Saturday, October 28, 2023

UND Graduate Forward Hunter Johannes is Turning Heads

This season, if you have watched the UND hockey team play, you will have noticed number 28, Graduate Forward Hunter Johannes. After five games, Johannes is UND's leading goal scorer. He scored UND's first goal of the season, a shorthanded goal. Two of his four goals are shorthanded goals, that also leads UND.  Are you noticing a theme here? Johannes is finding ways to get it done. 

Friday night, entering the second period, UND held a comfortable 4-0 lead over Minnesota State.  At the 9:55 mark of the second period, Johannes would score his fourth goal of the year, to give UND an even more comfortable 5-0 lead. 

                  
In the post-game press conference, I asked UND head coach Brad Berry if he expected Johannes to be leading the team in goals after five games? 

"Probably didn't think it early on, Berry said. "When he came in here (last January) ... he played at Lindenwood.  He scored against all of the good teams. He scored against us, Denver, Minnesota. He scored against a lot of good teams. So, it's not surprising. The other thing that's not surprising is his work ethic and how he plays so fast.  He makes other teams turn pucks over and he is powerful. When you put all that together, recipe for having a good start."

Johannes works hard in practice and in the weight room. His efforts have shown up in the box scores as goals. That's a good way to stay in the lineup. 

"He's a worker in the weight room," Berry said. "I think he was a guy growing up that never got a lot of accolades or a lot of attention. He's out to prove to people that he can play and that he's doing a good job."

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