Adams, Weatherby each score twice in the North Dakota NCAA Tournament win
FARGO, N.D.–(UND Athletics) The 5-1 number on the scoreboard at Scheels Arena was the telling statistic Friday as the University of North Dakota defeated American International to advance to the NCAA Midwest Region hockey championship Saturday night against National Collegiate Hockey Conference rival Minnesota-Duluth.
NCHC champion North Dakota overwhelmed the Atlantic Hockey champion with four goals in 7 minutes, 24 seconds of the first period to check another box in its quest for the school’s 9th NCAA title.
But just as big as the 5-1 number was, so was the fact that junior center Jasper Weatherby’s goal at 8:58 of the opening period means that the Fighting Hawks (22-5-1) are now 19-0 this season when scoring the first goal of the game. It’s a nice trend to have for a team with lofty goals this season.
“I think it was beneficial for us to get our boots on the ground,” said senior center Colin Adams who had a two-goal game to match Weatherby.
“Our guys were excited about it,” UND coach Brad Berry said of the win. “They worked hard to get to this point. They’ve checked every box we’ve wanted them to check. We have a few more to go.”
The Yellow Jackets, who shocked No. 1 overall seed St. Cloud State two years ago in this same rink, had no answer for the scoring barrage by the Fighting Hawks.
Weatherby pounded in a rebound off the end boards at 8:56, just six seconds after a UND power play had expired, for the first of two goals. He came back at 11:54 to force a turnover at the blue line and score stick side to make it 2-0. That gives Weatherby 11 goals in the last 12 games.
Then senior wing Grant Mismash, who had missed the previous eight games with a upper body injury, circled in the zone and scored at 14:17 for his 11th of the season, followed by senior center Collin Adams rounding out the burst with a top-shelf blast at 16:22. All told, UND scored 4 goals on its first 12 shots of the game to drive AIC starting goalie Stefano Durante from the game after one period
.”We knew we had to come out fast and hard against this AIC team,” Adams said.
The Yellow Jackets, who close the season with a 15-4 record, picked up a power-play goal from Tobias Fladeby at 17:47 of the third period, but Adams came back to convert a feed in close from linemate Jordan Kawaguchi at 18:08 to round out the scoring. The two-goal game gives Adams 13 goals for the season, his career high.
All that firepower caught the attention of AIC coach Eric Lang.
“That’s as good of a team as I’ve seen on film in 10 seasons of breaking it down,” AIC Lang said. “Teams that are in this tournament have lost by a touchdown to those guys. They’re a bear of an opponent.”
Scheel, who was bidding for his fifth shutout of the season, finished with 24 saves. AIC goalie Durante (9) and replacement Jake Kucharski (19) combined for 28 saves
Berry made note of the two goals from two of his leading centermen. “When you have a guy like Jasper Weatherby, Shane Pinto, Collin Adams and Loius Jamernik, strength down the middle of our team, that’s a big, big deal,” Berry said.
It certainly was Friday night.
UND now advances to the NCAA regional final against Minnesota Duluth at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night, to be televised by ESPNU. The winner advances to the Frozen Four in Pittsburgh, beginning April 8. Duluth received a bye to the title game when Michigan had to withdraw from the tournament because of positive COVID-19 tests earlier Friday. Duluth, which has won the last two NCAA tittles, will face a UND teams searching to check another box in its quest for its first NCAA title since 2016.
NOTES
*It was Weatherby’s second career multi-goal game (Feb. 13, 2021 vs Denver) and Adams’ fourth (Miami, Nov 09, 2019; vs Omaha, Feb 20, 2021 ; vs Miami (OH), Mar 12, 2021)
*North Dakota picked up its first win in the NCAA Tournament since 2016 (national champs).
*UND will be aiming for its 23rd NCAA Frozen Four appearance with a win Saturday.
Virg Foss covered UND hockey for 35 seasons for the Grand Forks Herald, including 5 NCAA title teams, before his retirement. Since his retirement, he’s written about UND hockey games exclusively for FightingHawks.com. This marks his 51st season since he began covering UND hockey in 1969.
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 3/26/2021 10:46:00 PM | Virg Foss, FightingHawks.com
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