In sports, you always want to strike first. However, UND hockey has been living and dying by that sword this season.
The Fighting Hawks are 6-1 this season when they score first, but on the contrary, they are 1-5 when their opponent scores first.
UND head coach Brad Berry feels the effects of scoring first on his team from the bench.
“It’s huge… It just gives you momentum and juice,” Berry said. “I think scoring that first goal doesn’t change the way you play. When you’re trailing in a game, it changes the way you look at the game, perceptually, maybe taking more risks, maybe changing your structure a little bit.”
UND swept Robert Morris November 22 and November 23 at Ralph Engelstad Arena. They won 4-3 in overtime on Friday and 1-0 on Saturday.
“I think when you score that first goal, it settles you down a little bit and adds confidence,” Berry said.
The Fighting Hawks struck first in both games this weekend. In game one, they scored two goals in the first two minutes, just 18 seconds apart.
After a scoreless second period, the Colonials exploded in the third, outscoring UND 3-1. Robert Morris forced overtime with just six seconds left. A Jayden Perron powerplay goal lifted UND to a 4-3 win in overtime.
“I think we might have gotten a little lackadaisical,” senior forward Jake Schmaltz said. “That’s kind of what I thought. Playing a full 60 is just every single shift taking responsibility and being predictable to your teammates. I think we kind of got away from that at times, and that’s what gave them momentum. But tomorrow we’ll be better.”
UND scored again in the first two minutes of the second game. Its goal came from a freshman forward, Sacha Boisvert, pass attempt to junior forward Ben Strinden on the backdoor. The pass trickled under the goalie’s right leg pad into the back of the net.
“Always love to get those,” Boisvert said.
The freshman phenom scored in his third straight game and now leads the team in points with 11.
The rest of the game was scoreless, giving UND sophomore goaltender Hobie Hedquist his first career shutout and sixth career win at the Ralph. Hedquist stopped all 20 shots he faced.
“I might have gotten a shutout, but at the end of the day, we stepped up and had a really good PK [penalty kill],” Hedquist said. “That’s something the coaches challenged us on. Our ‘D’ zone was really good, getting pucks out and blocking shots. It was a collective 20-man effort, and it led to success.”
This was UND’s first win of the season when scoring two or fewer goals.
UND is now 7-6 this season with six games left until winter break.
The Fighting Hawks lone win when the opponent scored first was on October 18, when they scored three unanswered in the third period at Minnesota State.
Their lone loss when scoring first was on November 16, when they lost 3-2 to the top-ranked team, Denver, at home.
Elijah Andrews is the Dakota Student Sports Reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].
