UND's Red Hot Ben Strinden Takes Flight

 

Entering the 2025-26 season, UND senior forward Ben Strinden had never scored more than 16 points in a season. This season, Strinden has played like a player with something to prove. 

Strinden is on a heater. 

Before this season, Strinden had played in 99 games; he scored (17g-20a--37pts), and he was also a plus-17. This season, something clicked for him. After his career-high four-point game against Minnesota-Duluth, he said his late father, who passed this way this past summer, gave him inspiration.

"I really felt him with me tonight," an emotional Strinden said. "I don't think I've ever gotten four assists at any level of hockey. I think that was my dad, for sure. It was special. It's hard to put into words. I miss him every day."  

I started tearing up listening to @realbenstrinden speak about his father in the post-game. https://t.co/TRqb9GIxE4

— Eric J. Burton (@goon48) November 2, 2025

Strinden followed up that four-point effort with a three-point effort against the Omaha Mavericks. He's scored (6g-5a-11pts) in his last six games. He has four multi-point games on the season, a career-high. The next point he records will equal his career high in points from last year. Strinden leads UND with (7g-8a--15pts), and he's a plus-eight, which is second on the team in plus/minus.

Strinden's second goal against ASU was a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, UND would lose the game to the Sun Devils 4-2, but Strinden's second goal gave the team some life. 

Ben snipes it home to pull us within one! #UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/gdMUAn2Q8v

— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) November 16, 2025

Strinden's play has caught the eye of the UND coaching staff. 

"He's such a powerful player," head coach Dane Jackson said. He plays with confidence; he's a driver. He's always going to the net. We're trying to get him out for some extra shifts because he's feeling it, and he's a dangerous player right now."

After his four-point night against the Bulldogs, his teammate Abram Wiebe was complimentary of Strinden's play. 

"He was dominant," Wiebe said. "He was everywhere on the ice. He did a good job coming into their zone and being a support option for the defenseman. He was flying all night, making plays, finding guys, and it was showing. I am really happy for him."

From what we have seen so far, Strinden has a very high ceiling. 

Forks Down, UND Blasts ASU, 5-2

 

Friday, UND looked to even the score against Arizona State. The Sun Devils were making their first visit to Ralph Engelstad Arena. Through the first three games, ASU had gotten the better of UND, winning two out of three games. 

On Friday night, things started great for UND. NoDak got off to a fast start and took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, with goals from Ben Strinden and Will Zellers. 

In the second period, UND faced some adversity. With UND clinging to a 2-0 lead, the Sun Devils gained momentum, scoring a power play goal by Kyle Smolen and an even-strength goal from Lucius Cruz. The second period would end in a 2-2 tie. 

What a difference a year makes. Last year's team would have found a way to lose after the Sun Devils tied the game. That didn't happen. UND came out in the third period with a purpose. 

The game wouldn't stay tied very long. At the 1:04 mark of the third period, freshman forward Will Zellers would score his second goal of the game. For those keeping track, Zellers now leads the Hawks in goal scoring. 

Before Brian Rivers could finish announcing the Zellers' goal, senior forward Tyler Young would score his first goal of his UND career. Young would also get an assist on UND's final goal, as sophomore forward Cody Croal scored to ice the game.  

With the injury to freshman forward Jack Kernan, Young was penciled into the lineup with Mac Swanson and Ellis Rickwood. In the post-game, Young was gracious and happy to get the opportunity. This brings new meaning to the next man up. Young made the most of his opportunity. 

"This is the most special locker room I've been in," Young said. "No one's treated differently, whether you're in or you're out. You're treated the same way. You're always ready."

How did UND end recruiting the senior forward Young? 

"You have to give GM (Bryn) Chyzyk credit for that," UND head coach Dane Jackson said.

For those wondering at home, Young is the son of the former NHL player Scott Young, yes, that one, the two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. 

When you look at this UND team, all four lines are contributing. Eleven players recorded points in Friday's game. Seventeen players have scored a goal for UND this season. 

Here are the highlights from Friday's 5-2 win. 

        

A Couple of Things From UMD vs. UND

While the games between UND and UMD are a great rivalry, Nodak has owned the Bulldogs as of late. With Saturday's 5-1 win, UND improves to 162-92-11 (.632) all-time against Minnesota Duluth and 89-40-3 at home. UND has only lost twice in the last 15 games against the Bulldogs. 

One of my observations after Friday's game was that Nodak needed to simplify its game and put the puck on net instead of making the extra pass. I asked Ben Strinden about that. 

Strinden agreed, “We got a great team, but it’s a young team for sure. So there’s obviously a learning curve. Guys are gonna learn that they’re gonna maybe not pass up shots as much as they would in juniors.”         

After Saturday's game, UND has found a starting goalie, or it would appear that they have. 

A tale of two goalies from this past weekend. UND goalie Gibson Homer has been very inconsistent. In six games with UND, he's 3-3-0 with a .870 save percentage and a 2.84 goals against average. He's given up 18 goals on 138 shots. Many times, he's been out of position and given up juicy rebounds. Although I may be missing the point, I have been underwhelmed by his performance so far. 

Friday night in the 3-on-3 OT, UMD would score 43 seconds into the extra session with a goal from Bulldogs defenseman Ty Hanson. Looking at the replay, Gibsom Homer actually made the initial save on the shot, but knocked the puck into his own net with his glove. It could be bad luck, or that UND has played better when Jan Spunar is in the net. 

On the other hand, freshman goalie Jan Spunar started the second game of his college career, and after giving up a goal on UMD’s first shot of the game, he buckled down and was rock solid the rest of the way, stopping a breakaway effort by Max Plante. Spunar's positioning looks solid, and he doesn't seem to get caught out of position. While he has a small sample size, I've been impressed with his performance. I'd like to see more of him. 

Spunar may have won the starting position for UND. He is unbeaten in two games, stopping 36 of 37 shots he’s faced in 120 minutes of hockey. While it’s early, the line on Spunar is impressive: 2-0-0, GAA .50, Save Percentage: .973. 

Speaking of goalies, UMD goalie Adam Gajan has not played well against UND. Looking at his stats, he has been pulled four times out of the last six games he’s played against UND. He’s given up 19 goals and has a 1-4-0 (.200) record. At the 44.40 mark of the game, Gajan had given up a fifth goal and was relegated to the bench. I can imagine he’s not unhappy about facing a new opponent next weekend. Sophomore goalie Ethan Dahlmeir entered the game for the Bulldogs and played the final 15:20, and was solid in net. 

None of the current Bulldogs have had much luck against UND. In the last 10 games, UND has a 9-1-0 (.900) record against UMD. 

One player who has stood out for me is UND freshman forward Ollie Josephson. The Victoriaville native scored his first goal of the UND career on Friday night and added an assist to lead the team in scoring. He followed up his solid performance with another goal and an assist on Saturday night as well. After scoring just a single assist in his first six games, he had a solid weekend against UMD.  Just for the record, he's only 19 years, 3 months, and 11 days old. He's a big, strong player who is good in all three zones on the ice. 

UND Forward Ben Strinden Checks in at Number Three in NCHC Top 5 Plays of the Week

Last Saturday, in the third period of UND's non-conference tilt against the Bemidji State Beavers, sophomore forward Ben Strinden scored his third goal of the season giving UND a comfortable 3-0 lead. It was a backhand finish, he faked the goalie and put the puck in the net. UND would win the game 5-0, and sweep the Beavers, (3-2 W and 5-0 W). Strinden has really picked up his game and it has shown on the score sheet, too. He's tied for sixth on the team in blocked shots.

   

True to form, in this week's NCHC Top 5 Plays of the week, Miami University's goalie Logan Neaton amazing save against Mercyhurst was fifth in the Top 5 Plays of the Week, and it was hard to see to see his magnificent save, because Maimi's highlight video was blurry. Miami University should be embarrassed for putting out such a substandard product. Think about it. Many of us, including me, reupped our NCHC.TV subscription for $112.00. Is this video worthy of that price? Apparently, they didn't get the memo in Oxford, OH. I've talked about this subject extensively, and in some instances the webcast quality from some member schools hasn't improved.  

During the sprint of 2022, the NCHC tweeted this out.

We will work with select schools to improve their stream quality

Staying with @SIDEARMSports allows https://t.co/ZyUdpPrI2J to be accessed worldwide (ESPN+ is U.S. only), allows us to combine our 2 sites into 1, & all our teams also have SIDEARM sites so we can share data/video

— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) May 19, 2022

During the 2023-24 college hockey season, fans who purchase the NCHC's Annual Pass will pay $112.00. In this economy, that is a lot of money. I am not expecting a lot of improvement from the usual suspects that have put out a subpar product. Again, there is supposed to be a minimum standard. I'm betting that Arizona State will have a decent product; if their PAC12 hockey videos are any indication.