NCHC Coaches: They Said What?

Hockey is full of cliches' and sound bites. Yesterday, during the semifinal round of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, it was a big day for quotes from the coaches. Here are a few that caught my attention. 

Arizona State head coach Greg Powers talked about the Pairwise Rankings. 

"We feel like we're a team that should still be playing," coach Powers said. "We're the first team in the history of the NCHC to finish second (in the regular season standings) and not advance. It's a screwy year in the Pairwise. Cornell won tonight, and there's another spot gone."

Late in the first period, ASU Graduate forward Artem Shlaine blocked a Denver Pioneers shot. Shlaine would miss some time, but he would return later in the game, score a goal, and almost set up another goal. 

"He's a warrior, he's (Shlaine) our MPV," coach Powers said. "His foot is probably broken. I'm sure it's fractured. For him to come back and do what he did, get a big goal, and miss Chuckie (Charlie Schoen) in the back door and make a great play there in the third to take the lead, and their guy just got their stick on him, that's what he does. He's a winner and has a long career in front of him."

UND head coach Brad Berry gave his thoughts on his team's season being over. 

"Everybody has key injuries," coach Berry said. "The inconsistency in our game early on, which led to our nonconference record, was .500 or about .500. It wasn't good enough to get in the tournament. You have to build it up early in the year, which means your nonconference record. Not only us but also a lot of teams in our league didn't have great nonconference schedules or outcomes. We have to be better at that next year."

Denver head coach David Carle discussed Arizona State's fortunes and how the Sun Devils deserve to be in the NCAA tournament. 

"I certainly think they're a team that deserves to be," coach Carle said. "They're a top 12, top 10 team all day long. But unfortunately, it is what it is. You've got to win your games, and the Pairwise is a brutal thing sometimes. The games count as much in October as they do in March and don't take into account injuries or anything like that."

Western head coach Pat Ferschweiler on his team's style of play. 

"We talk daily," head coach Ferschweiler said. No slamming your stick. No frustration. Frustration is a weakness. We will not show it. We will stick with our plan. We'll believe in ourselves, and we're gonna we're gonna go forward in a relentless fashion. That's the way we play."

The Penrose Cup Returns to Grand Forks; UND sweeps WMU with a 3-0 Win

When I walked into Ralph Engelstad Arena on hockey media day back in September, I could feel the energy and a buzz in the building. I picked up a vibe as I interviewed some new players. I had a feeling. As I started watching this team play, they started racking up wins. I told Virg Foss that this team had a chance to do good things. I even compared them to the 2016 team. As the final horn sounded on Saturday's game, UND won 3-0. The Hawks clinched the series against the Broncos and the Penrose Cup outright. 

Even more impressive is that this is UND's fourth Penrose Cup in the last five seasons and UND's sixth in the previous 11 seasons. This is one goal on the list of things that UND wants to do. UND is looking to check more boxes. 

"We have a winning culture," Hunter Johannes said. "We're going to get back to work; we want to bring this town, these fans, and our families what we deserve. We're going to come in and work every day for it."

Defensively, it was a solid team effort. UND goalie Ludvig Persson was solid in net, stopping 35 of 35 shots. When Persson wasn't making saves, the players in front of him blocked 26 shots. For the weekend, UND blocked 52 shots. Persson was named the game's number-one star. The Hindås, Sweden native, appears to have found another gear. 

Before coming to UND, Persson had been on Miami teams that were cellar dwellers at the bottom of the NCHC standings. During Persson's prior three seasons, the RedHawks had never won more than eight games. If you add up all three season's wins, the RedHawks won 20 games; this season, UND is 24-8-2. Saturday, Persson recorded his fifth shutout of the season. In three previous seasons, he had a combined total of five shutouts. Persson is (21-8-2, 2.44 GAA and a .908 save percentage). 

On February 16-17, 2024, the Colorado College Tigers swept UND by a combined score of 13-3. Since that weekend, UND has rebounded, going 4-0, outscoring the opposition 18-5, and recording two shutouts. UND goalie Ludvig Persson played a big part in that. This past weekend, Persson stopped 69-of-72 shots for the weekend. That's a .958 save percentage.

What went through Persson's mind as he was handed the Penrose Cup? 

"Lots of thoughts going through your mind," Persson said. "It's been a journey to get there. A lot of emotions. It's a long journey to get here. I'm going to take it all in. Just enjoy the moment. I am just happy."

Jackson Blake is on a five-game point streak and scored (2g-9a-11pts) during that streak. Last night, he scored his 19th goal and 50th point of the season. He's now tied with Brock Boeser and Bobby Brink for the NCHC record for most conference points in a season. Blake is the first UND player since Brock Boeser to score 50 or more points. 

Currently, Blake is tied for third place in the national scoring race behind Boston College's Will Smith (17g-37a-54pts), Cutter Gauthier (31g-20a-51pts), Gabe Perreault (15g-35a-50pts), Blake (19g-31a-50pts), Boston University Macklin Celebrini (26g-22a-48pts), and Denver University's Jack Devine (24g-25-49pts).  (Link to National Scoring Stats) 

 

Goon's Takeaways: UND Inches Closer to Another Penrose Cup with 5-3 Victory over WMU

Friday night's theme: "Our goalie really bailed us out."

Sometimes wins don't come easy. Friday, the University of North Dakota was badly outshot 37-17 but still prevailed with a hard-fought 5-3 win. Senior goalie Ludvig Persson was rock solid in net, stopping 33 of 37 shots (.918); many were grade-A shots. Fighting Hawks blocked 26 shots led by defenseman Bennett Zmolek and Dylan James with five blocked shots each. It was a gritty team effort.

"I gotta give a shout-out to Luddy (Ludvig Persson)," Carson Albrecht said. "He stood on his head, and I don't think we would have won without him."

UND received balanced scoring. Five players scored goals for UND: Owen McLaughlin, Jackson Kunz, Louis Jamernik V, Carson Albrecht, and Cameron Berg. 

Last night, Blake continued his torrid pace with (0g-2a-2pts). Blake sits in fourth place in the national scoring race behind Boston College's Will Smith (17g-37a-54pts), Cutter Gauthier (31g-20a-51pts), Gabe Perreault (15g-35a-50pts), Blake (18g-31a-49pts), Boston University Macklin Celebrini (26g-22a-48pts), and Denver University's Jack Devine (22g-26-48pts). Can we say Hobey Baker? (Link to National Scoring Stats) According to Brad Schlossman, with Blake's two assists, he's within one point of the NCHC record for most league points in a season (35). The record is held by former UND forward Brock Boeser (2015-16) and former Denver Pioneer Bobby Brink (2021-22). (Yeah, that Brink.) 

There's a lot on the line on Saturday night. 

"There's a ton of motivation tomorrow to know you can do it on the second last series of the year, at home, on senior night, which is always emotional, Berry said. "(In the past) our guys have done a good job on senior night, they know what's coming, but they block it out till the end of the game. They know the task at hand. That's going to be a salty team coming in tomorrow. They probably thought they deserved a better fate. At the end of the day, that's hockey."

With the 5-3 victory, the UND hockey team inched closer to winning their fourth Penrose Cup in the last five years and their sixth in the previous 11 years. With a win against Western Michigan on Saturday night, UND would clinch at least a share of the Penrose Cup. If UND wins and Denver sweeps SCSU, UND will win the Penrose outright. There are numerous other scenarios still out there. 

"We control our destiny, Jamernik V said. "If we play the right way, everybody will bring it tomorrow because it's senior night. We have to stay focused on the task at hand."

Former UND forward Matteo Costantini returned to the Ralph Engelstad Arena and recorded (1g-1a-2pts). A change of scenery has done Costantini well; he now has (8g-18a-26pts) and is also a plus-20.

 

Looking ahead: UND vs WMU

Western Michigan (6-5-3, 2-2-0 NCHC) vs North Dakota (5-7-2, 3-5-0 NCHC)

December 6-7, 2013 6:05 p.m. central

Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan Lawson Ice Arena
TV: CBSSN (Friday), Webcast (Saturday)
Last 10: WMU 5-3-2, UND 3-6-1



National Rankings 

Goals for                WMU 46 – UND 35

Goals against        WMU 8   – UND  45  

Penalty Minutes     WMU 5  – UND 20

Power Play             WMU 49 (13.9) – UND 33 (17.9)

Penalty Kill             WMU 9 (85.9)  –  UND 25 (83.3)

 

Rocco Grimaldi (5g-7a-12pts) Michael Parks (3g-6a-9pts) Drake Caggiula (4g-5a-9pts) Dillon Simpson (1g-6a-7pts) Nick Mattson (1g-5a-6pts)

Shane Berschbach (7g-12a-19pts) Justin Kovacs (5g-9a-14pts) Chase Balisy (1g-8a-9pts) Josh Pitt (3g-6a-9pts) Colton Hargrove (3g-5a-8pts)

 

Zane Gothberg 3-5-2 2.75 Clake Saunders 2-2-0 3.60

Lukas Hafner 1-1-0 0.50 Frank Slubowski 5-4-3 2.23

 

Notes of interest

WMU has not scored a power play goal in conference play their (0/17).

This weekend, UND will face WMU junior goalie the “big” Frank Slubowsk 5-4-2, 2.23 GAA and .919 save percentage.

UND goalie Zane Gothberg is ranked 55th nationally for winning percentage.

UND goalies Zane Gothberg and Clarke Saunders are ranked 10th and 12th in the NCHC in save percentage.

UND goalies Zane Gothberg and Clarke Saunders are ranked 11^th and 18^th in the NCHC for goals against average.