UND Crushes Miami, 7-1. Advances to the Frozen Faceoff

There's an old hockey cliche: It's very hard to end a team's season. On Saturday night, the UND hockey team looked like a determined team. They were determined not to play game three. It was pretty straightforward: Lose to the lowly RedHawks, and they'd be back on the ice on Sunday night. Mission accomplished: When the final horn sounded, the Hawks left no doubt as they crushed the Miami RedHawks 7-1 and sent them home looking for answers. 

Seven different players scored goals for UND - at the 13:17 mark of the first period, Riese Gaber scored his 18th goal of the season to give UND a 1-0 lead. Gaber is two short of 20 goals, and if he can reach 20 goals, it will be the first time since the 2005-06 season that three UND players have had 20 or more goals: Drew Stafford, 24; Jonathan Towes, 22; and T.J. Oshie, 24.

The Hawks scored another in the second and five in the third period to blow the game open. It was an impressive win against a bad hockey team. 

In one of the nice stories of the year, graduate forward Hunter Johannes scored the first UND goal of the season at Ralph and the last goal of the season at Ralph. This was a player that wanted to play at UND but didn't get the opportunity. After playing three seasons at AIC, he transferred to Lindenwood College. Due to COVID-19, he benefited from having a fifth year and transferred to UND—his dream school. He's made the most of his opportunity. 

The three stars of the game were 1st star Jackson Blake (1g-2a-3pts), 2nd Star Jackson Kunz (1g-2a-3pts), and third star of the game Hobie Hedquist 28 saves. It was the second multipoint game of Kunz's career and the first three-point game of his career. Kunz has (5g-6a-11pts) in his last 13 games. When asked about having his first three-point game of his career, Kunz was pretty low-key.

"I don't like talking about myself too much," Kunz said. "You're playing with good players, making one pass, and you don't know what they will do with it. I'm lucky to be able to be out there with the guys we have."

It didn't matter what the RedHawks game plan was; the Fighting Hawks had an answer for everything they tried. When a shot got through, the defense either blocked it, or freshman goalie Hobie Hedquist saved it. 

"We had the puck on our stick," Miami head coach Chris Bergeron said. "(We) don't do what we're asking them to do; we turn the puck over to the wrong guy, and it's one zero." 

This past weekend, UND's starting goalie was out with an undisclosed issue (injury or illness). During Saturday's post-game press conference, Brad Schlossman asked UND head coach Brad Berry for an update on his starting goalie. It was Mum's the word. 

"We're not going to divulge very much information because it's the playoffs," Berry said. "As the week progresses, we'll share more information, but right now, it's undisclosed." 

No matter what the issue was, UND didn't need Persson. The rookie phenom stopped 51 of 53 shots (.962). During the first period of Saturday's game, Hedquist was tested early and made quite a few difficult stops. 

Hedquist's play caught the eye of the Miami coach.

"For a guy who hasn't played much, he hasn't lost yet; he's 5-0 over 90 save percentage," Bergeron said. "They don't have bad players here. Whether he's played a bunch or not that much, he's proven he's a good player."

During the post-game press conference, I asked Coach Berry if he was tempted to ride a hot goalie and start him on Friday at the Frozen Faceoff. 

"Yeah, everything's on the table, Berry said. "You've known us long enough that we will put a lineup together that gives us a chance to win. We have two very good goaltenders. Hobie proved himself now, and Ludvig proved himself in the past. We will go through the week here. We'll keep moving forward. It's nice to know guys get to come in and contribute."

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.

Goon’s Takeaways: UND Sweeps Alaska With 6-2 Win

Entering the weekend, UND juggled their forward lines to spark offensive output. Head coach Brad Berry put Hunter Johannes, Cameron Berg, and Riese Gaber on the top line. That line got hot and sparked UND. When the weekend was over, the Hawks had scored 12 goals. 
For the weekend, the top line scored (7g-4a--11pts). 

Mission Accomplished.

UND swept the Nanooks in a convincing fashion (6-4 W and 6-2 W). UND finishes the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 9-2-1 record, its best mark since the 2019-20 season (9-1-1). 

UND captain Riese Gaber racked up (3g-3a--6pts); he also scored two of his three goals on the power play. After this weekend's play, Gaber now has six multi-point games and recorded back-to-back games with at least three points for the first time in his career. 

Junior forward Cameron Berg is getting hot at the right time. He has scored (8g-6a--14pts) in the last 12 games. Berg is fourth on the team in points with (9g-10a--19pts). 

Another player who had an outstanding weekend was sophomore forward Owen McLaughlin; he had a five-point weekend scoring (2g-3a--5pts). In 20 games, McLaughlin has scored (7g-13a--20pts), and he's a plus-six. 

Last night, grad student defenseman Garrett Pyke extended his point streak to seven games with an assist. This past weekend, he had three assists against his former team. Pyke has points in eight of the last nine games (2g-7a--9pts). In 20 games with UND, Pyke has (2g-15a--17pts). 

UND has now gone 13 straight games without a regulation loss, dating back to the 3-2 loss on November 3, 2023, at Boston University. 

 

Goon's Takeaways: UND beats, Alaska 6-4

Entering Friday's non-conference game against the University of Alaska, the University of North Dakota hockey changed their lines around to get more offense production out of their lineup. The new line combinations appeared to add a spark.

UND also started freshman goalie Hobie Hedquist after their starting goalie, Ludvig Persson, came down with an illness. Hedquist stopped 23 of 27 shots and recorded his first collegiate win. 

"I found out in our morning meetings that Luds (Ludvig Persson) was around the rink, and he ended up being too sick," Hedquist said. "Karl Goehring (KG) called me over and said that I'd be going in tonight."

UND didn't start out as quickly as they would've liked. The Hawks ended the first period down 1-0. UND took over in the second period, scoring five goals (Owen McLaughlin X2, Riese Gaber, Cameron Berg, and Louis Jamernik) and chased Nanooks goalie Pierce Charleson from the game. That was the most goals UND had scored in a single period since UND scored five goals in the third period on Oct. 12, 2019, vs. Canisius. 

"First period, not how we have to play," UND head coach Brad Berry said. "I got to commend the way they played. We knew through video and watching how they play. They are an older team. Everybody's over 20 years old; they look like it. They play like men. They played a hard, heavy game early, and our puck management wasn't the greatest. We didn't give ourselves a chance consistently to play in their end of the rink. We did a better job of that in the second period of playing more direct and more simple."

On Friday night, UND's power play cashed in twice on six power play chances. 

Sophomore forward Owen McLaughlin is heating up; he notched his fourth game with three points this season. McLaughlin now is tied for second in points with junior forward Cameron Berg. Finally, McLaughlin has five multi-point games. 

UND has gone 12 straight games without losing in regulation; their last regulation loss was on November 3, 2023, at Boston University. 

Tonight, senior forward Riese Gaber broke a three-game scoreless streak when he scored two goals against the Nanooks. It was the first time since November 18, 2023, Gaber had scored two goals in a game. Gaber now has five multi-point games. 

UND Hockey: UND Sweeps UMD With 2-0 Win

The UND hockey team started the National Collegiate Hockey Conference schedule on the right foot by sweeping the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (4-2 W, 2-0 W) at Amsoil Arena. Saturday night, UND played disciplined hockey, taking two minor penalties and only giving the Bulldogs third-ranked power play one opportunity. 

Saturday's game was a typical NCHC conference matchup. It was a meat grinder. There was some heavy hitting and not a lot of room to roam. I thought UND's defense limited the Bulldogs offensive opportunities and they didn't get a lot of good looks. When the Bulldogs were able to get a shot on net, Ludvig Persson was solid in the net. 

Speaking of the Persson. In 10 games, Persson has a (7-2-1 record, 1.90 GAA, and a .925 save percentage). He also has two shutouts. He's also been the NCHC goalie of the week three times. He was also the NCHC goaltender of the month for October. 

Saturday, there wasn't a lot of scoring, but it was enough to send the Hawks back down Highway 2 with smiles on their faces. Love the Tweet from the UND SID Alec Johnson.  

Can't spell Bulldogs without two L's. #UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/0QpZl5Z0nC

— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) November 12, 2023

Senior forward Louis Jamernik V had a pretty good weekend for UND. He scored his first and second goals of the season against the Bulldogs. Saturday, Jamernick scored his second goal of the year at the 7:38 mark of the first period. That was also his first power play marker of the year. Jamernik has now scored in three straight games against the Bulldogs. 

🎵 Louis, Louis! 🎵#UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/d2YVYThTZA

— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) November 12, 2023

Perusing social media and the message boards, some have said that Riese Gaber has taken a step back this year. Gaber put all of that to bed with his fifth goal of the season. His goal gave UND a 2-0 lead. On Saturday, Gaber had his third multi-point game of the season.

A thing of beauty!#UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/MRBRrro6en

— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) November 12, 2023

Controversial Call Late? 

With 4:06 remaining in the game, UMD Darian Gotz was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for contact to the head. Many in the Bulldog fanbase and the UMD hockey media disagreed with the call. You can watch the video below and decide for yourself. 

FINAL: North Dakota 2, Minnesota Duluth 0.

UMD winless in its last six games (0-5-1).

Bulldogs forced to kill a questionable major penalty for the final 4:06 after the "hit" went uncalled on the ice. I'll have more on that in my game story later.

— Matt Wellens (@mattwellens) November 12, 2023

The explanation given to the News Tribune by the NCHC was Gotz’s elbow extended and made contact with the chin of Johannes. Sandelin said he was told by the officials the review was “definitive.”

You can look at the video and decide for yourself. If your team is trying to get back into the game, don't make that play. It was unnecessary and ended up hurting the Bulldogs in the end. 

pic.twitter.com/bwJhi0X4VC

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) November 12, 2023

 

This team is a lot more confident than last season. There's a very different attitude in the UND locker room this season. To quote Brad Elliot Schlossman, "This team is pretty good." I would agree, defensively and offensively. 

"We're a confident group," Gaber told the media after the game. "We've got a lot of weapons. We showed that this weekend. We're just going to keep going and doing our thing."

All you have to do is look at the stats to see this team is doing a lot better on the ice.  It starts with the defense and goaltending. 

UND is ranked 7th nationally in save percentage .922, and 11th in goals against. Through ten games, UND is the top-ranked defensive team in the NCHC. Again, yes, it's early. 

They're playing more disciplined, they're 15th nationally in Penalty Minutes. They're ranked 3rd nationally in shorthanded goals scored.

Speaking of things that make me smile, I re-read Bruce Ciskie's pre-season predictions and it seems he underestimated the UND hockey team. I know it's early, but the eight D-men in question have performed pretty well against a really tough schedule. 

In four games against UND, Grand Forks native Cole Spicer has yet to record a point against the hometown team. Obviously, he's got a few more kicks at the can, but it's something that I noticed. 

UND has won five straight games at Amsoil Arena. That's a feat that hasn't been accomplished since November 29, 1968. 

UND Struggles on the Power Play

Last season, the UND power play ended the season ranked second in the nation, ironically, behind this week’s opponent Minnesota State. Last season, UND was a juggernaut on the power play, they scored 27.3 percent of their power plays. This season it’s a different story. Early on, the UND hockey team has struggled on the power play. 

Through four games, UND’s power play is ranked 54th nationally, and has scored a single power-play goal, and is currently sitting at 5.6 percent. While UND isn’t satisfied with their power play, the coaching staff isn’t going to panic UND captain Riese Gaber isn’t worried about the power play.

“I don’t think it’s anything, just chemistry, Gaber said after Friday’s game against Minnesota. “Like I said, we’re all good players and capable of making plays, it’s just not clicking right now, but I’m confident that we’ll get clicking.”

From the interesting fact department; UND’s next opponent sits just below UND and is ranked 55th nationally on the power play. You have to think that both teams will eventually figure it out.

From the fun fact department, UND has scored more short-handed goals than they have power play goals. To date, UND has scored two short-handed goals, that's tied for second nationally. Hunter Johannes has scored both short-handed goals for UND.  (Link to More)

Johannes gets us rolling again! #UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/CSA17ZJZs2

— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) October 14, 2023