ST. PAUL — Midway through the second period of an N.C.A.A. Frozen Four semifinal Thursday night, North Dakota right wing Danny Kristo wheeled at the left of the net and fired a quick shot at Shawn Hunwick, the Michigan goalie. Hunwick made the save, something he did repeatedly this night, and the sophomore Kristo slammed his stick on the ice.

The frustration never subsided for North Dakota. Hunwick’s masterly play sent Michigan to a 2-0 victory over the top-ranked and high-powered Sioux, who became the last of the N.C.A.A. tournament’s No. 1 regional seeds to fall. The Wolverines (29-10-4) will face Minnesota-Duluth, a 4-3 winner over Notre Dame in an earlier semifinal, for the championship Saturday night at the Xcel Energy Center.

“Who would have thought the first goal of the game would be the deciding goal?” Michigan Coach Red Berenson said.

Certainly not North Dakota (32-9-3), the nation’s No. 2 scoring team. The Sioux outshot Michigan by 40-20 over all and by 26-10 over the final two periods.