The Fighting Hawks were shocked 4-1 in a loss in their exhibition game against Augustana this past Saturday night.
A night that started with a 2023-2024 conference championship banner being presented turned out to be anything but magical for the Fighting Hawks.
The team lost their first exhibition home opener since the 1996-1997 season, when UND lost to Alberta 2-1.
The Hawks could not get anything going all night, as they were only able to muster one goal in the third period on the power play.
Senior forward Cameron Berg sniped it over freshman goaltender Christian Manz’s right shoulder from the top of the circles to make it 4-1 in the middle of the third period.
UND seemed uninspired and out of it all night. Frustration seemed to be high amongst everyone at the Ralph.
“I just thought we were soft,” junior defenseman Bennett Zmolek said postgame.
Poor turnovers and sloppy play plagued the Fighting Hawks all night. UND committed five penalties and lost the faceoff battle 20-18.
“I don’t think we won nearly enough puck races and puck battles,” Head Coach Brad Berry emphasized the poor play and effort of his team postgame.
One positive for the Hawks was getting shots on net. UND outshot the Vikings 29-23.
UND had two different goaltenders play, as graduate student T.J. Semptimphelter got the start and junior Kaleb Johnson came in to play in the third. Semptimphelter gave up three goals on 15 shots, and Johnson gave up one goal on four shots.
Berry was frustrated with the team’s defensive play in front of the goalies. “I don’t think we helped them a whole lot, at the end of the day they did make some big saves,” he said.
The head coach wants to use this game as a learning experience and steppingstone for the season. “The beauty of playing against good competition like Augustana is it shows you as a group and players where you are at,” Berry said.
Fifth year captain Louis Jamernik V also seemed very optimistic about the team going forward. “Come to the rink on Monday with a positive attitude and get right back to it,” he said. “Sunday will be a good day for guys to process the loss, then we will move on from there.”
This was the first ever meeting between these two teams. Augustana seemed up for the challenge, as they brought the energy early and seemed like the more prepared team from the jump.
Augustana sophomore forward Brett Meerman stole the show as he had the first and fourth goals for his team.
Augustana also played two goaltenders throughout the game. Sophomore Josh Kotai played the first half, with freshman Christian Manz coming in as his relief. Kotai had 15 saves and a shutout while Manz had 12 saves and one goal against.
Augustana started sophomore forward Will Howard, a Grand Forks native. Howard returned to South Dakota with a win against his hometown team.
This exhibition game served as a lesson for the Fighting Hawks on what they need to bring to the ice and improve upon going forward. Lucky for the home team, this game does not count towards their record.
UND will kick off the regular season next Saturday, October 12 against Providence for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Elijah Andrews is the Dakota Student Sports Reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].
