Goon's Takeaways: UND Sweeps Miami with 4-1 Win

Things don't always come easily for the University of North Dakota hockey team. Entering the weekend, this looked like a series in which UND would dominate from the drop of the first puck to the final whistle. It was Miami; they had won a single NCHC conference game and were 1-12-1 in conference play. Some in NoDak Nation wondered if this could be a trap series. 

When the final horn sounded, UND had completed the sweep of the RedHawks with a 4-1 win. While it wasn't a dominating series win, UND took 11 of 12 points in the season series. More importantly, it was the second series in a row where UND had closed out an opponent, winning the season series. 

It was a series in which UND graduate defenseman Logan Britt had a great weekend on the score sheet. On Saturday, he scored two goals to lead UND. Britt scored three goals on the weekend to push his goal total to five, a career-high. It was also the first time in his career that Britt had scored a pair of goals.  

Saturday was a bounce-back game for senior goalie Ludvig Persson. After letting in four goals the night before, Ludvig Persson was stellar between the pipes, stopping 33 of 34 shots (.970).

  

Earlier this week, I listened to the UND hockey podcast, and Brad, Eli, and Feldy talked about statistics. This season's UND hockey is a stats geek's dream. There are so many positive stories to run on. Below are some storylines from this weekend's series against the Miami RedHawks. 

Saturday's game against the RedHawks was a parade to the penalty box for UND. They played an undisciplined game and took an excessive amount of penalties; UND entered the game, averaging 6 minutes a game in penalties minutes. Saturday, UND was assessed eight minor penalties for 16 penalty minutes. After Saturday's game, UND is still ranked 4th least penalized team in the nation. I am sure UND will want to clean that up before the playoffs. 

Forward Jackson Blake extended his point streak to 10 straight games (6g-11a-17pts). Moreover, Blake has scored 13 points in his last six games (5g-8a-13pts). He also has 10 multi-point games. In 28 games, he's scored (17g-22a-39pts). 

Cameron Berg is having a career year. Saturday, he pushed his career-long point streak to seven, where he's scored (6g-4a-10pts). Berg has eight goals in the last 10 games. In 28 games, he's scored (15g-14a-29pts).

UND head coach Brad Berry recorded his 200 win behind the UND bench. Berry's team also improved to 20-6-1 and 11-4-1 NCHC.

"The guys gave me a puck today in the locker room," Berry said. It was pretty emotional. I've been here for a while and told them this isn't just me. It was the players in the locker room- the players that came before them - an amazing coaching and support staff. We have a great staff here. It's a team award, but I told them I'll hand this puck in right now and trade it for championships and banners."

With Saturday's win, UND tied the program record for the longest regulation unbeaten streak, reaching 21 games. UND has not lost a game in regulation since November 3, 2023 (against BU, 3-2 loss). In 2024, UND improved to 8-1-1 (.850).

Since moving to the NCHC, UND has owned the RedHawks. After Saturday's win, UND is 29-8-1 (.776) all-time against the RedHawks and 12-4-2 in Oxford, OH.