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Winning the first playoff series of the year, despite it not counting toward the National Tournament, was an essential step for this UND team.
“The regular season is one thing we have done a good job over the years of proving that, but now you got to prove yourself in the playoffs when everything is even again. Everybody has a clean slate,” Head Coach Brad Berry said. “You got to beat anybody on any given night, and now we got to move on, and we got to try to prove it again.”
The University of North Dakota swept the University of Miami, Ohio, in the first-round playoff series, winning Saturday, March 16, 7-1 after a 5-1 victory the night before.
However, it was not just a meaningful step for the team but a series of milestones for multiple players.
In Friday’s win, Jackson Blake scored his 20th goal, Jake Livanvage scored his first college playoff goal, Hobie Hedquist collected his first college playoff win in his first playoff start, Jackson Kunz had his first three-point game, and Jake Schmaltz scored his first goal in 33 games.
After a weaker first period on Friday, Berry wanted UND to come out stronger on Saturday night, and UND did, playing sharper and harder than they had in the first the night prior.
“Tonight, we were really harping on our boys to get that strong start, and we did,” Blake said. “Just took off from there. Every line played good tonight, every defenseman, and Hobie [Hedquist] stepped up this weekend.”
Gaber opened the scoring at 13:17 in the first, capitalizing on a sloppy turnover and an empty net front as Miami’s defensemen mistakenly went to jump into the rush.
“My first goal in this building came against Miami,” Gaber said. “Kind of fitting with my last too. So yeah, that was definitely something on the agenda.”
In the remaining minutes of the four-on-three opportunity that stretched from late in the first period into the second, Jackson Kunz deflected the puck in to extend UND’s lead to two. It was another big net-front goal for Kunz.
Berry broke down why Kunz had found so much success down the stretch.
“He’s playing with so much confidence,” Berry said. “That the play he made on the neutral zone transition play where it snapped up to him, he put it to O-Mac [Owen McLaughlin], and O-Mac giving it across to Blaker [Jackson Blake]; that is a big-time play. To have the confidence to do that with a guy barreling down on you is a big deal. So, he believes in himself, and we believe in him.”
In a repeat of his performance the night before, two minutes into the period, Blake scored to make it 3-0 UND. Two minutes later, Logan Britt carried the puck to the net front and tucked it behind the goalie with a terrific combination of patience and puck handling.
That was not the end of scoring for UND; Dylan James skated up the ice on a breakaway and fired it through the five hole to stretch the lead to five.
Late in the third, Ben Strinden scored at 4-on-4 to restore UND’s five-goal lead. His goal was quickly followed up by a snipe from Hunter Johannes, making the final score 7-1.
It was another excellent night for Hedquist, who once again only allowed one goal. Berry says it is a good sign for the team to have that goal-tender depth going into the post-season.
“Everything’s on the table. I think you have known us long enough that we will put a lineup together that tries to give us a chance to win; we have two very good goaltenders,” Berry said. “It’s nice to know guys can come in and contribute.”
UND will advance to the semi-finals in St. Paul, Minnesota, where they will face the lowest-seeded team to make it out of the first round. No matter who they face in the tournament, they will be ready.
“Obviously, I’m not sure who we play next weekend yet,” Blake said. “But if we play like that, I’m sure we’ll be successful.”
Maeve Hushman is a Dakota Student Sports Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].
