UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA — For Hunter Johannes, who grew up a UND hockey fan, scoring his and UND’s first goal of the season in the Ralph Engelstad Arena meant “everything.”  

“I’m really blessed to be a part of this team and to put the jersey on,” he said. “There’s a saying that says you see things twice in life, first in your head and then in reality, and I didn’t know how it was going to happen, but I knew it was going to happen and honestly, I give it up to God for that one.” 

Johannes scored twice in UND’s 7-2 victory over Army Westpoint. It was his first two goal game. He dedicated the first goal to his Grandparents and the second to his dad.  

“Glad I could do it in front of my grandma and grandpa, who are from North Dakota. Luckily enough, they’re here today. So, this one goes to them,” said Johannes. “It’s a good feeling to do it here.”  

It was also a meaningful game for West Fargo native and fellow transfer student Cameron Berg, who also scored his first goal and UND’s first power play goal of the season. He says that after playing against UND in Omaha, it felt good to be on the other side, standing on the blue line while the anthem played and hearing the fans cheering in his favor.  

“When we got the first one (goal), seeing all the fans and them doing all the chants they do that I know that they’ve done since I’ve been a fan is just kind of just crazy,” Berg said. “I just try to take it all in.”  

The Fighting Hawks beat the Army Black Knights, Friday, Oct. 13 with a final shot count of 32-13 in favor of UND.  

The first period was the tightest. Johannes scored a shorthanded goal to open the scoring for UND. However, Army would answer back on another power play, with Joey Baez tying the game. The period would end with the score even at one-one and UND leading with six shots to Army’s four.  

The second period was dominated by UND. The offense started clicking, scoring four unanswered goals, two from Jackson Blake, one from Jayden Perron, and one more from Johannes, all while only allowing three shots against.  

The difference between the first and second periods offensively, according to Johannes, was less hesitation around shooting the puck. He said that in the second the team was taking more advantage of shooting opportunities and lanes to increase the offensive production.  

Coach Berry was pleased by the effort and “shooting mindset” in the second.  

“We did a good job of resetting in the second period,” he said. “We got a little too fancy in the first period. They get block shots and get in the way, but I thought we did a better job of having a shooting mindset.” 

In the third, Max Itagaki of Army would score on the power play, but Berg responded, scoring his own power play goal shortly after. Then, with less than three minutes left, Captain Riese Gaber scored UND’s final goal and his second point of the night. Both goals capped off a dominant first win for UND.  

Johannes attributed the victory to the team playing to their identity.  

“We were playing fast, that’s our identity,” he said. “They tried to be physical, but we just kept taking it down their throat and that’s the best part.”  

Despite the overwhelming victory, Berry feels there are areas the team needs to tighten up ahead of the game against University of Wisconsin.  

“We pressed a little bit in the third period where we gave them a breakaway and some outnumber chances,” said Berry. “We don’t want to back off on our offensive explosion, but we have to make sure we’re solid defensively.”  

UND had a tight turn around, playing Wisconsin, an old divisional rival, and a new team the next day, but Berg is excited to face a rival he grew up cheering against.  

“We have a match up tomorrow against an old rival so I’m definitely excited for that one,” Berg said. “We focus on us before games… We’re going to go and look at a couple of things Wisconsin does but more importantly, it’s about what we’re going to do and show off.” 

Maeve Hushman is a Dakota Student Sports Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].