Sunday, March 17, 2024

UND Crushes Miami, 7-1. Advances to the Frozen Faceoff

There's an old hockey cliche: It's very hard to end a team's season. On Saturday night, the UND hockey team looked like a determined team. They were determined not to play game three. It was pretty straightforward: Lose to the lowly RedHawks, and they'd be back on the ice on Sunday night. Mission accomplished: When the final horn sounded, the Hawks left no doubt as they crushed the Miami RedHawks 7-1 and sent them home looking for answers. 

Seven different players scored goals for UND - at the 13:17 mark of the first period, Riese Gaber scored his 18th goal of the season to give UND a 1-0 lead. Gaber is two short of 20 goals, and if he can reach 20 goals, it will be the first time since the 2005-06 season that three UND players have had 20 or more goals: Drew Stafford, 24; Jonathan Towes, 22; and T.J. Oshie, 24.

The Hawks scored another in the second and five in the third period to blow the game open. It was an impressive win against a bad hockey team. 

In one of the nice stories of the year, graduate forward Hunter Johannes scored the first UND goal of the season at Ralph and the last goal of the season at Ralph. This was a player that wanted to play at UND but didn't get the opportunity. After playing three seasons at AIC, he transferred to Lindenwood College. Due to COVID-19, he benefited from having a fifth year and transferred to UND—his dream school. He's made the most of his opportunity. 

The three stars of the game were 1st star Jackson Blake (1g-2a-3pts), 2nd Star Jackson Kunz (1g-2a-3pts), and third star of the game Hobie Hedquist 28 saves. It was the second multipoint game of Kunz's career and the first three-point game of his career. Kunz has (5g-6a-11pts) in his last 13 games. When asked about having his first three-point game of his career, Kunz was pretty low-key.

"I don't like talking about myself too much," Kunz said. "You're playing with good players, making one pass, and you don't know what they will do with it. I'm lucky to be able to be out there with the guys we have."

It didn't matter what the RedHawks game plan was; the Fighting Hawks had an answer for everything they tried. When a shot got through, the defense either blocked it, or freshman goalie Hobie Hedquist saved it. 

"We had the puck on our stick," Miami head coach Chris Bergeron said. "(We) don't do what we're asking them to do; we turn the puck over to the wrong guy, and it's one zero." 

This past weekend, UND's starting goalie was out with an undisclosed issue (injury or illness). During Saturday's post-game press conference, Brad Schlossman asked UND head coach Brad Berry for an update on his starting goalie. It was Mum's the word. 

"We're not going to divulge very much information because it's the playoffs," Berry said. "As the week progresses, we'll share more information, but right now, it's undisclosed." 

No matter what the issue was, UND didn't need Persson. The rookie phenom stopped 51 of 53 shots (.962). During the first period of Saturday's game, Hedquist was tested early and made quite a few difficult stops. 

Hedquist's play caught the eye of the Miami coach.

"For a guy who hasn't played much, he hasn't lost yet; he's 5-0 over 90 save percentage," Bergeron said. "They don't have bad players here. Whether he's played a bunch or not that much, he's proven he's a good player."

During the post-game press conference, I asked Coach Berry if he was tempted to ride a hot goalie and start him on Friday at the Frozen Faceoff. 

"Yeah, everything's on the table, Berry said. "You've known us long enough that we will put a lineup together that gives us a chance to win. We have two very good goaltenders. Hobie proved himself now, and Ludvig proved himself in the past. We will go through the week here. We'll keep moving forward. It's nice to know guys get to come in and contribute."

Saturday, March 16, 2024

UND Races Past Miami, 5-1


The UND hockey team moved within one game of advancing to the 2024 NCHC Frozen Faceoff with an impressive 5-1 win over the last-place Miami RedHawks. After the first period, the game wasn't close. After taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, UND scored two in the second and two in the third to race past the hapless RedHawks. 

Miami's season has been miserable. The RedHawks last won a game 63 days ago, on January 13, 2024. UND is looking to end Miami's season on Saturday at 6:07 p.m. 

It was a night of surprises. UND senior goalie Ludvig Persson was a last-minute scratch, due to an unknown reason. Freshman goalie Hobie Hedquist took the net and stopped 23 of 24 shots for a .958 save percentage. Hedquist is 4-0-0, 2.28 GAA and .906 save percentage. In the post-game press conference, UND head coach Brad Berry was asked if Hedquist would be starting on Saturday. 

"I don't know," Berry said. "I'll let you guys know tomorrow when you get to the rink." 

On Friday night, UND junior forward Jake Schmaltz scored his first goal of the season—his first in 33 games. Schmaltz last scored on March 12, 2023. His goalless streak lasted one year and three days. Schmaltz was all smiles after the game. 
 
"I figured I was due for one, and now we are just trying to keep building on it," Schmaltz said. "Hopefully, they keep falling for me. 

With UND's win, UND improves to 25-10-2 and 15-8-1 NCHC. With the loss, Miami drops to 7-25-3 and 1-21-2 NCHC. The Hawks improve to 30-8-1 all-time against the RedHawks. UND is 14-3-2 against Miami in Grand Forks. 

Another record was tied. With his goal and assist, freshman defenseman Jake Livanavage tied former defenseman Brian Lee for the most points by a rookie defenseman at UND since the 1999-00 season. When asked about tying Brian Lee's record, Livanavage brushed his accomplishment off. 

"(I am) not focused on that right now," Livanavage said. "We've got a lot of season ahead of us. That's what I'm focused on. I don't care about the individual awards. I care about the team aspect." 

UND's high-octane offense. UND now has two 20-goal scorers. On Friday, Jackson Blake scored his 20th goal of the season, becoming the second player to hit 20 goals. Blake and Cameron Berg are the first two players to score 20 goals since the 2015-16 season when Brock Boeser and Drake Caggiula accomplished that feat. Riese Gaber scored his 17th goal of the season, giving UND the possibility of having three players score 20 or more goals.


 

Saturday, March 09, 2024

Omaha Outworks North Dakota, 3-2


It was a weird night in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. All the home teams won, and not a single road team broke through. On Friday, the University of North Dakota hockey team appeared to suffer from the Penrose Cup hangover. UND came out a step slow and chased the game for 50 minutes. The Hawks didn't play badly; Omaha just played better. They made a push in the third period, but it wasn't enough. 

"We didn't start on time." head coach Brad Berry said. "That was a desperate team. They were sharper than we were in the first two periods. We played with some desperation in the third, but in this league, you got to play three periods." 

"We knew they were going to be a hungry team, UND captain Riese Gaber said. "They came out hungry. That was a difference. We had a good third period, but we got outworked in the first half of the game. That ended up being the deciding factor." 

"They were the hungrier team," Louis Jamernik V said. "It's such a mental game. We did a good job preparing all week and doing the right things. It just comes down to who wants it more. They won the puck battles and puck races, especially in that first half. We didn't give up. I thought our third period was pretty good. We were 14 and 4 for shots. It shows when we're playing desperate hockey, we can dominate."

"I thought our game, all three periods, was very good' Omaha head coach Mike Gabinet said, "Guys played extremely well." 

It wasn't all negatives for UND. Sophomore forward Jackson Blake set the NCHC's conference scoring record with an assist in the first period, his 36th conference point of the season. He broke the record held by former UND forward Brock Boeser (2015-16) and DU forward Bobby Brink (2021-22). 

Junior forward Cameron Berg scored his 20th goal of the season, becoming the second player since Shane Gersich, 21 goals in 2016-17 to reach 20. Looking at the player stats for the UND hockey team, the Hawks could have three players with 20 or more goals.


Even with the loss, UND remains at No. 3 in the Pairwise Rankings. 

Special teams play: UND went 1-for-4 on the power play. UND's penalty kill remained hot; the Hawks have now killed 14 straight penalties since Feb. 16, 2024. 



  

Thursday, March 07, 2024

Toronto D-Man Jake McCabe Cross Checks Brad Marchand, Is There a Suspension Coming?

From the dirty hits department. At the 3:54 mark of the first period, Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe cross-checks Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand in the head area. Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk responds to McCabe's dirty cross-check. The VBruins were given a 5-on-3 power play. However, there was no call on McCabe. I expect that McCabe is going to get a call from the NHL's Department of Player Safety. No Leafs fans, just because the hit was on Marchand doesn't make this hit okay. Finally, does McCabe get a fine or a suspension? This season, Boston is 2-0-1 against the Leafs. 

Sunday, March 03, 2024

The Penrose Cup Returns to Grand Forks; UND sweeps WMU with a 3-0 Win


When I walked into Ralph Engelstad Arena on hockey media day back in September, I could feel the energy and a buzz in the building. I picked up a vibe as I interviewed some new players. I had a feeling. As I started watching this team play, they started racking up wins. I told Virg Foss that this team had a chance to do good things. I even compared them to the 2016 team. As the final horn sounded on Saturday's game, UND won 3-0. The Hawks clinched the series against the Broncos and the Penrose Cup outright. 

Even more impressive is that this is UND's fourth Penrose Cup in the last five seasons and UND's sixth in the previous 11 seasons. This is one goal on the list of things that UND wants to do. UND is looking to check more boxes. 

"We have a winning culture," Hunter Johannes said. "We're going to get back to work; we want to bring this town, these fans, and our families what we deserve. We're going to come in and work every day for it."

Defensively, it was a solid team effort. UND goalie Ludvig Persson was solid in net, stopping 35 of 35 shots. When Persson wasn't making saves, the players in front of him blocked 26 shots. For the weekend, UND blocked 52 shots. Persson was named the game's number-one star. The HindÃ¥s, Sweden native, appears to have found another gear. 

Before coming to UND, Persson had been on Miami teams that were cellar dwellers at the bottom of the NCHC standings. During Persson's prior three seasons, the RedHawks had never won more than eight games. If you add up all three season's wins, the RedHawks won 20 games; this season, UND is 24-8-2. Saturday, Persson recorded his fifth shutout of the season. In three previous seasons, he had a combined total of five shutouts. Persson is (21-8-2, 2.44 GAA and a .908 save percentage). 

On February 16-17, 2024, the Colorado College Tigers swept UND by a combined score of 13-3. Since that weekend, UND has rebounded, going 4-0, outscoring the opposition 18-5, and recording two shutouts. UND goalie Ludvig Persson played a big part in that. This past weekend, Persson stopped 69-of-72 shots for the weekend. That's a .958 save percentage.

What went through Persson's mind as he was handed the Penrose Cup? 

"Lots of thoughts going through your mind," Persson said. "It's been a journey to get there. A lot of emotions. It's a long journey to get here. I'm going to take it all in. Just enjoy the moment. I am just happy."

Jackson Blake is on a five-game point streak and scored (2g-9a-11pts) during that streak. Last night, he scored his 19th goal and 50th point of the season. He's now tied with Brock Boeser and Bobby Brink for the NCHC record for most conference points in a season. Blake is the first UND player since Brock Boeser to score 50 or more points. 

Currently, Blake is tied for third place in the national scoring race behind Boston College's Will Smith (17g-37a-54pts), Cutter Gauthier (31g-20a-51pts), Gabe Perreault (15g-35a-50pts), Blake (19g-31a-50pts), Boston University Macklin Celebrini (26g-22a-48pts), and Denver University's Jack Devine (24g-25-49pts).  (Link to National Scoring Stats


 

Saturday, March 02, 2024

Goon's Takeaways: UND Inches Closer to Another Penrose Cup with 5-3 Victory over WMU


Friday night's theme: "Our goalie really bailed us out."

Sometimes wins don't come easy. Friday, the University of North Dakota was badly outshot 37-17 but still prevailed with a hard-fought 5-3 win. Senior goalie Ludvig Persson was rock solid in net, stopping 33 of 37 shots (.918); many were grade-A shots. Fighting Hawks blocked 26 shots led by defenseman Bennett Zmolek and Dylan James with five blocked shots each. It was a gritty team effort.

"I gotta give a shout-out to Luddy (Ludvig Persson)," Carson Albrecht said. "He stood on his head, and I don't think we would have won without him."

UND received balanced scoring. Five players scored goals for UND: Owen McLaughlin, Jackson Kunz, Louis Jamernik V, Carson Albrecht, and Cameron Berg. 

Last night, Blake continued his torrid pace with (0g-2a-2pts). Blake sits in fourth place in the national scoring race behind Boston College's Will Smith (17g-37a-54pts), Cutter Gauthier (31g-20a-51pts), Gabe Perreault (15g-35a-50pts), Blake (18g-31a-49pts), Boston University Macklin Celebrini (26g-22a-48pts), and Denver University's Jack Devine (22g-26-48pts). Can we say Hobey Baker? (Link to National Scoring Stats) According to Brad Schlossman, with Blake's two assists, he's within one point of the NCHC record for most league points in a season (35). The record is held by former UND forward Brock Boeser (2015-16) and former Denver Pioneer Bobby Brink (2021-22). (Yeah, that Brink.) 

There's a lot on the line on Saturday night. 

"There's a ton of motivation tomorrow to know you can do it on the second last series of the year, at home, on senior night, which is always emotional, Berry said. "(In the past) our guys have done a good job on senior night, they know what's coming, but they block it out till the end of the game. They know the task at hand. That's going to be a salty team coming in tomorrow. They probably thought they deserved a better fate. At the end of the day, that's hockey."

With the 5-3 victory, the UND hockey team inched closer to winning their fourth Penrose Cup in the last five years and their sixth in the previous 11 years. With a win against Western Michigan on Saturday night, UND would clinch at least a share of the Penrose Cup. If UND wins and Denver sweeps SCSU, UND will win the Penrose outright. There are numerous other scenarios still out there. 

"We control our destiny, Jamernik V said. "If we play the right way, everybody will bring it tomorrow because it's senior night. We have to stay focused on the task at hand."

Former UND forward Matteo Costantini returned to the Ralph Engelstad Arena and recorded (1g-1a-2pts). A change of scenery has done Costantini well; he now has (8g-18a-26pts) and is also a plus-20.


 

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Dylan James Leads UND Past UMD, 4-2

What a difference a week makes. After dropping two games to the Colorado College Tigers, the University of North Dakota hockey team was looking to rebound against the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. After giving up 13 games last weekend, UND tightened up on defense and protected their goalie, Ludvig Perrson, who had a bounce-back weekend, stopping 43 of 45 shots for a .955 save percentage. UND swept the season series against UMD for the first time since the 2015-16 season. We all remember what happened that season. 


When the final horn sounded, and after the game-ending scrum had ended, UND had put 10 goals behind the UMD goaltenders and only gave up two goals against. Sophomore forward Dylan James led UND with two goals, his first two-goal game of the year and the second of his career. Jackson Blake finished the weekend with seven points (1g-6a-7pts). It was an impressive effort all the way around. 

UND also kept UMD's leading scorer, Ben Steeves, off of the score sheet. More impressive UND held Steeves to a single point, an assist in four games this season. 

"It was a very productive weekend," head coach Brad Berry said. "It's what we needed. It's what we had to have after losing two to CC. The guys did a good job. It was the tale of two different games. Last night was sharp, and special teams were a big part. We scored some power play goals, and tonight we scratched and clawed and found a way to win." 

 On defense, sophomore defenseman Bennett Zmolek blocked 10 shots on the weekend. What's impressive is that Zmolek spent 12 minutes in the penalty box after getting a two-minute roughing penalty and a 10-minute misconduct penalty in the second period. 

"When somebody enters the portal, there's not much time to pull the trigger," Berry said. "He didn't play last year. He was out with hip surgery, and his body of work was talked about through phone conversations. We didn't have a lot of current video to watch on him. We called former coaches and people in his circle to see what kind of player, what kind of person he is. The biggest thing for me was him playing against his brother in Bemidji for four years and his other brother in Mankato for four years. If he's anything like those two guys. I'll take him in a heartbeat."

Garrett Pyke transferred from the University of Alaska and has never played for a conference title or played in the NCAA tourney. In his senior season, finally, he's getting that chance.

"It was exciting last year; my team went on a run for hopefully the tournament, so I'm looking at it the same way," Pyke said. "We're looking at the Penrose and to make a deep run, so it's a lot of fun."