College Hockey

UND HOCKEY: Penrose Make Appearance After Hawks OT Win

/ scottywazz / Leave a comment

GRAND FORKS, ND– With a playoff like atmosphere and the 1980 National Championship team in the house, the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks had a lot to play for on Saturday. In a tight-checking game and an emotional roller coaster in the last 47 seconds of the game, the Hawks took out the Western Michigan Broncos 2-1 in overtime. 

“It was an entertaining game that’s for sure from a fan standpoint,” UND head coach Brad Berry mentioned after the game. “From our perspective on the bench, wow, two evenly matched teams, hard fought battle, and physical series. Just glad we found a way to win in overtime and win the Penrose right away.”

It was back and forth between the two to start the game, as the Fighting Hawks got on the board first with Collin Adams putting home his 12th of the year off a rebound kicked to his stick from an initial shot from Colton Poolman. The goal came from a sharp angle, as Adams was right next to the goal line when he got the puck and fired it far-side past Ben Blacker to put the Hawks on the board first. It was a neutral zone battle for most of the period before Paul Washe tipped home a Wade Allison shot that fooled Adam Scheel to tie the game. 

The final 40 minutes of the game were a grind. Neither team let up an inch and the score remained tied at one at the end of regulation with a combined shot total of 33 shots (17-16 UND) after sixty minutes of regulation play. 

“That’s playoff hockey what you saw this weekend,” mentioned Berry. “I thought the officiating let us play and there was a lot of energy that was spent out there. A lot of plays weren’t being made because two teams were playing fierce out there”

In the overtime, there was plenty of action in two minutes to make up for the last 40, as Western Michigan thought they had a game winner, only for it to be called off on goalie interference, as there was no attempt by the Broncos player to get out of the way of Scheel. A short time later, the Fighting Hawks came back on a rush for Matt Kiersted to rip a shot from the point, which rebounded off of Blacker to the stick of Shane Pinto– who made no mistake with an empty net and sent the sellout crowd home happy and give UND a weekend sweep. With the sweep, the Fighting Hawks will get a share of the 2020 Penrose Cup for best regular season record in the NCHC.

“This whole year has been a bit different than the last two years, and I’ve loved every minute of it,” UND captain Colton Poolman said of the team this season. “We still have one more weekend to go and we’re going to try to win this thing outright, for sure.”

THEY SAID IT

“I think that’s the best goal I’ve ever scored. Just everything about it– winning for the seniors, winning the the Penrose Cup. Just the whole moment is something I’ll never forget. I really can’t gather my thoughts, but that building all night you could feel the momentum shift” — Pinto on the game winning goal.

“That shows you the focus and resiliency they had. We had to wait there for the review of the play and we just huddled up the guys and talked to them that we’re going to play longer and just make sure you’re ready to go.” — Berry on the team focus during the overtime review.

“A bad bounce for Western Michigan, but one got called back last night, one got called back tonight. That was a spark we needed honestly. We got some energy on the bench and we go out and score that one. We’ve won games in so many different ways and that’s another new, different way.” — Poolman on the team’s will to win this season. 

“It means everything. Coming in as a freshman you’re a little bit scared. It’s just how it is, it’s a new kind of environment, but they took us in with open arms and kind of taught us the ropes. They’re a special group of guys and we just want to win it for them.”– Pinto on the senior class.

UND HOCKEY: Hawks Inch Closer to Penrose with Friday Win

/ scottywazz / Leave a comment

GRAND FORKS, ND– With the NCHC regular season title in their sights, the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks took one step closer with a win against Western Michigan University Friday night taking the first game of the weekend set 3-1. Adam Scheel made 26 saves in his first win since January 11th and his first start since January 24th.

“It’s always fun to get in the net no matter what,” Scheel said post-game. “I was happy and excited to be back. My team helped me, limited the chances, and played hard defense. Couldn’t have done it without them.”

After a first period that seemed more like a tight checking playoff game, UND started to come into their own during the second period. It took them to about half-way before cracking the scoresheet, with a wonderful goal off a three-on-two. Jacob Bernard-Docker started the rush out the zone with Jackson Keane on one wing, Judd Caulfield on the other; JBD found Keane, who got it back to JBD, who got it to Caulfield, allowing Caulfield to go forehand-backhand on Brandon Bussi and slip it past him for the 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, UND got on the power play, where Jasper Weatherby won a draw back to Ethan Frisch. Frisch sailed it to Matt Kiersted, who let a wrister go that fooled Bussi and made it 2-0 Fighting Hawks. 

Western Michigan cut the lead in half at 4:35 of the third, as they got plenty of whacks at the loose puck in front, but Dawson DiPietro got the last whack behind Adam Scheel to make it 2-1 UND. Up until then, Scheel had made several quality saves to start the third, getting his first start in several weekends. UND thought they got the two goal lead back when Jordan Kawaguchi scored, but the goal was called back after Bussi jumped out to make the save and while diving, hit Collin Adams’ thigh as Adams was looking for the rebound outside the crease. The NCHC officials said that it interfered with Bussi making the save and waived it off. Bussi had to leave the game, letting Ben Blacker in the net. A chippy game ensured, with many a missed call until Mattias Samuelsson got an interference call, Westin Michaud to get a tip off a Gabe Bast blast that was set-up by Kiersted to make it 3-1. 

The intensity turned dirty, as Ronnie Attard caught Shane Pinto blindsided in the UND defensive zone. The hit jarred Pinto’s head and left him laying on the ice momentarily as the scrums happened around him. Attard got a five and game for direct head contact to Pinto. With only 1:15 remaining, there wasn’t much else to do but run the clock down, as the Fighting Hawks draw closer to the Penrose Cup for best regular season record in the NCHC. 

THEY SAID IT

“That’s the last thing I wanted to do. I’m confident in my game and my ability. No need to change or hit the panic button.” — Scheel on if he adjusted his game at all since being out.

“Me and Peter (Thome) are really good friends. No matter who’s in the net, it doesn’t change our relationship. You really come to work every day with a little chip on your shoulder and work hard to be ready for your next opportunity. No matter what, Peter’s a great teammate. So you learn from a guy like that. He’s a great guy in the locker room and he was always supportive of me, so I’ll do the same for him.” — Scheel on his relationship with fellow goalie Peter Thome. 

“He had a really good two, three weeks of practice here. We always look at how goalies do against the other teams and he plays outstanding against Western Michigan. And Peter Thome has been playing outstanding as well, but this is the opportunity for someone else to come in. I think it was a combination of a lot of things, but mostly Adam staying sharp and working his tail off in practice.”– Brad Berry on the decision to start Adam Scheel.

“It was kind of a gametime decision that Cole Smith wasn’t in the lineup and it kind of throws you on your heads a little bit about what to do to replace a guy like that. I think what we did was sided on having experience and get Dixon Bowen, a senior; Casey Johnson, a senior; guys a little bit harder, heavier, quicker players to try to take away time and space.” — Berry on his line-up moves ahead of Friday’s game.

Clutch N’ Crab Hockey Weekend Preview 022

/ scottywazz / Leave a comment

MARYLAND BLACK BEARS vs. Jamestown Rebels

After a disappointing weekend in Wilkes-Barre, the Black Bears are back at home and are now in crucial win territory from this point forward. Also, trying to fix the power play will need to happen, as they have no converted on their last 28 power plays. Hampus Rydqvist scored the last PPG on January 24th against this Rebels’ team. This team needs to make their own luck rather than hoping that puck luck reaches them. It’s a gut-check time for all involved if they want to make hold onto the final playoff spot, especially against teams chasing them.

TEAM MARYLAND vs. North Carolina Golden Bears

In the final regular season weekend, Team Maryland takes on the EHL whipping boy in North Carolina. The biggest thing for Team Maryland is to get in playoff form. They can’t shy away from their game plan even against a team lower in standing. If they sweep this weekend, they’ll move into fourth spot and still face the Philadelphia Little Flyers, but at home rather than on the road.

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS D3 MEN at Wilkes College

After an 8-4 win thanks to a Nick Gray hat-trick, the Mustangs go to Wilkes for a two-game playoff with mini-game tactics in effect if each team takes a game. Unfortunately, Stevenson dropped both games to Wilkes, once at the start of the season and once at the beginning of February. The same offense shown against Neumann needs to carry over, while the defense needs to tighten up, as Ryan Kenny has faced a ton of shots down the stretch and showing some flaws.

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS D3 WOMEN at Neumann University

Riding a four-game winning streak into the playoffs, the Mustangs head up to Aston, PA to With a loss and a tie this year against the Knights, the Mustangs will hope to put that aside and make sure they make the most of this quarterfinal and make the most of their momentum. Outscoring their opponents 18-2 in the four-game win streak, the Mustangs are getting their offense going at the right time, especially for a one-and-done scenario.

Clutch N’ Crab Hockey Weekend: Crabpot Tournament Edition

/ scottywazz / Leave a comment

TOWSON UNIVERSITY TIGERS vs. UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND TERRAPINS

The Tigers have had a very rough season. Their goal differential is a minus-121, they have given up an average of 55.8 shots a game (1732 in 31 games), and only have one player who has double-digits in goal scoring. Obviously, defense is an issue, but all things considered; Jacob Snyder and Kevin Mackey have done all they could in net for this team and still had a team save percentage of .901 on the year. Offense wasn’t been grand either, with Ryan Dieter being the biggest contributor– as he has been for his four years at Towson. With Dieter and Matt Curtin leaving, the big stalwarts of the offense staying is going to be Costa Pizanis and Collin Mercier; who have been good…but consistency is king.

When it comes to the Terps, things were going well until Chris Bouchard left due to mid-season graduation. After Bouchard’s departure, the Terps only scored 11 goals in seven games (1-6-0)– one of which was a 7-goal output against Delaware– and they were shutout in three game during that stretch. However, Liam Eden had a quietly solid season with 13 goals and 26 assists, while Evan Yamaguchi was hot at the start of the year, but kind of faded through the season. Griffin Connolly had a strong second-half which kind of got Maryland a nice shot in the arm late.

PREDICTION: Though these teams are struggling, this could be a solid match-up with both having a lot to prove. Towson wants to not lose to a lower division team, while Maryland would love to beat a D1 team at the end of the year. At the end though, I think Towson comes out on top only due to the lack of offense Maryland has out out in this semester.

NAVAL ACADEMY MIDSHIPMEN vs. STEVENSON UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS

Navy has been at the top of their game this season, making sure that they are in a prime position in the playoffs, which they are hosting, next weekend and it’s paid off. Even going into the season with two untested goalies in Charles Doherty and Casey McCormick; those worries were put to rest as both keepers have been stellar with both having above .925 save percentages and sub-2.40 GAAs. Sophomore Joe Kelly and freshman Conner Hyden have been a solid duo offensively, leading the way for scoring; while John Scaccia and Brendan Reynolds have been great on the back-end.

One of the better stories coming out of Maryland hockey has been the ACHA Mustangs. Head coach Mike Urgo’s team doubled their win total from last year, had the best season in the short team history of this squad, and won three games against European pro teams during Thanksgiving. They are a part of the growing culture of hockey that Stevenson is growing. This is also a gun-slinging team that scored five-or-more goals ten times this season; Mark Bowen, Brandan Scholze, and Ian Malone leading the way. More over, Stevenson had ten players in double digits in points, while Pierce Dushenko was good when called upon, finishing with a .912 save percentage in the process.

PREDICTION: While it’s a tough one to pick, I may have to give the edge to Navy. Both teams are hungry, they have a lot of heart, and there’s plenty of skill on each side. That said, I think the goaltending will be a big factor and the skill is a touch better in the Mids side of things.

CRABPOT FINAL PREDICTION: In my scenario, Navy takes on Towson– to which I have to go with Navy in that one. Navy had beaten the Tigers 6-0 and 7-1 this season and I don’t see the Mids slowing up one bit if they have to take on the Tigers for a third time.

On the Topic Of the Crab Pot Tournament

/ scottywazz / Leave a comment

The 43rd installment of the Crab Pot Tournament is taking place this weekend at McMullen Ice Arena on the Brigade Sports Conplex in Annapolis, Maryland on Friday. It’ll see four games being played where the winners of the Friday games will face off in the title game Saturday night and the two losers will be in the consolation game. This title is one that is very known in the Maryland hockey community and really holds a special place with the Naval Academy as a year-end tournament.

When it comes to the history of the literal crab pot on a trophy base, it goes back to 1978 when then-Navy head coach Steve Gordon. Gordon was a goalie at Northeastern University in Boston and took part in the Beanpot Tournament that happens in mid-January every year. It’s claimed that the Crab Pot is the Beanpot offspring named after the Maryland blue crab, while many players have said it’s a great compliment to the Beanpot for the mid-Atlantic ACHA teams.

This year’s tournament is pretty special for the area, too, as it’ll be the first time since 2017 that it’ll be an all Maryland-based tournament. Of course, the Naval Academy is in Annapolis, but joining the Midshipmen will be the Stevenson Mustangs (Reisterstown), Towson Tigers, (Towson…obviously), and the Maryland Terrapins (College Park). For a trophy that is so absurdly Maryland, it’s a nice sight to see all four teams being from the state. Granted, we’ll see how the skill levels are, as both Stevenson and Maryland are Division 2 and will take on Navy and Towson (respectively) who are Division 1 in the ACHA.

It also gives a spotlight for the team to people who may not get to see these teams on a regular basis. It’s can be a haul from College Park to Towson to see a game or Reisterstown to Annapolis– especially on the weekend. This puts all the teams in one spot for all to take in. You could hope that this could be a recurring thing, as with the Beanpot– but it has been mainly an invitiational tournament that takes into account the playoff schedules of these leagues the teams are in– but if the stars can align properly, maybe it can be come a regular meeting of the four in years to come.

The tournament is a special one for the players at Navy. When speaking to Navy co-captain Derek Golembrosky he said, “The people of Annapolis love it, we (Navy) love it, it’s a cool spectacle to be in every year. It seems when teams come here for that, they always play harder against us. Last year’s tournament (win over Rhode Island) was a highlight of my career. Just sitting on the bench, heart pounding, and then into the overtime and shootout was just one of the top moments of my career.”

So, the question is now with how big the Crab Pot is and how the growth of women’s hockey has become– will we ever see a Women’s Crab Pot with Navy, Maryland, Towson, and the Loyola Greyhounds?? Time will definitely tell, but with all four of those teams in Division 2; they could go in on equal footing and draw an entirely new crowd of people to the event.

If you have the chance and are in the Annapolis area, I say you should take a look at it. It’s Friday and Saturday with game one at 5:30, game two at 8:30 and all the Maryland content you could hope for.

UND HOCKEY: Hawks Sweep Denver Off Their Feet, Weekend Series

/ scottywazz / Leave a comment

GRAND FORKS, ND– Despite not having captain Colton Poolman in the line-up, the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks pulled off a sweep of Denver University this weekend, winning Saturday night 3-1 and holding the Pioneers to just two goals on the weekend and only four goals in the four games the two met each other in this season. 

North Dakota dictated the pace through the first, holding Denver to only two shots midway through the frame. Thanks to a Liam Finlay holding call, Matt Kiersted potted his fifth of the year thanks to a ricochet off the glove of Denver’s Justin Lee went past Magnus Chrona to give UND the lead. UND’s defense kept the Pioneers to the outside, allowing Peter Thome to see the puck perfectly. Thome’s biggest save came off a cross-ice pass that forced him to go post-to-post in order to make a toe save and keep it a 1-0 game. 

For most of the second period, it was a chess match, with neither team wanting to make a wrong move and have it go against them. Denver flinched first with just under half the period to go, when Jacob Bernard-Docker started a rush, finding Jordan Kawaguchi on the wing, who then passed it cross is to Collin Adams to make it a 2-0 game. Denver got one back five minutes later, as Brett Edwards threw a shot at Peter Thome after it was dumped into the corner; Thome couldn’t get to his post fast enough and the Edwards shot went off Thome’s side and in the net. 

While the third period was more of slog, the Fighting Hawks held off late attacks by the Pioneers and ended it with Jasper Weatherby burying an empty-netter to seal the deal and sweep for the top-ranked North Dakota. The win kept the hot streak alive for North Dakota with a winning streak of five games, games in which they’ve allowed a total of five goals. It also allows UND to pull eight points ahead in the standings for the NCHC. 

THEY SAID IT

“Just an overall commitment, we’re not getting spread out. This is a good team off the rush, our d-men can’t be caught out on an island. Our forwards have to help out through the rush, through the d-zone. We always call it five-in-the-picture. We want to make sure that any time we see in our video, five guys are together, coming up and down the ice.”– Brad Berry on what’s help the defensive game in the last five. 

“I think in the third period, you could tell– they ramped it up and we ramped it up. Obviously, it’s going to be playoff hockey from here on out. It’s going to get tougher and tougher and we’ve got to get better.”– Collin Adams on the atmosphere as the regular season winds down.

Clutch N’ Crab Hockey Weekend Preview 020

/ scottywazz / Leave a comment

MARYLAND BLACK BEARS vs. Maine Nordiques

With only one win in their last 10 games, the Black Bears are in for a crucial match-up against a team creeping up on them for that fourth and final playoff spot. With the line-up set, everyone is going to have to step up in a bigger way to keep hold of that fourth spot while holding off the competition behind them. Hopefully, Brayden Stannard will be back in the line-up to add to the offensive punch of the Black Bears.

TEAM MARYLAND vs. Philadelphia Little Flyers, North Carolina Golden Bears

After plenty of goals in their split last weekend, TM has a task in the Little Flyers to start the weekend, a team they’ve already beaten three times; while they’ll have North Carolina come in for the first of three games to end the season. While these are primer games, TM shouldn’t take any of these games for granted going into the playoff season. Despite playing a weaker team in North Carolina, the pedal still needs to be to the floor to gear up for the second season.

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS D3 MEN at Nazareth University, Utica College

After sweeping the weekend last weekend, the Mustangs will look to continue that on the road, where they have only lost one game all year. The power play clicked well last weekend, though the penalty kill did let up three goals against Neumann on Friday. With first place in the UCHC within reach, every conference point matters– especially against a team in Utica who is right behind the Mustangs in the standings

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS D3 WOMEN at Lebanon Valley College, Chatham College

After a less than desirable finish to their home schedule, the Mustangs head out on the road, where they are the opposite of the men’s side– winning only one game on the road. With only road games left, the Mustangs will need to find an extra gear in order to get over those road woes, and bring home at least one victory out of this trip to stay up in the playoff conversation.

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS D2 MEN’S CLUB at MACH Playoffs

With their first task being Rowan University, the Green Horses will be taking their most successful team in the brief three year period into the MACH playoffs. They run into a Rowan team who is second in the conference and has taken both match-ups this season. Yet, the playoffs are a different beast and with all the adversity Stevenson has faced already– what’s a little more to overcome to get to the next round and maybe a title shot.

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND GREYHOUNDS WOMEN’S CLUB at DVCHC Playoffs

The Greyhounds won the South Division of the DVCHC, so they’re automatically into the semi-final game, where they’ll take on the second lowest seeded team in that game. Loyola comes in winning seven of their last eight to end the year and with Jessica Chicko playing out of her mind with four hat-trick in her last five games, including three straight. It’s always good to have that hot a hand when going into the playoffs– especially in a one-game scenario.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND TERRAPINS WOMEN’S CLUB at DVCHC Playoffs

While they looked like world beaters in the early going, the Terps had a bit of a bumpy patch late in the season, going only .500 in the last six games. They’ll take on West Chester in the first round, a team they met and lost to two weeks ago. If there’s any time for a revenge game and for Alix McKillop to really bust out the scoring– it’ll be here.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND TERRAPINS D2 MEN’S CLUB at MACH Playoffs

The Terps have a bit of an uphill climb for the MACH playoffs, coming in as the last seed and facing powerhouse Liberty in the first round– a team that swept the Terps two weeks prior. The Terps have only won one game since semester break (seven games) and will have to dig deep or they’ll be preparing for the Crabpot tournament a little bit earlier than they’d hope.

Clutch N’ Crab Hockey Weekend Preview 019

/ scottywazz / Leave a comment

MARYLAND BLACK BEARS at New Jersey Titans

Last time the Black Bears were in New Jersey, they were able to get a split out of the weekend. While taking four points against the divisions top team is a tough task, it’s something that the Black Bears have a chance to do. With the new guys being acclimated to the team, it’ll be a task to harness that energy toward the Titans while trying to keep a gap in the East Division playoff hunt.

TEAM MARYLAND vs. New York Applecore

After a tough couple weekend against New Jersey, New York shows up to Team Maryland HQ with a 1-2-0 season record against TM so far. With TM trying to stay in the top-six, Applecore has the role to play possible spoilers– or at least rattle the cages of TM– in this weekend’s match-ups.

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS D3 MEN vs. Neumann University, Manhattanville College

The Mustangs return home after a less than desirable weekend in Pennsylvania. With a bitter taste in their mouths, Stevenson will take on two teams they beat handily at the beginning of the season and hope to find some home-ice advantage, despite being only two games over the .500 mark at Reisterstown SportsPlex.

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS D3 WOMEN vs. Manhattanville College, Neumann University

Finishing up .500 last weekend, the Mustang women come back for one last home series of the regular season, which will be the last for the seniors in their careers. With the home-cooking, the seniors and the rest of the Green Horses are looking to get over their overall .500 mark on the season and gain momentum heading into the last two weekends of the season.

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS CLUB at/vs. University of Maryland

In their last weekend of the regular season, the Green Horses club team take on the Terps in a home-and-home weekend. The last three games, the Mustangs have outscored their opponents 20-3 and look to pounce on a Maryland squad who has had plenty of troubles scoring this season. With playoffs looming and a chance to improve their position, we’ll see the best yet from the Mustangs this weekend.

NAVAL ACADEMY MIDSHIPMEN MEN’S D1 at West Chester University, vs. Lehigh University

As they sit atop the ECHA standings, the Middies look to hold onto that spot in order to get a first-round bye in the playoffs. With wins already this season against these teams, the Navy squad will look to revenge their loss in the finals last year and turn into a big win and possible National Championship bid because of it.

NAVAL ACADEMY MIDSHIPMEN MEN’S D2 at Georgetown University, Rowan University

While they may not make it to the ACCHL playoffs, the D2 Midshipmen will look to end on a high note in an otherwise tough season. They will hope to spark some offense that was off and on this season, but in a chance to play spoiler for Georgetown’s hopes; you can bet they’ll take advantage of it if possible.

NAVAL ACADEMY MIDSHIPMEN WOMEN vs. University at Buffalo

In order to get into the top-four of the Southeast, the Middies will need to big wins over Buffalo, who are right behind them in the standings. Sitting fifth and hoping for computers to be on their side, Navy’s women will have to leave no doubt when it comes to these games in their last ride of the season.

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND GREYHOUNDS WOMEN at George Washington University, vs. West Chester University

Battling for the top spot in the South Division, the Greyhounds will take on a team they defeated 10-0 last weekend in GW, but then will take on a tough foe of the North Division in West Chester. It’ll really be a big test for the Greyhounds to see how they’re able to hang with the top teams in the other division for championship time.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND TERRAPINS MEN vs/at Stevenson University, at University of Delaware

We mentioned the Terps ahead of this with the Mustangs, but the key point is the lack of scoring for the Terps this season, as it seemed that they haven’t been able to get that flow they had at the start of the season and find consistency throughout the season. With two tough tasks ahead, the Terps will probably sit in the MACH playoffs in the bottom spot.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND TERRAPINS WOMEN vs. George Washington University

In what could be a big scoring game, the Lady Terps will look to end the season and into the playoffs with a big win over GW, while hoping that Loyola has some struggles and won’t be able to end the year at the top of the table.

TOWSON UNIVERSITY TIGERS MEN vs. Drexel University, West Chester University

In what was a tough season, the Tigers will finish it up at home and hope to get some wins in the instance. A lot of key elements are graduating, which could cause trouble for next season if things don’t improve to the level three seasons ago when the Tigers were in the ECHA championship game. Maybe something can click and they get back to those days of glory.

TOWSON UNIVERSITY TIGERS WOMEN at West Virginia University

After their second win of the season, the Tigers will wrap up their season in West Virginia and hope to build their program back up. While they did get two more wins than last year, it’s something to build on for another Towson program trying to get back to the glory days of success in the area.

UND HOCKEY: Eight is Enough for UND’s Big Win Over Tigers

/ scottywazz / Leave a comment

GRAND FORKS, ND– After only scoring one goal in last night’s win, the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks made up for it on Saturday night, pummelling the Colorado College Tigers 8-1 to sweep the weekend. UND finished with seven goal scorers, 13 players with points, multi-point games from Kawaguchi, Weatherby, Adams, Mismash, and Andrew Peski; all while getting a bye-week to rest up the wounded like Gavin Hain and Gabe Bast who left early due to injury and Matt Kiersted who sat out the weekend to heal up. 

“Last night took a while, but we just kind of stuck with the process,” Kawaguchi mentioned post-game. “That’s what we want. We want to jump on teams early and hopefully go up a couple like we did tonight.” 

After a penalty to linemate Gavin Hain, Cole Smith took it upon himself to drive the net hard from the outside and put it through Matt Vernon to give UND a power play goal. Under two minutes later, Collin Adams continued his breakout season taking a cycle pass to just below the blueline and got it passed Vernon thanks to a Jordan Kawaguchi screen in front. UND kept the pressure and got a little puck luck with Vernon misplaying the puck in front of his net, allowing Jasper Weatherby tapping it in between his legs. As that goal was announced, Jordan Kawaguchi fed it across ice to Grant Mismash to beat Vernon far side and make it 4-0 in the first period of play. 

The Fighting Hawks kept the pedal down, as they took it to the Tigers early, which resulted in Kawaguchi getting his 14th of the year, driving to the net and putting it between the wickets of Vernon to make it 5-0 early in the second. Colorado College did put some pressure on in the middle of the frame, but Peter Thome stood tall and kept the Tigers off the scoresheet. With under five minutes left, Mark Senden drove the net and picked up Harrison Blaisdell’s rebound from Vernon’s pad to make it 6-0 UND. 

After Jon Flakne got into net for the Tigers, the Hawks took 50 seconds before a bouncing puck hit Kawaguchi’s pants to make it 7-0 for UND. Four minutes later, the Hawks made it eight with Jacob Bernard-Docker taking a skate before feeding Shane Pinto in front for his 13th of the season. Matt Vernon went back into net shortly after to try and stop the bleeding for Colorado College. The Tigers did get one back, as Connor Mayer put one past Thome after a centering feed from Alex Berardinelli to stop the shutout bid for Thome and the eventual final goal of the contest. 

Andrew Peski/Photo by Jen Conway

THEY SAID IT

“A couple of guys got banged up there so we had to move some lines and d-pairs around a bit. That gave us the opportunity tonight with a lead like that to see other guys like Harrison Blaisdell and Judd Caulfield in some other situations.”– Brad Berry on dealing on the fly with some injuries in his roster throughout the game. 

“We were just sticking with it. We watched some video this morning and looked at each other and said, ‘We got to pick it up a little bit.’ We didn’t have our best game last night. Even against Duluth we were playing our best. We got to take responsibility for that and go out there and do what we can.”– Kawaguchi on his line creating more chances tonight opposed to the start of the semester

“Matt (Kiersted)’s a great defenseman. He’s definitely a key to our offense and our power play, but at the end of the day as Bubs (Brad Berry) always says– next man up mentality. You saw Josh Rieger come in, he was playing defense and forward a little bit, so we call him the Swiss Army Knife. He did a great job and it’s just doing the job that you have and doing it well.”– Peski on the versatility of the roster for UND. 

“They’re a workhorse line. Smitty works the hardest I’ve ever seen. Senden works hard, too. Gavin has the most skill on that line and he’s a hard worker, too. I wouldn’t want to play against them. They’re tough and fast and play the right way. Those three together are unbelieveable.”– Kawaguchi on the energy line of Smith, Hain, and Senden

UND HOCKEY: Pinto Pots Lone Goal in 1-0 Win

/ scottywazz / Leave a comment

GRAND FORKS, ND– After a two-week road trip, the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks came back to Ralph Engelstad Arena for NCHC action against the Colorado College Tigers. Though UND held possession for most of the game, the puck didn’t bounce their way to the back of the net much, as UND took game one of the weekend 1-0. Peter Thome made 25 saves in his second shutout of his college career. 

“It feels pretty good, it’s always good in a tight game like that,” Thome mentioned post-game. The guys played hard for me in front, really stifled them. Didn’t give them too many Grade-A chance.” 

The first period possessionally was dominated by North Dakota, as they kept a lot of pressure on Matt Vernon and the Colorado College defense. However, the son of Mike Vernon was able to keep the shots at bay, with some desperation saves while getting a little help from his defensemen. While UND did have some issues trying to get the puck through the neutral zone, but some adjustments helped them correct that as the period went along. 

Colorado College picked up their pace offensively in the second with 12 shots on Peter Thome, and though he fought a couple off, the junior goalie stayed strong to keep the game tied through two. UND did have some chances, but couldn’t get too many quality shots against the freshman goalie of Colorado College. 

“His old man was a pretty good goalie,” Berry said of Matt Vernon’s father. “I thought he played very well tonight. When we did get pucks to the net, he was on them, he was focused. He was seeing the puck tonight, which says a lot about a freshman goalie.” 

Both teams were cautious to start the third, but the intensity started to pick up in the middle of the frame, resulting in Colorado College taking a tripping penalty for tripping up Shane Pinto. Pinto made them pay, as he put home a rebound off the back boards into a wide-open net. The initial shot from Westin Michaud was trying to beat Vernon near corner, but the miss turned into an assist for the graduate transfer. The goal stood as the only one for either side, as UND gets their 20th win of the season. 

THEY SAID IT

“You know, it runs through your mind a little bit. [Coach Berry] told me Monday that I was going tonight, so I had all week to prepare. That runs throughout your mind through the week, but as you get older you get more mature and figure out how to address those thoughts and prepare the right way.” — Peter Thome on maybe not getting the chance he’s getting now as a starter. 

“You can tell on the bench he was getting frustrated. I think one of those will go in. I tried to keep him calm, on the bench he gets a little rattled. He was good tonight, I don’t think he was too rattled. He had a lot of good shots, so I think one will go in tomorrow.”– Pinto on Michaud facing off against his old school.

“You can tell he really wanted one tonight. He gave himself a chance to score, he was in and around the net. He made a couple plays. I got to commend him for his focus. Sometimes in a game like that, you might get unraveled. I didn’t think he got unraveled. He did a good job of keeping the game in front of him and having a high professionalism about him.”– Berry on Michaud facing his old team. 

“I can’t say enough good things about Karl [Goehring]. It’s pretty special in college you get to work with an NHL level goalie coach and not just once or twice a week; he’s at the rink and spends all day here. He’s always pushing me, during that stretch in the first half where obviously I didn’t play, we had a few conversations where frustration may have been getting to me a little bit and he said, ‘Hey, no. Absolutely not. You gotta be a man and got to put on your work boots every day and prepare for your opportunity because one is going to come.’”– Thome of UND assistant coach Karl Goehring