Goon’s Takeaways: UND Takes 4 of 6 Points From SCSU With 3-3 Tie

On Saturday, the University of North Dakota hockey team took four of six points against St. Cloud State to vault them to the top of the NCHC standings. In the upcoming weeks, UND has an excellent opportunity to solidify its spot at the top of the NCHC standings. It starts this weekend against the Denver Pioneers. 

UND is on an impressive run; this was another weekend without a regulation loss. UND hasn't lost in regulation since November 3, 2023, at Boston University. That's a 17-game streak. Yes, UND is 2-4-2 in overtime, but the team is working on getting better in the 3-on-3 overtime. Last night, UND possessed the puck for most of the five-minute 3-on-3 overtime. 

"We're the only NCHC team that hasn't lost in regulation," UND head coach Brad Berry said. "We haven't lost in regulation since early November. That tells me a lot." 

 It's still a work in progress, but UND is focused on closing out games in regulation. 

"We've got to do a better job of closing the game in 60 minutes to win games," Berry said. "When we're trailing in games, we find a way to get points. That's a huge deal, coming out of here with the series win, knowing we don't play them again until the playoffs. It's the resiliency of our group." 

A few weeks ago, I told Virg foss that freshman forward Jayden Perron is about to break out. After making this bold prediction, Perron went pointless in four games. Perron ended his four-game pointless streak on Saturday by recording two assists for his first-ever multi-point game. 

Saturday, SCSU outshot UND 35-27; this was the first time this season that UND has been outshot in both games in a series. Speaking of shots. Against the Huskies, UND goalie Ludvig Persson was on top of his game. In both games combined, he stopped 66 of 72 shots for a .916 save percentage. On Saturday, Persson finished with 32 saves and improved his record to 13-6-2 (2.40 GAA and a .905 save percentage).  

What can we say about sophomore forward Jackson Blake? He continued his magical season with another solid weekend and extended his point streak to six games with his goal in the first period. He's scored (4g-4a--8pts) during that six-game streak. Blake has (15g-15a--30pts) for the season, and he's a plus-four.