UND Sweeps Pioneers, 4-2. UND Sits All Alone on Top of the NCHC Standings

After a successful weekend by the hometown team, NoDak Nation is all smiles. The UND hockey dominated all weekend, sweeping their arch-rival, the Denver Pioneers (5-2 W, 4-2W). I would classify this past weekend's series as an ice-bag series. UND was the first team in 2023-24 to beat Denver in back-to-back games. What's more impressive, UND held the Pioneers top line of Mckade Webster, Massimo Rizzo and Jack Devine to a single point all weekend long. 

For the second straight game in a row, UND held DU to less than three goals, the first time that has happened this season. 

I think sophomore forward Owen McLaughlin said best: "They're a really good team, we don't like them."

With UND sweeping DU and Boston College sweeping BU, UND vaults into second place in the all-important Pairwise Rankings. If UND can maintain a top-four spot, that's Huge. With the sweep and Omaha taking four of six points against SCSU, UND is four points ahead of the Huskies and nine points ahead of DU and CC. During the regular season, UND went 3-1-0 against DU and took 10-of-12 points against the Pioneers. UND swept the Pioneers for the first time since November 5-6, 2021 (3-1 W, 4-1 W) in Grand Forks. 

At the 8:35 mark of the third period, the game was tied 2-2 when Pioneers defenseman Sean Behrens was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct. The Hawks would go on the power play and cash in with goals from McLaughlin and Riese Gaber. 

"Let's get one early, and let's get another," Gaber said. 

"This has to be the nail in the coffin," UND head coach Brad Berry said in the post-game press conference after his team went on the game-changing five-minute power play. 

UND had the attack mentality all weekend long. 

"Having that attack mentality, whether you're up in a game, we want to continue to build our lead; whether you're down, you're never out of it, UND head coach Brad Berry said. "Each game presents a different scenario, and you must make the most of it."

 

UND extended its regulation unbeaten streak to 19 games, the third-longest in school history. They can add to that total against the Miami RedHawks in Oxford, OH.

UND's top pointgetter, Jackson Blake, had another great weekend; he recorded a pair of assists to extend his point streak to eight games. Blake now has (16g-18a-34pts). Blake has nine multi-point games and six three-point games. 

Sophomore forward Owen McLaughlin has caught fire and has multiple points in five of his last eight games. He had another three-point game on Saturday night, his fifth of the season. He's tied with Blake with nine multi-point games. McLaughlin now has (9g-19a-28pts). That's good for second on the team in points. McLaughlin has accomplished this impressive point total despite being held pointless in his first four games of the season and a three-game stretch in December where he was held pointless. 

Junior forward Cameron Berg remained hot, scoring a goal for the fifth straight game, giving him 10 points (7g-3a-10pts) in the last nine games.