The University of North Dakota men’s hockey squad was able to take away a win and a tie at the Ice Breaker Tournament in Portland, Maine.

In it’s first game against Lake Superior State, UND dominated the first period, outshooting LSS 17-5. However the real statistic that matters is the shots that went in, which gave LSS a 2-0 lead after the first.

After rough start, UND coach Brad Berry called for a timeout to calm down his team.

“I was nervous a little bit at the start, as you could tell, and it showed,” UND goalie Cam Johnson said.

“After that timeout I just regrouped my thoughts and I calmed down,” Coach Berry said. “‘Relax, you’re fine.’ The boys were all on my side so that really helped build my confidence and I was seeing the puck well after that.”

After that timeout, Johnson stepped his game up, stopping every shot thrown at him to record 24 saves.

Of course, Johnson got by with a little help from his friends as UND decided to put the pedal to metal by scoring three unanswered goals within the first eight minutes of the second period by freshman Shane Gersich, junior Keaton Thompson and sophomore Austin Poganski.

UND didn’t let up in the final period, securing the victory with two extra goals from senior Bryn Chyzyk.

“The guys stuck with it,” said Berry. “They did a good job of coming back and staying with the game plan. They dug in and I’m very proud of them.”

Next up for the Green and White would be the Maine Bears. After Friday’s offensive showing, it was a surprise to see only one goal record for UND. That’s not to take away from Maine because freshman goalie Rob McGovern made his debut standing on his head, stopping 44 shots against the 4th ranked UND squad.

UND’s Chris Wilkie was the only one to solve McGovern, by scoring in the second minute of the second period.

It took Maine only seven minutes to answer with its own goal to tie up the game.

After the tying goal, neither goalie would let the puck in again, resulting in a tie for the Green and White.

After the game ended in a tie, UND wasn’t aware they had actually won the Ice Breaker Tournament.

“I don’t think we had any clue until coach (Berry) brought the trophy in,” said Wilkie. “But that’s a big deal for us to win the tournament and we’re happy with the result even though we didn’t get the win tonight.”

Despite the tie, UND remains undefeated to start the season and looks to keep it that way in a home and home matchup against Bemidji State this weekend.

Jack Harvey is a sports writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected]