The UND men’s hockey team continued to battle the injury bug, as six players were injured and did not suit up for their series opener against Denver last Friday.
The top-ranked Pioneers swept the Fighting Hawks at home. UND lost the first game with a score of 5-2, and the second game 3-2. This is the second time Denver has swept them at home in the last three seasons.
UND moves to 5-6 and 2-2 in NCHC play.
The Fighting Hawks’ power play struggled against Denver, going 0-for-4 in game one and 1-for-4 in the game two.
The lone power play goal was scored off of a Sacha Boisvert one-timer from Dylan James to put UND up 1-0 in the first. UND was 4-0 this season when scoring first.
The power play is 1-for-15 during the four games that senior forward Cameron Berg has missed while being 9-for-20 with Berg in the lineup this season.
Berg leads the team with three power-play goals. His third came off of a one-timer on November 9, at Minnesota Duluth in a 4-1 victory.
Berg is listed as week to week with a targeted return around Christmas break.
The beat-up lineup has allowed for opportunity. Junior Dane Montgomery, a Grand Forks native, has taken advantage.
Montgomery has been a Swiss army knife during his time at UND. He moved from forward to defense this season, only having played seven games at the position. He has recorded four points in his last five games, including a snipe in game one against Denver.
Junior defenseman Bennett Zmolek has not played since the season opener against Providence. He is an alternate captain who appeared in 33 games last season.
Freshman defenseman Andrew Strathmann and freshman forward Cody Croal both sustained injuries during the first game against Cornell on November 1 and have not appeared since.
The lineup has dealt with inconsistency the entire season, and it showed in game one when UND gave up 39 shots on goal in the series opener. This is a season high and a number that UND has not given up since October 22, 2022, when they played Minnesota at Mariucci Arena.
Graduate goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter saved 34 of the 38 shots he faced in game one.
“There’s a responsibility when you’re playing against good teams to be five men connected in our D-zone,” head coach Brad Berry said. “If you get spread out a little bit or if you give up the house… plays in front of the net… that’s not what you want. That’s not what you do.”
“If the puck is on the perimeter and they have possession, that’s one thing. But it can’t come through the house… you can’t put him on an island.”
In the second game, UND held Denver to a season low of 22 shots.
Junior goaltender Kaleb Johnson has been sidelined indefinitely. UND added freshman goaltender Aleksi Huson to the team on November 4 from UND’s club team.
Sophomore defenseman Tanner Komzak, who has played in just one game this season, returned to the lineup in game two but did not play.
Berry seems optimistic about his team going forward.
“The result is the result over the last couple of games, and we were kind of up and down a little bit, but they care,” Berry said. “There’s great leadership in that locker room, and I know there’s growth in that locker room.”
UND will play Robert Morris this weekend in a two-game series at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Elijah Andrews is the Dakota Student Sports Reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].
