It was Rhett Gardner's North Dakota Fighting Hawks who came out on top against former Okotoks Oilers teammate Tariq Hammond and the Denver Pioneers on Thursday night in the NCAA Frozen Four match-up.

Tension was high with the game tied 2- 2 and less than a minute left on the clock.

It was North Dakota's Nick Schmaltz who broke the tie and took the team to a 4- 2 lead for the win.

The National Championship goes Saturday for Gardner and North Dakota when they take on Quinnipiac.