North Dakota Defeats Omaha, Advances to NCHC Semifinals

Fighting Hawks rally after early deficit to sweep quarterfinal series

Published on Mar. 8, 2026

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The University of North Dakota men's hockey team came from behind to defeat Omaha 5-1 on Saturday, completing a sweep of their NCHC Quarterfinal series. After Omaha scored the opening goal, North Dakota responded with five unanswered goals, including two from Mac Swanson, to advance to the NCHC semifinals.

Why it matters

North Dakota's victory extends their impressive home winning streak to 15 games and sets up a matchup with Minnesota-Duluth in the NCHC semifinals next Saturday. The Fighting Hawks are looking to make a deep postseason run after a strong regular season performance.

The details

After Omaha's Maxime Pellerin scored the opening goal just four minutes into the game, North Dakota took control and scored five unanswered goals to secure the victory. Mac Swanson led the way with two goals for the Fighting Hawks, who got contributions from four different players in the win.

  • The game was played on Saturday, March 8, 2026.
  • North Dakota scored five unanswered goals after Omaha's opening tally in the first period.

The players

Mac Swanson

A North Dakota player who scored two goals in the win.

Maxime Pellerin

An Omaha player who scored the opening goal of the game.

Dane Jackson

The head coach of the North Dakota men's hockey team.

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What they’re saying

“It was a tight, close game in the first period.”

— Dane Jackson, Head Coach (am1100theflag.com)

What’s next

North Dakota will host Minnesota-Duluth in the NCHC semifinals next Saturday, March 15, 2026 at 6:07 p.m.

The takeaway

North Dakota's resilience and offensive depth proved too much for Omaha, as the Fighting Hawks rallied from an early deficit to complete the quarterfinal sweep and advance to the NCHC semifinals where they will face a tough test against Minnesota-Duluth.