Goon's Takeaways: UND Races Past DU, 5-2

Walking into Ralph Engelstad Arena Friday night, you could feel the energy; there was a buzz. During the warmups, it got louder. The DU vs. UND series is one of the matchups the fans and players circle on their calendars. When the final horn sounded, UND fans would leave Ralph happy. Here are my takeaways from Friday's convincing 5-2 win. 

On Friday night, it was about the details. UND played a solid defensive game and held the Pioneers to two shots on goal during the first period. In the second period, UND was outshot 10-9 but outscored the Pioneers 3-1. 

After dominating Denver in the first period, halfway through the second, Dylan James and the little-used Griffin Ness gave UND a 2-0 lead. A minute and 37 seconds later, Pioneers Defenseman Zeev Buium got the Pioneers on the board. At the 17:10 mark of the second period, the Hawks got their first and only power play goal with a snipe from Jackson Blake. 

At the 14:42 mark of the third period, the Pioneers would cut UND's lead to one with a goal from junior forward Aidan Thompson. That was all the closer the Pioneers would get; UND would score two empty net goals (Cameron Berg and Ben Strinden) to give UND a 5-2 win. 

Details: How good was UND's defense? Denver is the top offensive team in the country, and they're averaging 5.1 goals per game. For comparison sake, UND is the fifth ranked team in goals scored. Entering Friday's game, the Pioneers had scored at least three goals per game. UND's defense held the Pioneer's high-flying offense to two goals and Massimo Rizzo and Jack Devine without a point. 

"We know they're a good rush team," head coach Brad Berry said. "They jump four or five guys at that time. Puck management is one thing, and making sure that you close on guys quicker. When we give that team a little room, they can make plays, and our guys did a good job from start to finish, taking time and space away." 

Friday, against the Pioneers, UND played its best defensive game of the year. 

"I thought it was a really good 60 minutes, probably one of our better ones of the year," UND graduate defenseman Keaton Pehrson said.

   

With the 5-2 win, UND sits alone in first place in the NCHC standings with 29 points. With their 7-6 loss to the Omaha Mavericks, St. Cloud State is in second place, 2 points behind. Denver is third with 23 points. If UND could win the series finale, they would be nine points ahead of the Pioneers.

What else can we say about sophomore forward Jackson Blake? This week, UND announced he was a Hobey Baker Memorial Award candidate. He's the team's leading scorer (16g-16a-32pts) and a plus-three. Last night, he added a goal and an assist for his eighth multi-point game of the season, which leads UND. Blake extended his point streak to seven games and has scored in three straight. Finally, Blake has been very successful against the Pioneers. He has scored 11 points (3g-8a-11pts) in seven career games.

Junior forward Cameron Berg has been on a roll. He's scored (13g-12a-25pts) and is tied for second in points with Owen McLaughlin. With his two points (1g-1a-2pts), he now has seven multi-point games. Like his teammate Blake, Berg has had some success against the Pioneers; after last night's two-point game, he now has 10 points (5g-5a-10pts) in nine career games. Finally, West Fargo Native Berg has six goals and two assists in his last seven games. 

With the 5-2 win, UND improves to 158-135-16 (.547) all-time against Denver. UND holds a 93-46-10 advantage on home ice. In recent years, this series has been pretty even; UND is 8-7 in the last 15 games against the Pioneers. After losing four straight games last season, UND has won two of the previous three meetings between the two foes.

The UND hockey team has gone 18 straight games without losing in regulation. Their last regulation loss was on Nov 3, 2023, when UND lost to BU 3-2.