5th-year defenseman, Garrett Pyke, was not phased facing off against the team he played on for four years, captained, and that his best friend still plays for, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Nanooks.
“I wanted to just focus on my game and focus on the task at hand, but on the face-off there, it didn’t really feel like I was playing Alaska, to be honest,” Pyke said. “I was just playing my game when it was focused on every shift, but it is starting to sink in now that we won two games against my former team, especially in the handshake line.”
Head Coach Brad Berry also gave Pyke high praise for his performance in what Berry considered an undoubtedly tough situation.
“He did an outstanding job. He played with confidence and poise,” Berry said. “He looked like a top-end defenseman in college hockey out there.”
The University of North Dakota swept the Alaska Nanooks on Jan. 5 and 6, beating them 6-4 and 6-2, respectively. It was their first series to start the new year and the last series of non-conference play for the Fighting Hawks, making them 9-2-1 in non-NCHC play. This series also marked the debut of freshman goaltender Hobie Hedquist, who stepped in at the last minute when Ludvig Persson came down with an illness to register his first two collegiate wins.
On Friday night, the Nanooks were the better team in the first period. They dominated faceoff wins and possession and led the shot count for the whole period. While Hedquist staved off most of Alaska’s chances, 16 minutes into the period, Alaska’s opened scoring. Toward the latter half of the first period, UND generated more shots and a strong sustained zone and possession time, but it was not enough to even out Alaska on the scoreboard, but they drew a cross checking penalty at the end of the period.
Berry singled out the first-period performance as an example of UND’s struggle while Alaska played to their game, a highly physical style characterized by their older team.
“They played like men… they played a hard, heavy game early, and our puck management was not the greatest,” Berry said. “We didn’t give ourselves a chance consistently to play in there in their end of the rink.”
UND started the second period with a full two minutes on the manned advantage. They could not convert on the power play but would immediately get another power play. Owen Mclaughlin scored just eight seconds into that power play. This was not the end of the Nanooks’ parade to the penalty box; the visiting team took another consecutive penalty. UND did not register a single shot on goal in the third power play. In all three manned advantage opportunities, UND only registered one shot, McLaughlin’s goal.
Shortly after that power-play goal, Riese Gaber collected the puck stick handle patiently before tucking the puck behind the goalie to give UND a one-goal lead. Louis Jamernik V and Cameron Berg would widen UND’s lead by scoring just minutes apart, but the scoring did not end there; McLaughlin scored his second of the night off a rebound tight to the net. Alaska switched goalies, and Payton Matsui answered back for the Nanooks to make it a three-goal lead.
Berry said that the biggest change he noticed in the second period was a team-wide urgency to get after pucks.
“We forced them into some situations where they turn some pucks over, and we capitalized in the offensive zone,” Berry said. “We had some guys do it in the first but not everybody, and I think we had more of a team game; you can see that through the score sheet.”
Alaska had the man advantage to start the third but did not convert on the power play. UND only registered one shot before the Nanooks went back to the box, this time Dubois. Gaber capitalized on the man advantage to give UND a 6-2 lead. Berg took a tripping penalty to give Alaska their second power play of the night; they were able to convert, and Chase Dafoe scored to give the Nanooks their third goal of the night.
With about six minutes left in the game, UND received another power play. Alaska was able to kill the penalty but received a penalty for tripping immediately after sending UND back onto the power play. UND could not convert, but with a minute left in the third, Alaska pulled their goalie and scored on the six-on-five advantage. The final score was 6-4 in favor of UND, and shots in the third period were 12-9 for UND.
It was an explosive night for multiple UND players; Gaber and McLaughlin both had two goals and one assist, Pyke received the third star of the game with three assists, and Hedquist finished with a .826 save percentage.
Hedquist, who grew up cheering for UND, was excited to get his first NCAA start and win.
“I dreamed of this for a while,” he said. “It’s always good when you get a win.”
On Saturday night, there was only a little line-up tinkering between Friday’s and Saturday’s games. Benoit, who was the extra skater on Friday night, was subbed out for Michael Emerson. Hedquist stayed in the net after his first collegiate win the night before. This was something he expressed a desire for the night before saying, “I always want to go back-to-back.”
After a little over one minute into the game, McLaughlin was checked from behind, drawing a five-minute major. Gaber converted on the power play and opened the scoring for UND, firing from just above the dot.
It was Gaber’s third goal of the weekend and part of the six-point performance that earned him the title of NCHC Forward of the Week this week.
Gaber touched on what was working for him in this series.
“The break was good to kind of reset and recharge,” Gaber said. “I think I just found my game again; you know, got my confidence back up. Obviously, that is huge to a player.”
One minute after Gaber’s goal, Jayden Perron went to the box for tripping, ending UND’s man advantage and putting the Nanooks on their first power play of the night. UND’s penalty kill held firm, getting multiple shorthanded attempts and preventing the Nanooks from getting a single shot on their power play.
The Nanooks got another shot on the man advantage but were also unable to convert. Shortly after, Hunter Johannes tipped in a shot by Gaber to give UND a two-goal lead. He scored the goal on the one-year anniversary of scoring in the Ralph Engelstad Arena last year with Lindenwood.
“If somebody would have told me a year ago that I would have been standing here and be wearing this color and playing amongst these guys, I’d be like, ‘I hope so; but I think you’re going crazy, you know?” Johannes said. “I’ve said it enough times. It’s just a blessing.”
Alaska answered and drew a penalty. They were able to capitalize on that power play. The period, which started red hot for UND, ended tied 2-2 with the shot count at 7-6 in favor of the Hawks.
Saturday’s second period was less eventful than the night before. It started with a strong push from the Nanooks; they got a flurry of chances, but Hedquist stopped them all, maintaining some positive momentum for UND. After some sustained zone time, Cameron Berg scored to restore UND’s lead. Both teams exchanged possessions and managed some chances, but the only goal for the second was Berg’s. The score after twenty minutes was 3-2, and the shot count in the period was 6-5.
Tensions were high in the third period with a one-goal game on the line. UND made a strong push, getting multiple high-danger chances. McLaughlin finally broke through and put the puck in the net to stretch UND’s lead to two goals. McLaughlin’s goal was not the last for UND; Jayden Perron fired it on the net with traffic to make it 5-2 for UND.
Alaska would get an opportunity on the power play, but the goal they did score was called off for a hand pass.
Coach Berry broke down the decision to challenge that goal.
“It’s a no-brainer,” he said. “At that time, you use your time out; you reset your team, at the very least. And in this situation, it was a good call.”
The Nanooks pulled their goalie in the third, and Hunter Johannes put it in the empty net with one second left to make the final score 6-2 UND. With a final shot count of 24-19, also in favor of UND.
One of the highlights of the series against Alaska was the new-look first line of Johannes, Berg, and Gaber, which combined for 11 points on the weekend.
Johannes said that the line works because they are all experienced players who bring their different skills to the table and elevate each other on and off the ice.
“I love it. I mean, all three of us are experienced guys. We all play fast, and we kind of offer different things,” Johannes said. “Riese is a different size than I am, and Bergy [Cameron Berg] plays a different game than I do, but we’ll all shoot the park; we’re unselfish guys… I just have good relationships with these guys, and that helps when communicating with them.”
It was a strong finishing performance for UND, a good test for rookie goaltender Hedquist and a good win for Pyke against his former team. Overall, it was a strong finish to UND’s non-conference schedule.
“We’re excited about going forward. Now we finished our bodywork at the end of the nonconference, to go nine two and one that’ll help us in the Pairwise,” Berry said. “But now it’s on to the NCHC… now playing the remaining 16 games in the chase for the Penrose that our guys are excited about.”
Maeve Hushman is a Dakota Student Sports Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].
