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Despite being out shot and out chanced by Western Michigan, UND found a way to win Friday, March 1.
“They probably thought they deserved a better fate,” Head Coach Brad Berry said. “At the end of the day, that’s hockey.”
UND defeated Western Michigan 5-3, clinching home ice in the NCHC playoffs, and putting them on track to clinch the Penrose Cup on home ice.
“We control our destiny here, so we got to get the job done.” Assistant Captain Louis Jamernik V said. “Everybody’s going to bring it tomorrow.”
This game was messy. WMU outshot UND in every period, and UND spent the entirety of the second period in their defensive zone. However, WMU’s press exposed them, and UND exploited that to score three goals off the rush.
“We scored some goals because they pressed, so that’s the balance of it,” Berry said. “Playing against an aggressive team, you got to have game management as far as when to hold on to a puck and make a play.”
Owen Mclaughlin opened the scoring for UND, walking in alone and putting the puck past the right pad of WMU goaltender Cameron Rowe less than two minutes into the first, giving UND an early lead to protect. Then Jackson Kunz potted a rebound to put UND up 2-1 after the first 20 minutes of play.
The other two goals would come in the second period, scored by Jamernik and Carson Albrecht, both in the rush. Albrecht broke down his game-winning goal.
“Joey [Hunter Johannes] passed it right off the pad; it was right on my tape,” he said. “It was one of the easiest goals I’ve had.”
While UND took advantage of their limited opportunities, Ludvig Persson stood tall in the net to make 34 saves on 37 shots.
“I have got to give a shout-out to Luddy [Persson] there,” Albrecht said. “He stood on his head out there, and I don’t think we would have won without him.”
Persson’s impressive performance in net was supported by UND’s commitment to blocking shots. Dylan James, who also assisted Jamernik’s goal, blocked five shots, the most of any forward on the team. Bennett Zmolek led the blue line, also with five blocked shots. In total, UND blocked 26 additional shots in the 60 minutes of play.
Berry credited that commitment to shot blocking with the additional reason that UND could walk away from this game triumphant.
“They had some looks, but we had some guys that were selfless,” Berry said. “They really dove in front of pucks and gave their bodies up for doing whatever it takes to win a game.”
Beyond goaltending, shot blocking, and success on the rush, UND also found depth scoring, with all four lines registering a goal in Friday’s game. It is a positive sign for the Fighting Hawks as the post-season approached.
Maeve Hushman is a Dakota Student Sports Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].
