Unbeaten and No. 1-ranked University of North Dakota was unable to overcome a three-goal deficit against the University of Minnesota-Duluth on Friday night in Amsoil Arena in Duluth, eventually falling 5-2 to the No. 2 Bulldogs in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference opener for both teams. UMD (4-1-2 overall, 1-0-0 in NCHC) jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first period as senior Alex Iafallo scored on the power play, his first of three goals. Iafallo and Adam Johnson added second-period goals to put the Bulldogs up 3-0 before Rhett Gardner and Shane Gersich tallied for UND (5-1-0, 0-1-0) late in the period to cut the margin to 3-2. UMD scored another power play goal in the third period, this one from Neal Pionk, to go up 4-2 before Iafallo added an empty-netter in the last minute of the game. Fighting Hawks goalie Cam Johnson finished the night with 33 saves, while UMD’s Hunter Miska stopped 24 shots. The two teams meet again tonight. Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.