoski also dished out an assist to give him a multi-point night and extended his point streak to five straight. Sophomore netminder Jan Špunar finished with 17 saves on 22 shots against, but suffered his first back-to-back losses of his collegiate career. It was a much better start for North Dakota in the opening period in terms of limiting turnovers and creati