Sunday, November 12, 2023

UND Hockey: UND Sweeps UMD With 2-0 Win


The UND hockey team started the National Collegiate Hockey Conference schedule on the right foot by sweeping the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (4-2 W, 2-0 W) at Amsoil Arena. Saturday night, UND played disciplined hockey, taking two minor penalties and only giving the Bulldogs third-ranked power play one opportunity. 

Saturday's game was a typical NCHC conference matchup. It was a meat grinder. There was some heavy hitting and not a lot of room to roam. I thought UND's defense limited the Bulldogs offensive opportunities and they didn't get a lot of good looks. When the Bulldogs were able to get a shot on net, Ludvig Persson was solid in the net. 

Speaking of the Persson. In 10 games, Persson has a (7-2-1 record, 1.90 GAA, and a .925 save percentage). He also has two shutouts. He's also been the NCHC goalie of the week three times. He was also the NCHC goaltender of the month for October. 

Saturday, there wasn't a lot of scoring, but it was enough to send the Hawks back down Highway 2 with smiles on their faces. Love the Tweet from the UND SID Alec Johnson.  

Senior forward Louis Jamernik V had a pretty good weekend for UND. He scored his first and second goals of the season against the Bulldogs. Saturday, Jamernick scored his second goal of the year at the 7:38 mark of the first period. That was also his first power play marker of the year. Jamernik has now scored in three straight games against the Bulldogs. Perusing social media and the message boards, some have said that Riese Gaber has taken a step back this year. Gaber put all of that to bed with his fifth goal of the season. His goal gave UND a 2-0 lead. On Saturday, Gaber had his third multi-point game of the season.

Controversial Call Late? 

With 4:06 remaining in the game, UMD Darian Gotz was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for contact to the head. Many in the Bulldog fanbase and the UMD hockey media disagreed with the call. You can watch the video below and decide for yourself. 

The explanation given to the News Tribune by the NCHC was Gotz’s elbow extended and made contact with the chin of Johannes. Sandelin said he was told by the officials the review was “definitive.”

You can look at the video and decide for yourself. If your team is trying to get back into the game, don't make that play. It was unnecessary and ended up hurting the Bulldogs in the end. 

 
This team is a lot more confident than last season. There's a very different attitude in the UND locker room this season. To quote Brad Elliot Schlossman, "This team is pretty good." I would agree, defensively and offensively. 

"We're a confident group," Gaber told the media after the game. "We've got a lot of weapons. We showed that this weekend. We're just going to keep going and doing our thing."

All you have to do is look at the stats to see this team is doing a lot better on the ice.  It starts with the defense and goaltending. 

UND is ranked 7th nationally in save percentage .922, and 11th in goals against. Through ten games, UND is the top-ranked defensive team in the NCHC. Again, yes, it's early. 

They're playing more disciplined, they're 15th nationally in Penalty Minutes. They're ranked 3rd nationally in shorthanded goals scored.

Speaking of things that make me smile, I re-read Bruce Ciskie's pre-season predictions and it seems he underestimated the UND hockey team. I know it's early, but the eight D-men in question have performed pretty well against a really tough schedule. 

In four games against UND, Grand Forks native Cole Spicer has yet to record a point against the hometown team. Obviously, he's got a few more kicks at the can, but it's something that I noticed. 

UND has won five straight games at Amsoil Arena. That's a feat that hasn't been accomplished since November 29, 1968. 
Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)