No. 3 North Dakota secured its seventh Penrose Cup as NCHC regular season champions with a 5-3 victory over No. 4 Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The win marks the most Penrose Cups in league history and gives North Dakota the No. 1 seed for the NCHC Frozen Faceoff.
The game took place on February 27, 2026, at Western Michigan's home rink in Kalamazoo. North Dakota improved to 32-16-1 all-time against Western Michigan and 14-6-1 in Kalamazoo with this victory, which was their first in regulation over the Broncos since March 2, 2024, in Grand Forks.
Jan Špunar made 22 saves in net for North Dakota, improving his season record to 17-3-1. The Fighting Hawks received goals from all four forward lines for the second straight game, including Sam Laurila's first career goal in the first period. Abram Wiebe, Ellis Rickwood, and Cole Reschny each extended their point streaks to four games, with Reschny reaching 30 points on the season to become the third North Dakota player with that total.
Western Michigan outshot North Dakota 25-21 and went 0-for-2 on the power play, while North Dakota did not have a power play opportunity. Faceoffs favored North Dakota 30-27, led by Rickwood's 13-9 performance. The win boosted North Dakota to 9-4-0 against nationally ranked teams this season and 12-3-0 on the road. North Dakota now holds 22 overall regular season conference titles, the most in NCAA history.
With the Penrose Cup, North Dakota earns the top seed for the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, to be played on campus sites.
