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 🥊🤯🍿
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
A week after getting swept in Colorado Springs, the University of North Dakota Hockey team was back at it; this time, the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs stood in the way.
After scoring three goals the entire weekend against the CC Tigers, UND wasted no time getting on the board. Sixty-five seconds into the game, Jackson Blake scored his 18th goal of the season.
UND never relinquished the lead; they scored three in the first period, two in the second, and one more in the third. When the final horn sounded, UND had blown the Bulldogs out 6-0.
Blake would have a five-point night, a career-high. He was the first UND player to record five points since March 12, 2021, when Collin Adams scored (2g-3a-5pts) against the Miami RedHawks in the first round of the NCHC playoffs.
Hobey Blaker: Blake should now be in the conversation for the Hobey Baker Memorial award with his (18g-27a-45pts) if he hasn't been previously. He sits in fourth place behind Boston College's Gabe Perreault (15g-35a-50pts), Will Smith (16g-33a-49pts), Boston University Macklin Celebrini (25g-22a-47pts), Denver University Jack Devine (21g-24a-45pts), Boston College Cutter Gauthier (28g-17a-45pts).
With the win, UND improves (21-8-2 and 12-6-1 NCHC). UND is 156-89-11(.617) all-time against the Bulldogs, including an 85-39-3 (.681) record against the Bulldogs in Grand Forks, ND. The Hawks have won six of the last eight games between the two teams, including three straight games. UND has also shutout UMD in two of the previous three games.
Shortly, UND could have three players with 20 or more goals. Blake has 18 goals, Cameron Berg has 18 goals, and Riese Gaber has 16 goals.
Junior forward Cameron Berg had his first three-point game of the season. Berg also has eight multi-point games on the season. Berg's two-goal game was the fourth time he had scored two goals.
Top points getters for UND in game one: Jake Livanavage (0g-2a-2pts), Riese Gaber (1g-1a-2pts), Cameron Berg (2g-1a-3pts), Jackson Blake (1g-4a-5pts).
UND finished the game with 16 blocked shots, including six by defenseman Bennett Zmolek, who led all players.
According to UND SID, Alec Johnson, with his two points, UND freshman defenseman Jake Livanavage moved into a tie for second place with former UND defenseman Paul Ladue for most points by a rookie defenseman at UND since the 1999-00 season with 21.
Here are the updated standings after Friday's games. Four teams remain in the hunt for the Penrose Cup.
On Saturday, the UND hockey team looked to avenge their 7-1 loss from the previous night. UND came out, pushed the pace, and took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission with goals from Abram Wiebe and Cameron Berg. In the first period, UND played well, but Kaiden Mberko stood tall in the net and was almost impenetrable. UND also benefited from a five-minute major penalty and a 5-on-3 power play opportunity. In the end, the Hawks could only score once on the power play, failing to put the Tigers away when they had the chance. The Tigers tied the game in the second period with a goal from Evan Werner.
The game got away from the Hawks in the third period. They gave up four goals in eight minutes and 41 seconds with goals from Logan Will, Gleb Veremyev (X2), and Noah Laba. We all know the end result, a 6-2 loss.
Waking up on Sunday morning, some in the NoDak Nation hockey fanbase are unhappy. Some are questioning the coaching staff and player's efforts. Some appear to be in panic mode. While the wins were not there this past weekend, not all is lost. Despite two resounding defeats, UND is "still" sitting third in the Pairwise Rankings and leading the NCHC by one point. What they do from here on out is up to them.
When the ink dries on the UND hockey team's 2023-24 season, the final line and box scores will read. UND was swept (7-1 L, 6-2 L) by the Colorado College Tigers. Will this be a defining moment for UND's season? Will it be a blip on the radar? During the 2015-16 season, UND traveled to Denver on February 12-13, 2016, and was swept (4-1 L, 6-4 L). UND would return home, go 12-1-1, and win a national title. Looking at the schedule and the record, it's eerily similar. Is this the same kind of team as the 2015-16 team? I don't know. UND has a team to make a run. I wonder if they have the mental makeup to do it. They have the talent.
The goaltending has to be better, but it's not all Ludvig Persson's fault; I thought his d-corp left him out to dry a few times. He also needs a better save percentage than .899, which isn't good enough for the NCAA playoffs.
The post-game comments from the team are subdued, but they know what they have to do.
"There was a little desperation trying to get that next goal," Berry said. "We played a pretty good game. That kid at the other end made 43 saves and had a career-high in saves to win a game, and I thought he was the difference tonight."
The Players echoed their coach's sentiments.
"I thought we had breakdowns; honestly, when we had those breakdowns, it ended up in our net," Jake Schmaltz said. "We had a lot of looks -- we had a lot of shots, but they weren't going in. It's just frustrating. We got to protect Ludvig a little better."
"We got a few things to work on, Garrett Pyke said. "Friday night, we didn't come out, we didn't have our legs, and we didn't execute like we wanted to. Today was a better game, but we will watch the film and learn from a few things. We're going to keep on growing."
"Our program has high expectations," Berry said. "Our players expect a lot. Our fans expect a lot. We got to stay positive and work on the things we need to work on to get better, which we will do this week. There's no room for negativity in our group. We've done a lot of good things with a body of work together with positive attitudes, and the guys are working extremely hard. The main thing is the 25 guys in that locker room staying together and believing in each other."
On Friday, the University of North Dakota hockey team had their record-tying regulation unbeaten streak end. It wasn't pretty; UND looked slow, rattle, and disjointed. The Hawks had no answer for the Tigers. Both UND goalies were left to fend for themselves as the Hawks players were pedestrian watching the Tigers make plays.
When the UND players got a shot on the Tigers net, the puck would hit the iron, or CC's All-Conference goalie Kaidan Mbereko (stopped 23-of-24 shots) was there to make the save. It wasn't a good night for UND. You'd have a hard time finding any positives from UND's 7-1 loss to the Tigers. Someone tweeted on X that it's better to get this out of the way now than have it happen in March or April. There's a lot of truth to that. There's no need to panic.
There is a positive; even with Friday's stumble, UND is still sitting at No. 2 in the all-important Pairwise rankings.
After being the conference doormat for many seasons, it was a historic night for the CC. Entering the 2023-24 season, the Tigers were 90-227-30 (.302) since the inception of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. This season, the resurgent Tigers (17-9-1, 11-6-0 NCHC) are suddenly in third place in the NCHC standings.
Friday's loss was a beating UND hadn't seen since the mid-1990s. The six-goal margin of victory was the biggest over UND since October 30, 1994. Moreover, the Tigers last won three straight games over UND in 1995. Granted, if you play a team long enough, you're going to lose. It's the law of averages. Nonetheless, the 7-1 loss still stings.
For comparison's sake, CC won the special teams play. The Tigers went 4-for-5 on the power play. UND was 1-for-4. UND will have to be better in game two if they want to bring home some points. Friday was the first time UND allowed four power play goals in a game since February 11, 2012, at Minnesota Duluth, when UND lost 5-4 to the Bulldogs.
"They're sour, and I'm sour," head coach Brad Berry said. "Not many times can I remember North Dakota giving up seven goals. There's pride in that locker room, and there's going to be a push tomorrow. It was a big wake-up call tonight that we got to be better. Everybody's got to bring it tomorrow, not just a few guys. Our PK has to be better."
"It starts with urgency," Captain Riese Gaber said. "We got outworked. It doesn't matter how good of a team you are. It all comes down to puck battles - puck races. In that department, we got beat pretty bad tonight."
"They just outworked us," Louis Jamernik said. "We got into trouble with the penalties. They did a great job on their power play and capitalized on our mistakes. It came down to will and they had more will than us. It's disappointing, but this is the same feeling we felt when we lost in OT. We want to win every single game. It doesn't matter whether it's regulation or not. We had a good chat with the leadership speaking out, and we know what we need to do tomorrow."
Friday night, a couple of point streaks ended. Sophomore forward Jackson Blake saw his 10-game point streak come to an end. That was the second-longest streak of his two-year career. Junior forward Cameron Berg was held without a point for the first time in seven games.
The highlight for the Tigers was freshman forward Zaccharya Wisdom, who scored (4g-1a-5pts), pushing his season point total to (10g-4a-14). On a positive note, Tigers forward Noah Laba was held goalless. The sophomore forward has scored seven goals in the last eight games.
The University of North Dakota hockey team is on a bye week, and some are looking for a way to fill the void. I've been catching up on various podcasts and YouTube videos. Last night, the University of Hockey tweeted this out. I decided to check it out. It's worth a listen. For the record, Adam Wodon of College Hockey News favors keeping the status quo. He's not a fan of home-site regionals. DU head coach David Carle favors having the higher seeds host regional games. It's a pretty fair concept.
It would work like this: the top seed would face the 16th seed. The second seed would host the 15th seed. The third seed would host the 14th seed. The seeding would work its way through the field. It seems pretty reasonable. Wodon asked Carle if he would favor playing the Gophers on their home ice if they were a higher seed. He said yes.
That sound you hear starting at 59:00, is Wodon's argument collapsing in on itself like a dying star. David Carle asks him pointed questions and absolutely puts him in a box... https://t.co/TqB03Zg3Dlpic.twitter.com/gSwhAVASrF
If you fast forward to the 36:00 minute mark, you can hear DU head coach David Carle and Adam Wodon discuss the various issues in college hockey, more specifically, the current flawed regional hockey playoffs format. It's kind of interesting because Carle negates many of the arguments for keeping the status quo. I applaud Carle for being at the forefront of wanting to improve the game and the fan experience. Kudos to them for having a civil discussion.
Here are a couple of quotes that stuck out for me.
"We are in a very small minority of sports that do it this way, Carle said. College football is also neutral, but even the behemoth that it is, next year, expanding to 12. They are going to campus sites."
"We are vastly in the minority of not using home site top seeds hosting in any capacity," Carle said. "For the record, I'm against North Dakota being a one-seed this year and having three teams come into their building. That's worse than what we currently do—the top four seats hosting, you know, all the teams to four sites. It's worse when you talk about atmosphere, excitement, and the fan experience. I would just get we all host games all the time, right? The top eight would host the bottom eight."
Carle brought up a good point: when Miami was a number one seed, they had to play a four seed in Providence in Providence. They're against home teams hosting regionals, but Providence was playing in their hometown.
"We talk about fairness," Carle said. "How is it fair that Miami has to go play Providence in Providence while Denver has to fly out east to play Boston College and Providence?"
"Schools like Yale and Cornell are all the teams I grew up following," Wodon said. "They're the ones who feel like these things often disfavor them. Eight, nine, seven, 10: Is it enough of a difference? As a coach, you're saying you don't care if you're going into a hostile environment; I know from talking to coaches in the past that others do care."
The National Collegiate Hockey Conference began its inaugural season in October 2013. The NCHC was formed in response to the formation of the Big Ten Hockey Conference. After the announcement in the summer of 2011, the term " like-minded " was often thrown around. It became a buzzword that made some people ill, as was the phrase " fan experience."
As we move to the next decade of the NCHC, some of the same tedious issues remain from the first 10 seasons. In year 11, a handful of member schools still can't produce what we consider a watchable webcast. It's not too much to ask schools to create a product worthy of paying a nominal yearly fee.
This past weekend, UND traveled to Oxford, Miami, to take on the Miami University RedHawks in a pivotal two-game conference series. Miami has traditionally struggled with its webcasts, which are virtually impossible to watch without becoming nauseous or frustrated. This past weekend, they didn't disappoint. That's not a compliment.
I tweeted this out.
What is considered an acceptable standard? Are fans being unreasonable in expecting a decent product for which we play a significant amount of money? The league is making good money off of its streaming services. Where's the accountability from the league office?
Is it unreasonable for us to expect the schools with substandard webcasts to up their game? I don't think it is. Having a decent streaming service is part of the "fan experience."
I am not the only one who complains about the quality. This past weekend on X, fans took to the platform to display their frustration with the Miami NCHC TV webcasts. Here's a great clip from the Lets Go DU fan blog posted in the summer of 2023. It hits on all of the arguments many of us are making. We're at the mercy of the member schools.
Just like NCHC.TV production for SLN broadcasts will be the responsibility of each home institution and may include a digital-only telecast or the use of an institution's local TV partner (i.e., Altitude TV in Denver) production equipment/personnel. The issue here, much like NCHC.tv for hockey, will be the inconsistent production quality from program to program across the conference. (Link)
This blog post was a response to the Summit League Conference announcing a new streaming service this past fall, but the point remains. Fans value the products that their leagues put out. Fans want to see their favorite teams play when they're on the road. Streaming services are the reality in the post-COVID world. I have every streaming service under the sun and NCHC.TV is by far the worst product I have purchased. I am serious. I am considering moving from the DirecTV stream platform to Midco based on the number of UND hockey games they cover.
On Saturday, I finally broke down yesterday and bought the Midco Sports Plus to watch the Summit League basketball game between NDSU and UND. The quality was excellent. The picture was clear; the webcast didn't make me nauseous. All for a yearly price tag of $79. For comparison's sake, an annual subscription to NCHC.TV is $116. Yes, I know, the game was produced by Midco Sports. So are North Dakota State, South Dakota, and South Dakota State's broadcasts. Should the NCHC fall under the Summit League? I am not there yet, but you could convince me and other fans that this might be a viable option.
Poor streaming webcasts are a direct reflection of the school that produces them. Seriously, the biggest schools in the NCHC have the worst webcasts. These are MAC schools that have FBS football.
Things don't always come easily for the University of North Dakota hockey team. Entering the weekend, this looked like a series in which UND would dominate from the drop of the first puck to the final whistle. It was Miami; they had won a single NCHC conference game and were 1-12-1 in conference play. Some in NoDak Nation wondered if this could be a trap series.
When the final horn sounded, UND had completed the sweep of the RedHawks with a 4-1 win. While it wasn't a dominating series win, UND took 11 of 12 points in the season series. More importantly, it was the second series in a row where UND had closed out an opponent, winning the season series.
It was a series in which UND graduate defenseman Logan Britt had a great weekend on the score sheet. On Saturday, he scored two goals to lead UND. Britt scored three goals on the weekend to push his goal total to five, a career-high. It was also the first time in his career that Britt had scored a pair of goals.
Saturday was a bounce-back game for senior goalie Ludvig Persson. After letting in four goals the night before, Ludvig Persson was stellar between the pipes, stopping 33 of 34 shots (.970).
Earlier this week, I listened to the UND hockey podcast, and Brad, Eli, and Feldy talked about statistics. This season's UND hockey is a stats geek's dream. There are so many positive stories to run on. Below are some storylines from this weekend's series against the Miami RedHawks.
Saturday's game against the RedHawks was a parade to the penalty box for UND. They played an undisciplined game and took an excessive amount of penalties; UND entered the game, averaging 6 minutes a game in penalties minutes. Saturday, UND was assessed eight minor penalties for 16 penalty minutes. After Saturday's game, UND is still ranked 4th least penalized team in the nation. I am sure UND will want to clean that up before the playoffs.
Forward Jackson Blake extended his point streak to 10 straight games (6g-11a-17pts). Moreover, Blake has scored 13 points in his last six games (5g-8a-13pts). He also has 10 multi-point games. In 28 games, he's scored (17g-22a-39pts).
Cameron Berg is having a career year. Saturday, he pushed his career-long point streak to seven, where he's scored (6g-4a-10pts). Berg has eight goals in the last 10 games. In 28 games, he's scored (15g-14a-29pts).
UND head coach Brad Berry recorded his 200 win behind the UND bench. Berry's team also improved to 20-6-1 and 11-4-1 NCHC.
"The guys gave me a puck today in the locker room," Berry said. It was pretty emotional. I've been here for a while and told them this isn't just me. It was the players in the locker room- the players that came before them - an amazing coaching and support staff. We have a great staff here. It's a team award, but I told them I'll hand this puck in right now and trade it for championships and banners."
With Saturday's win, UND tied the program record for the longest regulation unbeaten streak, reaching 21 games. UND has not lost a game in regulation since November 3, 2023 (against BU, 3-2 loss). In 2024, UND improved to 8-1-1 (.850).
Since moving to the NCHC, UND has owned the RedHawks. After Saturday's win, UND is 29-8-1 (.776) all-time against the RedHawks and 12-4-2 in Oxford, OH.
Good teams find ways to win games.
On Friday night, it was an adventure that didn't lack excitement. Entering this weekend's series against the RedHawks, some probably thought this series was an easy six points. As we've discovered over the years, you can't take any NCHC team for granted. Any team can win on any given night. That's why UND head coach Brad Berry has called this league the gauntlet. On Friday night, the UND Hockey team flirted with defeat.
The UND hockey team didn't have their A-game in the first period. They came out a step slow and let the opposition forwards roam in the UND D-zone. The two teams traded goals, by Miami's Thomas Daskas and UND's Jake Livanavage. Lucky for NoDak, the score was only 1-1 after one period of play.
In the second period, the RedHawks outscored the Fighting Hawks 3-1 and took a 4-2 lead into the third period.
In the final 20 minutes, UND went to work. They chipped away and fought back, scoring two goals by Logan Britt and Riese Gaber in the final 10.33 to tie the game with just under a minute remaining in regulation.
At the 1:24 mark of the 3-on-3 overtime, Jackson Blake completed the comeback with his third game-winning overtime goal of the season. That leads UND.
With the win, UND head coach Brad Berry is one win away from his 200th win and its 20th win of the season. Berry's teams have won 20 or more games five times in his nine seasons as the UND head coach. All-time, Berry is 199-98-33 (.653).
With the comeback win in overtime, UND extended its impressive run without a regulation loss in 20 games, one game shy of tying the program record.
When UND play-by-play announcer Tim Hennesy brought it up during the post-game radio interview, Berry played it off. Rightfully so, Berry is more focused on team goals than personal success.
With the win, UND improves to 28-8-1 all-time against Miami and 11-4-2 in Oxford, OH.
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.
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.
This past weekend, the University of North Dakota hockey team traveled to St. Cloud, Minnesota, to take on the St. Cloud State in a critical NCHC matchup. It was a fantastic weekend of hockey. The games were available on Midco Sports Net via Fox 9+ and NCHC.TV.
For the most part, the video feed was pretty good; during the two broadcasts, there were a couple of kerfuffles. In the first period of Friday's game, the person running the camera missed Garrett Pyke's goal. Only after a replay were we able to watch the goal. The people doing the graphics also messed up a few of the UND players' schools by putting NDSU instead of UND. That's a big mistake, even for a student on the broadcast team.
Let's take a look at the men in the announcer's booth who had a tough weekend. Play-by-play announcer Jim Rich couldn't pronounce at least three of UND's players. Rich regularly screwed up Jake Livanavage, Carson Albrecht, and Riese Gaber. Rich is a veteran announcer and should be able to read a pronunciation guide from the game notes. His color guy, Geno Parrish, could pronounce all of the UND players' names. Try it; it's not complicated. I took this from the pronunciation guide from the UND hockey notes: LIVE-an-AH-vidge, gay-burr, ALL-breckt.
Perusing X during the games, UND fans pointed out the broadcast's shortcomings all weekend. We're spoiled with who we have producing UND sports. It's no contest; they're the best in the business and have set the bar very high.
SCSU broadcast crew has called Blake-Black and Gaber-Garber…maybe hire some professionals? My god it’s bad
During one of the breaks in the first period, SCSU play-by-play announcer Jim Rich started a rant.
"We have Midco Sports Net joining us again tonight, along with Fox Nine Plus," Rich said. "We'd like to remind all the viewers that this is a student production. All these kids are learning on the fly, just like the players. They make mistakes once in a while, but they all want to get to the next level. These guys want to get to the NHL. These kids are behind the camera and running graphics, TD, you name it. These guys are all going to be pros as well in this business."
His Color guy, Geno Parrish, replied.
"And they have they've done that," Parrish said. "I know Mark Parrish (NHL Analyst) and Kristen Kroll are there. A Katie Storm may also work in the National Hockey League and the NBA."
Rich replied.
"Exactly," Rich replied. They may be a little green here, but they turn out to be dynamic just because this program does such a wonderful job."
Look, there's no question that St. Cloud State puts out some great media people. Midco Sports has Taylor Budge, who reports for UND sports on Midco. She's a graduate of SCSU. Also, for the most part, the students weren't the problem this weekend despite a few minor mistakes that were cleaned up on Saturday night. During the Saturday night broadcast, no NDSU hockey players played for UND. The problem was the veteran TV guy in the announcer's booth.
Finally, Jordan Schmaltz was not a member of the famed CBS Line. His brother Nick was.
On Saturday, the University of North Dakota hockey team took four of six points against St. Cloud State to vault them to the top of the NCHC standings. In the upcoming weeks, UND has an excellent opportunity to solidify its spot at the top of the NCHC standings. It starts this weekend against the Denver Pioneers.
UND is on an impressive run; this was another weekend without a regulation loss. UND hasn't lost in regulation since November 3, 2023, at Boston University. That's a 17-game streak. Yes, UND is 2-4-2 in overtime, but the team is working on getting better in the 3-on-3 overtime. Last night, UND possessed the puck for most of the five-minute 3-on-3 overtime.
"We're the only NCHC team that hasn't lost in regulation," UND head coach Brad Berry said. "We haven't lost in regulation since early November. That tells me a lot."
It's still a work in progress, but UND is focused on closing out games in regulation.
"We've got to do a better job of closing the game in 60 minutes to win games," Berry said. "When we're trailing in games, we find a way to get points. That's a huge deal, coming out of here with the series win, knowing we don't play them again until the playoffs. It's the resiliency of our group."
A few weeks ago, I told Virg foss that freshman forward Jayden Perron is about to break out. After making this bold prediction, Perron went pointless in four games. Perron ended his four-game pointless streak on Saturday by recording two assists for his first-ever multi-point game.
Saturday, SCSU outshot UND 35-27; this was the first time this season that UND has been outshot in both games in a series. Speaking of shots. Against the Huskies, UND goalie Ludvig Persson was on top of his game. In both games combined, he stopped 66 of 72 shots for a .916 save percentage. On Saturday, Persson finished with 32 saves and improved his record to 13-6-2 (2.40 GAA and a .905 save percentage).
What can we say about sophomore forward Jackson Blake? He continued his magical season with another solid weekend and extended his point streak to six games with his goal in the first period. He's scored (4g-4a--8pts) during that six-game streak. Blake has (15g-15a--30pts) for the season, and he's a plus-four.
Today, I read a comment from a reader that inspired me to post. It read like this:
St. Cloud TV graphic people were terrible. They showed a graphic listing Blake as from NDSU and another spelling Persson's last name as Pehrson, as like our defenseman by that spelling. Rough.
This is a fear that I have when the NCHC playoffs go entirely to home sites. It's no mystery not every team has the infrastructure that UND has. I get it; we're lucky to have the media partners that we have. I also think the conference needs to find a way to hold on to CBS Sports Network. Their broadcasts are very professional and done the right way.
Great game at Robson last night! A really enjoyable crew to work alongside at the rink in Colorado and in the control room in Connecticut. Thanks to everyone with @CCTigerHKY and @MiamiOH_Hockey for their help this week! Two college hockey programs moving in the right direction. pic.twitter.com/petcGQkZ3u
On this subject, I am broken record, but Midco Sports outshines every other school's webcasts. It's not even close. The video feed for Saint Cloud State's webcasts is good, but their play-by-play team could be better. Frankly, last night, they were atrocious.
The broadcast team (Fox 9 and or Huskies Productions) needed help identifying the right North Dakota school their favorite team was playing. NDSU doesn't have college hockey; from what I hear, they don't plan on having a hockey team. Ever. Do your prep; it's goalie Ludvig Persson and defenseman Keaton Pehrson.
Jim Rich has been doing this for a long time, you'd think he'd be able to read a pronunciation guide and be able to pronounce Jake Livanavage's name. It's harder to spell it than it is to say it. The color guy, Geno Parrish, was an absolute cheerleader. It was hard to listen to these two call the game. Is it okay to be homers in the booth? Probably, but there's taking it too far.
I've already discussed this in NCHC TV: The Conference Can Do Better. I've had people ask me if the conference going to push for a higher standard or if we are going to be stuck with good enough is good enough. How do we hold the other schools accountable? I am sure we will hear some excuse about how they can't afford to up their game and we are just lucky to have the games webcast.
It's all about the Benjamins. The conference is making money off NCHC.TV, regardless of whether they hold the schools with the substandard webcasts accountable. My question to fans is, is the product we have seen this season worth paying $115 a year? I don't think so.
Last night the Minnesota Wild took on the Florida Panthers in a non-conference game in South Florida. The game started out with a bang, literally.
At the 2:15 mark of the first period, Wild goalie Mark Andre Fleury went behind the net to play a puck, at the same time, Panters forward William Lockwood interfered with Fleury knocking him to the ice. If you watch the video, you will see that Fleury absorbed a vicious hit.
For those that are wondering, Lockwood isn't a skilled player and was probably on the ice to cause havoic. Look at his stats, he's not known for his skill, in 51 NHL games, he's scored (0g-2-a--2pts). What was his purpose for being on the ice? Yes, he's in the NHL, but I don't see a lot of teams trying to pick him up in free agency.
Midway through the game Fleury would leave the game and no return. The Panthers are notorious for being a dirty team.
— Bally Sports Florida: Panthers (@BallyPanthers) January 20, 2024
Lockwood will have a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety. I won't even try to predict how they will rule, George Parros has natoriously been soft on offending players.
Florida’s William Lockwood will have a hearing today for goalie interference on Minnesota’s Marc-Andre Fleury.
At the 5:58 mark of the first period, Lockwood fought Minnesota Wild forward Brandon Duhaime. The proper response for attempting to decapitate the Wild's goalie Fleury.
Last season, the University of North Dakota hockey team didn't do very well against the St. Cloud State Huskies. In five games against UND, the Huskies dominated the Hawks 3-1-1 and ended their season. UND looked to right the ship on Friday against SCSU. Revenge was on the UND player's minds.
This week in practice, the UND players kept that in the back of their minds as they traveled to St. Cloud to take on the Huskies.
"I didn't have to talk about it during the week," head coach Brad Berry said. "I mentioned it once, and it kept coming back in conversations as a group. That's always a tough pill to swallow; when your season gets ended by the team you're playing, there's a little revenge there. The biggest thing for us, we got to stay hungry. We won a game tonight. There can't be any complacency. We got to make sure we're hungry, and we come out hard, just like we did this evening."
"The first period gave us momentum throughout the game," Blake said. "There will be ups and downs, but we stayed with it and played well tonight."
The players know the importance of this series. It's the only regular season series between the two teams, and the importance of getting a good start and winning in regulation wasn't lost on the UND players. UND would race to a 2-0 lead in the first period with goals from Jackson Blake and Garrett Pyke.
SCSU and UND would exchange goals in the second period. In the back of their minds, UND fans had to wonder if the Hawks could hang on to the lead. In the third period, UND and SCSU scored two more goals, and when the final horn sounded, UND ended the night on top, winning the game 5-3.
With the win, UND vaulted into first place in the NCHC standings.
"You want to be up there -- you don't want to be chasing," Jake Livanavage said. "Now we're in first place. We've earned it. We had a good first half. We just got to keep it rolling."
Embed below are the highlights from last night's game. It was one of the better games of the 2023-24 season.
Here are some things that stuck out for me during Friday's game.
UND goalie Ludvig Persson finished with a season-high 34 saves to improve to 13-6-1. After not being 100 percent a week prior, in game one against the Huskies, Persson was on top of his game, making 14 saves on 15 shots in the second period. In 20 games this season, Ludvig has a 2.38 GAA and a .904 save percentage. He also has three shutouts.
"Ludvig (Persson) was outstanding tonight," Berry said. "When he was called upon, he made some huge saves for us."
Sophomore forward Jackson Blake had another multi-point game, his seventh of the season. That was also his sixth three-point game of the season. Blake has hit the 30-goal threshold for his career with his two-goal game.
With his two-point game (two assists), sophomore forward Owen McLaughlin extended his point streak to five straight games. McLaughlin has scored four goals and six assists for 10 points in those five games. In 22 games, he's scored (8g-17a--25pts), and he's also plus-six.
Junior forward Cameron Berg continued his torrid pace. He has points in 12 of his last 15 games, including 10 goals. Last night, Berg scored his 11th goal of the season, a career-high. In 23 games, Berg has scored (11g-11a--22pts), and he's also a plus-10.
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.
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