GRAND FORKS — UND fought back after tying on Friday night. The Hawks pushed hard against a gritty St. Cloud team to come out with three points in the series finale. The win set the stage for the final regular-season test North Dakota will face, a hot Western Michigan team in Kalamazoo.
Ferocious First
Gavyn Thoreson (So.) took first blood for the Huskies. An excited Ralph Engelstad Arena quieted down, stunned by the early goal.
Nearly two minutes later, UND’s comeback began. Abram Wiebe (Jr.) tied the score at 1, breathing life back into the rink. His goal was followed by a second 20 seconds later, putting the Fighting Hawks in the lead early.
“Especially in the Ralph — getting goals early is huge for us to build a lot of momentum,” Wiebe reflected. “That’s something we’ve struggled with [these last] couple of weekends.”
A third unanswered goal came for the home side before the period had even crested its halfway mark. North Dakota scored on its first power play of the game, courtesy of Ollie Josephson (Fr.). In addition to the goal and assist he recorded, the center won 60% of his faceoffs last night, key to the Hawks’ 200-foot game.
The Huskies picked up a second goal to get within striking distance in the waning minutes, putting the home side on notice.
Tied Up
In contrast to recent weeks, UND did better to hold its own in the second. The Hawks have had troublesome starts in the previous two weekends, a fact Ellis Rickwood (Sr.) weighed on Friday.
“It’s starting to seem like a pattern where we’re having really bad second periods,” the Clarkson transfer remarked. “We’re not going to win a lot of games down the stretch doing that.”
Though St. Cloud leveled the score, the home side looked to halt the visitors’ momentum. The Hawks jumped back to a one-goal lead after a goal from senior forward Tyler Young, but it proved to be insufficient to put the Huskies out of contention. Adam Ingram (3) picked up his fourth point of the weekend, tying the game at 4.
Closing Time
Level with the visitors, tension hung in the Ralph Engelstad Arena. The North Dakota faithful had recently seen their team trail going into the final frame, but the Hawks had only gone into the third tied twice since the new year.
Gibson Homer (Gr.) was forced to make huge saves as UND rode the knife-edge. The goaltender shone for the home side, making ten saves in the final period.
Jack Kernan (Fr.) sealed the game for North Dakota, putting the Fighting Hawks’ fifth goal past Patriks Berzins (So.), who filled in for Yan Shostak (Fr.) in the SCSU net. The center took first star of the game for his efforts.
“It was amazing,” Kernan told the media, reflecting on the game winner. “They were playing really good hockey. It’s basically playoff hockey.”
Ellis Rickwood (Sr.) scored to ice the game, putting the puck into the empty net with a minute and a half remaining.
“It was one of those ones that wasn’t that pretty,” said Dane Jackson after the game. “[The] guys kind of stuck with it and found a way. I thought we overall defended pretty hard, and made a big play when we had to.”
So Close to the Cup
In its final series of the season, North Dakota travels to Kalamazoo to take on Western Michigan. The Broncos (23-8-1, 15-6-1 NCHC) are hot on the Hawks’ trail, with both teams chasing a Penrose Cup victory. If UND wins either game over the final weekend, it clinches the top spot outright.
“[It’s] obviously one of the hardest places to play in the league,” Dane Jackson said, looking forward to next week. “We’ve got respect for their program; those guys are just absolutely outstanding.”
Puck-drop at the Lawson Ice Arena will be at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and 5:00 p.m. on Saturday (all times Central). Both games will be streamed on NCHC.tv. As always, a stream will be available for audio listeners on the Fighting Hawks Radio Network via iHeart Radio, the Fighting Hawks website, or on 96.1 FM for local listeners.
Anthony Dillett is a Dakota Student Sports Reporter. He can be reached at [email protected] and on X @adillettgf.