UND forward Griffin Ness is a team-first player. At the same time, he’s not always in the lineup. According to his head coach, he never complains. He’s played in 18 of 25 games and been a healthy scratch in seven of UND’s games.
“He has a team-first mentality,” Berry told the Grand Forks Herald. “He’s always doing whatever is asked of him in any situation. It’s not easy. It’s not easy to be called upon and be expected to come in and play well. But he’s responded every time. Teams that have depth have a chance to win down the road. He has another opportunity to do that.”
Last night in the second period, he scored his third goal of the season to give UND a 2-0 lead. Ness’s goal sent the hometown fans into a frenzy. His goals also gave his teammates on the bench a much-needed lift.
“Coach (Berry) talked about it before the game: how everyone is important,” Pehrson said. “Ness has been doing a great job over his time here and doesn’t complain. It shows how good he is, and he’s ready whenever his number gets called.”
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.
The University of North Dakota Hockey team completed the weekend sweep of the Miami University RedHawks with a 5-1 victory. Here's my rundown from the two-game conference sweep. With the 4-0-0 start in conference play, UND is sitting in second place in the NCHC standings. UND is currently on a five-game winning streak outscoring their opponents 22-11.
The captain Riese Gaber would get UND on the board first with this beautiful goal at the 8:27 mark of the first period. Assists Garrett Pyke and Louis Jamernik V. That was goal number six on the year for Gaber. In the post-game press conference, Riese Gaber could barely speak and it was later revealed by head coach Brad Berry that he was under the weather. His linemate, Owen McLaughlin sat out Saturday night's game with an illness.
Just a short 2:29 later, the RedHawks would answer the Hawks goal with a goal from PJ Fletcher. Miami forward Max Dukovac with the lone assist. That was all of the scoring for Miami, Ludvig Persson would stand strong in the net and lead UND to a 5-1 Victory. (This past weekend, Miami didn't post their goal videos on their X page.)
Miami evening the score didn't deter UND's scoring. The Hawks seemed to find another gear and went to work. At the 14:52 mark of the first period, UND forward Griffin Ness scored his first goal of the year with the help of RedHawks forward John Waldron who deflected Ness's shot into his own net. That would prove to be the game-winning goal. Jackson Kunz, and Dane Montgomery would get the assists. That was Montgomery's first point of the year.
After Ness's goal, I tweeted this out: For some reason, I thought of the song, "I get by with a little help from my friends" seemed appropriate. Griffin Ness scores his first goal of the year.
Gaber would score his second goal of the game with a beautiful breakaway goal to pad UND's lead. For those keeping track at home, that was goal number seven on the year. Gaber now has (7g-5a--12pts) on the season, with his two makers on Saturday, Gaber now has (53g-54a--107pts) for his career.
Not to be outdone, Jackson Blake would score his 8th goal of the year 4.4 seconds remaining in the first period. Blake would also draw a penalty on the play. It was similar to Gaber's goal. Blake would pick up a loose puck off a RedHawk's turnover in the neutral zone and break in score on the RedHawks goalie Logan Neaton.
There was not scoring in the second period and Miami would make a push. The RedHawks outshot the Hawks 8-3. UND goalie Ludvig Persson was stellar between the pipes stopping grade A chances. Exhibit A, Persson stones Matthew Barbolini to preserve UND's 4-1 lead.
Persson's teammates might want to take him out for supper after the game. He was stellar. He's stopped 21-of-22 shots, and a few of them were tough saves. Jaden Perron would score the Hawks fifth goal of the game with a beautiful shot from the slot.
I know it's early, and I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I think Virg Foss is onto something. This team is very good, and has all the pieces to go deep into the NCAA playoffs. Yes, anything can happen in a one-and-done tourney. This team is significantly better than last year's team. Defense and goaltending are noticeably better. The forward group is better with the additions of Cameron Berg, Hunter Johannes, and Jayden Perron. This "could' end up being a special year.
Virg Foss; "I'll stop short of predicting a league and NCAA title for this team at this point in the season. I do believe the ingredients are there on this team to reach such lofty goals." I would concur. https://t.co/LtKx3JrwjF
Earlier today, I tweeted that senior forward Carson Albrecht had gone 37 games without being penalized. Looking at the stats, he hadn't been assessed a penalty since March 12, 2022. On Saturday, Albrecht was assessed two minor penalties. I may want to hold off praising players for individual efforts in the future.
Carson Albrecht just got his first penalty, a 2-minute minor, since March 12, 2022. That's a span of 37 games.
