GRAND FORKS -- UND held a one-goal lead when center Jake Schmaltz skated to the right faceoff dot with 2.5 seconds left.
He needed to win one last faceoff to secure a victory and a sweep over Robert Morris.
Schmaltz won the faceoff cleanly, sending the puck back to the corner to seal UND's 1-0 win at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The draw capped Schmaltz's 13-2 night in the dot.
"After the second period, Jake Schmaltz was, by a country mile, leading faceoffs," UND coach Brad Berry said. "He was a beast on the dot tonight. It didn't matter which guy, and even if it was on his opposite side, his weak side, didn't matter. He has a mindset of winning the draw, and he did. It's a big, big deal to start with possession. I thought both nights our centermen did a good job winning pucks back."
Because of Schmaltz's success throughout the night, Berry didn't hesitate putting Schmaltz in to take the final draw.
"You have to go with the percentages," he said, "and go with the guys that you trust. Obviously, we have a lot of trust with Jake Schmaltz."
Robert Morris only generated two shots on goal on its four power-play opportunities, with both coming on the Colonials' first advantage.
"Last night our power play won us a game," Berry said. "Tonight, I think our penalty kill gave us a chance to win the game. That's what you have to do, have special teams be a big part of it."
The Hawks are 51st in the country on penalty kill efficiency at 76.1%.
With Louis Jamernik V out of the lineup for Saturday's game, Dane Montgomery went back to forward after playing defense in nine games this year. He played left wing on the fourth line with Cade Littler and Dalton Andrew.
"I thought he helped that line tonight," Berry said. "They had some OZP (offensive zone possession) time, and they played the right way. You have to have four lines going through most of the games to have the energy for the other guys here, and I thought they did a good job. Monty's a driver."
Montgomery was on the ice for the final 10 seconds of the game in 6-on-5 play protecting the lead.
"He does the right things time and time again," Berry said. "He's not a big body, but he's a strong body, and he is a smart player. He's a leader, and he's been in our program long enough to know the habits and details of trying to close the game."
He didn't see the ice, but Jamernik was on UND's bench in full uniform.
He told Berry during pregame meetings that he still wanted to be part of the leadership group.
"He wanted to be on the bench," Berry said. "Even though he was hurting a little bit here, he made a huge impact just sitting on the bench. He was like a coach, talking to guys individually, saying things at the right time to the collective part of the team. It shows you a guy that's a true team captain who cares."
His presence didn't go unnoticed by his teammates.
"It means a lot to us here," UND forward Sacha Boisvert said, "just to see a guy who's been here for four years, who leads the way, whether it's in the gym, practice, in games. Just being able to have him in the locker room is a big part, on the bench, too. His voice is really good to hear."
Berry didn't confirm that Jamernik would be back in the lineup next weekend, but "there's a really good chance that he'll play, knowing Louis Jamernik," he said.
With Jamernik out of the lineup, UND played without three of its five players wearing letters.
Assistant captains Bennett Zmolek and Cameron Berg were also out. Zmolek is listed as out indefinitely, while Berg is week-to-week.
Because of that, Berry went to his players and reinforced the need for others to step up into those leadership roles.
"I grabbed the guys that were remaining, (assistant captains) Jake Schmaltz and Jackson Kunz," he said, "and then I grabbed four other guys in the group. I said, 'Hey, at the end of the day, we need some juice and energy here. We need some more leadership in our group.'"