ASU's Tucker Ness and Alaska's Dawson Bruneski Fight at Center Ice

Last night, with 11 seconds remaining in the game, Sun Devils forward Tucker Ness and Nanooks defenseman Dawson Bruneski left the penalty box to engage in a fight. Both players removed their gloves and helmets, left the penalty box, and fought at center ice. There's going to be a lengthy suspension coming. Bruneski is a graduate student and has probably played his last game in a college uniform. Who knows how many games Ness will miss? For those asking, Ness is the younger brother of UND forward Griffin Ness. 

The video has gone viral on X and has been well-received by some in the college hockey fanbase. I personally don't mind fighting in professional hockey, but I don't know I want to see this happen very frequently in college hockey. It was a staged fight and doesn't have a place in college hockey. I can see a fight erupting as the result of a dirty hit or play. 

What a tilt last night between Arizona State and Alaska Fairbanks 🥊🤯🍿

Should fighting be allowed in college hockey? pic.twitter.com/mDfd0uk0ER

— EVERYTHING COLLEGE HOCKEY (@TeamECH) February 24, 2024

Adam Wodon's Tweet on the fight. 

The fact that people enjoyed it is irrelevant. People enjoy watching Jackass too. They liked watching lions eat people, and fire burn, and car crashes. People are ridiculous. The game itself is entertaining beyond belief right now. https://t.co/Sy4Ocpds2g

— Adam Wodon (@CHN_AdamWodon) February 24, 2024

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.