(UND Athletics/Russell Hons)
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics)– For the second straight night, No. 4 North Dakota potted six goals to notch a weekend sweep over Alaska with a 6-2 victory on Saturday night from a sold-out Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
UND’s (14-5-1) new-look top line of Riese Gaber, Hunter Johannes and Cameron Berg were dominant all night in the victory, combining for four goals and two assists to help the Fighting Hawks polish off their first sweep over Alaska (10-9-1) since 1991 and extend their regulation unbeaten streak to 13 straight games.
Gaber struck for a goal and added two assists for his second straight game with three points while Johannes potted a pair of tallies for the second time this season and in his career to pace the offensive attack. Owen McLaughlin made it back-to-back games with multiple points with a goal and a helper, as nine-different Hawks notched at least a point.
Freshman goaltender Hobie Hedquist made his second straight start between the pipes for the hosts, finishing with 17 saves on 19 shots to improve to 2-0-0 as a starter. The Heron Lake, Minn., native locked it down over the final 40 minutes, stopping all 13 shots to help the green and white turn a 2-2 deadlock into a 6-2 victory.
Unlike last night, it was North Dakota who jumped out to a strong start and an early lead thanks to a major penalty call on the Nanooks, with Gaber sniping home his 11th of the season to quickly give the hosts a 1-0 lead just over five minutes into the contest.
The captain helped the Hawks double the lead when his shot deflected off of Johannes in front and past the goaltender for the 2-0 advantage, but the Nanooks responded with a pair of strikes in a 1:02 span to close the first period deadlocked at 2-2.
The top line was at it again in the second period, as Gaber sent a puck into the crease for Berg to collect and bury his ninth of the year to restore the advantage for the hosts, 3-2, after 40 minutes of play.
UND put the hammer down in the final stanza, with McLaughlin extending the lead to 4-2 just over four minutes into the frame off a nifty pass from Jackson Blake before Jayden Perron sniped home his first goal since Nov. 18 against Miami and Johannes added an empty netter to polish off the 6-2 victory.
North Dakota jumps back into NCHC play with a home series against Omaha beginning on Friday night at 7:07 p.m. from the Ralph.
Postgame Notes
- Ludvig Persson missed his second straight game with an illness
- Riese Gaber recorded back-to-back games with at least three points for the first time in his career
- Hunter Johannes struck for a pair of goals for the second time this season (Oct. 13 vs. Army)
- Garrett Pyke extended his point streak to a career-long seven games with an assist
- NoDak has gone 13 straight games without a regulation loss dating back to Nov. 3 at Boston University
- Both teams went 1-for-4 on the power play, with UND scoring eight PPG over the last eight games
- UND improved to 12-3-1 when scoring first this season and 8-1-0 when going up 2-0
- NoDak finished with 12 blocked shots, led by Logan Britt and Bennett Zmolek with three
- Cameron Berg has 14 points (8g, 6a) over his last 12 games
- Jake Livanavage has at least one point in seven of his last eight games
- UND is now 11-0-0 this season when leading after two and 10-0-0 when scoring at least four goals
- The Hawks recorded their first sweep over Alaska since Nov. 1-2, 1991 in Fairbanks
- NoDak is 10-3-1 at home this season, matching last season’s total
- Owen McLaughlin now has eight points over his last six games
- UND finished with a 9-2-1 record during nonconference play, its best mark since 2019-20 (9-1-1)
- Gaber, McLaughlin and Johannes were named the game’s three stars, in that order
- UND held a 28-24 faceoff advantage, with Cameron Berg finishing 11-8
How It Happened
First Period
05:17 | UND – Riese Gaber fires home a power play goal to give UND a 1-0 lead
11:47 | UND – Hunter Johannes deflects a shot off his body and in to increase the advantage to 2-0
15:51 | UAF – Payton Matsui slices through the defense and tucks it home to make it 2-1
16:53 | UAF – Brady Risk ties the game at 2-2 with a power play tally
Second Period
06:54 | UND – Cameron Berg pounces on a loose puck in the crease to restore the NoDak lead
Third Period
04:26 | UND – Owen McLaughlin finishes off a nice pass from Jackson Blake to make it 4-2 UND
12:22 | UND – Jayden Perron snipes home a bullet from the top of the slot for a 5-2 advantage
19:59 | UND – Joahnnes hits the empty net to seal the 6-2 victory
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
Comments