OXFORD, Ohio — Ninth-ranked Minnesota Duluth finished off a clean sweep of No. 20 Miami in NCHC play via a 4-1 victory on Saturday over the RedHawks at Goggin Ice Center.
Junior defenseman Aaron Pionk, freshman wing Hunter Anderson, senior wing Scout Truman and sophomore wing Max Plante scored for the Bulldogs, with three goals being the result of power plays and Plante finding an empty net late from UMD territory.
Freshman wing Kocha Delic scored the lone goal for the RedHawks, who were celebrating Senior Night.
UMD sophomore goaltender Ethan Dahlmeir, who spent his freshman season in Oxford at Miami, made 24 saves on 25 shots, getting beat early in the third period.
Dahlmeir’s replacement at Goggin, Miami sophomore Matteo Drobac, finished with 17 saves on 21 shots.
The Bulldogs dominated the special teams battle, finishing a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill and, officially, 2-for-5 on the power play.
Unofficially, the Bulldogs were 3-for-5 on the power play with Pionk’s goal coming just as a Miami penalty expired.
The first three penalties Saturday were all on UMD until a hook by Miami 2:29 into the second period gave UMD its first power play, leading to Pionk’s goal.
The second period saw seven minor penalties — four on Miami, three on UMD — called, with the Bulldogs getting a brief 13-second 5-on-3 advantage. That’s where Truman scored, beating Drobac a second before that expired to keep UMD on the power play 5-on-4.
Pionk’s goal was his first of the season. That’s right. The defenseman from Hermantown, who had three goals in each of the three previous seasons, waited until his 32nd game of 2025-26 to finally put one in the back of the net. It was his first goal since Feb. 14, 2025.
Pionk was UMD’s fourth-leading scorer and their assist leader last season, with 23 helpers to go along with his five goals.
He’s now up to one goal and nine assists as a junior, assisting on a power-play goal by Anderson that Pionk put off the post before Anderson helped it across the goal line.
Anderson will find his name in the hat for NCHC Rookie of the Week after finishing with four points in Oxford, registering a goal and an assist both nights. He now has five goals and 11 assists in 28 games this season.
Meanwhile in Milan, Slovakia missed out on a bronze medal following a 6-2 loss to Finland on Saturday at the Olympics in Italy. Bulldogs sophomore starting goaltender Adam Gajan has spent the previous three weeks with the Slovakian Olympic team as their third-string goalie. He didn’t dress for any of Slovakia’s six games. He is expected back in Duluth this week in time for the series against Colorado College.
The Bulldogs close the regular season next weekend at Amsoil Arena against Colorado College, with puck drop scheduled for 7:07 p.m. Friday and 6:07 p.m. Saturday.
Co-host of the Bulldog Insider Podcast and college hockey reporter for the Duluth News Tribune covering the Minnesota Duluth men’s and women’s hockey programs.