The shots just kept coming for the University of Minnesota Duluth Friday night at AMSOIL Arena -- and the goals followed.

The No. 5 Bulldogs attempted 91 total shots, put 56 on net (their largest output in nearly three years) and cruised to a 7-2 National Collegiate Hockey Conference victory over the University of Nebraska Omaha. 

Sophomore right winger Nick Swaney scored three times for his first collegiate hat trick and finished with 12 shots -- the most by a Bulldog since Judd Medak generated a dozen against the University of Wisconsin on March 6, 2004. Sophomore defenseman Dylan Samberg and junior defenseman Nick Wolff each had a goal and an assist for UMD, which went 3-for-5 on the power play. Junior left winger Riley Tufte and sophomore All-American defenseman Scott Perunovich both were credited with two assists while sophomore center Justin Richards helped set up one goal to extend his personal scoring streak to seven games.

The two clubs went into the first intermission tied at 1-1 despite the Bulldogs owning a 19-5 shot advantage. UMD (15-6-2 overall and 8-4-1-0 in the NCHC) erupted for five goals in the second period, including a pair from Swaney, the reigning NCHC Offensive Player of the Week, who now has a team-leading 11 tallies on the season and seven points in his last three games.

The Mavericks (7-14-2; 3-9-1-1 NCHC) managed generated just 17 shots on Bulldog junior goaltender Hunter Shepard.

"It was a good 60-minute game for us," said UMD head coach Scott Sandelin. "I really liked our start and we had our legs going. We put a lot of pucks on net in the first, even though we only had one goal to show for it. I thought our guys kept it going in the second and I thought our third period was good as well."

The two clubs will meet again Saturday night for the final time in the 2018-19 regular season.