Hunter Shepard's hex over Miami University continued on Saturday night in Oxford, Ohio, as the University of Minnesota Duluth junior goaltender backstopped the Bulldogs to a 3-0 National Collegiate Hockey Conference victory while shutting out the RedHawks for a fourth consecutive time.

The victory completed the fifth series sweep of the season for the No. 5 Bulldogs, who moved to 14-6-2 on the year and took over sole possession of second place in the NCHC at 7-4-1-0. Miami, mired in a 10-game winless slump, is now 9-11-4 overall and 3-7-2 in the NCHC.

UMD scored once each period and did so in three different ways -- a power play goal from sophomore All-American defenseman Scott Perunovich with 3:00 to go before the first intermission, a successful penalty shot from sophomore Justin Richards at 7:38 of the second, and an even-strength tally from sophomore right winger Nick Swaney 4:13 into the third. Perunovich's eventual game-winner came off a shot from the point that deflected in off a Miami defender while Swaney potted his his eighth goal of the season  -- and second of the weekend --  after rookie left winger Noah Cates forced a RedHawk turnover and fed the puck to Swaney in the slot. Richards became the first Bulldog to convert a penalty shot since Oct. 15, 2010 (Travis Oleksuk vs. Providence College in Duluth) and in the process hiked his scoring streak to a personal-high six games.

Shepard, making his 60th consecutive start, finished with 17 saves en route to posting his fourth shutout of the year and 12th as a Bulldog. He and his UMD teammates kept Miami off the board on all four of its power opportunities (and all nine over the weekend).  Jordan Uhelski, who relieved starter Ryan Larkin in Friday's 4-0 setback to the Bulldogs, was credited with 36 stops.

The Bulldogs will return to AMSOIL Arena this Friday and Saturday (Jan. 25-26 to host the University of Nebraska Omaha in a pair of NCHC bouts.