NCHC roundup: North Dakota gets back on track with sweep of Alaska

GRAND FORKS — The University of North Dakota hockey team got what it was looking for in a nonconference sweep of Alaska over the weekend. The fourth-ranked Fighting Hawks beat the Nanooks 6-4 on Friday and 6-2 on Saturday at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Riese Gaber, a senior wing from Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, had six points in the series to lead the way. UND had lost three straight overtime games going into the series.

“Just domination from our leader,”

North Dakota graduate student left wing Hunter Johannes said after Saturday’s win.

“What more can you say about a guy? He just has that mentality when we get back to the bench that it never stops. We want the next one.”

Alaska (10-9-1) had its lone lead of the weekend when freshman defenseman Caleb MacDonald scored at 15:58 of the first period Friday for a 1-0 lead. The rest of the weekend, North Dakota outscored Alaska 12-5.

The Fighting Hawks (14-5-1) also picked up their first two wins of the season without senior Ludvig Persson in goal. Persson missed the series due to illness and Hobie Hedquist picked up his first two college wins. Hedquist, a freshman from Heron Lake, Minnesota, stopped 40 of 46 shots in the series.

“I was super happy for him,” Gaber said of Hedquist. “Growing up, he was a big UND fan. I can’t imagine how he felt getting these two wins. Obviously, we wanted to play really well for him. We’re super happy for him and obviously, it was huge for his confidence.”

In the opener Friday, North Dakota scored five goals in the second period to take control.

In the series, fifth-year senior defenseman Garrett Pyke had three assists against his former team. Pyke played the last four seasons for the Nanooks.

In the series, Gaber had three goals and three assists, sophomore center Owen McLaughlin had three goals and two assists and junior center Cameron Berg had two goals for UND.

Here’s a look at the other games involving NCHC teams over the weekend:

Future NCHC member Arizona State (16-3-5) got a goal from freshman center Kyle Smolen at 1:43 of overtime and sophomore TJ Semptimphelter stopped 26 shots to beat Nebraska Omaha 2-1 in the championship game of the Desert Hockey Classic in Tempe, Arizona. For the Mavericks (10-6-2), freshman right wing Tanner Ludtke had the goal and sophomore Simon Latkoczy stopped 33 of 35 shots.

In the opener of the tournament, UNO got a goal from sophomore defenseman Griffin Ludtke with 18 seconds left in overtime to pick up a 4-3 win over UMass-Lowell (7-12-2). Senior center Jimmy Glynn had a goal and an assist and junior right wing Zach Urdahl and junior defenseman Victor Mancini added goals for the Mavericks. Latkoczy stopped 22 of 25 shots to pick up the win.

The No. 12/13-ranked Sun Devils improved to 4-2-2 against NCHC opponents this season.

Denver, ranked No. 5/6 in the two national polls, got Matt Davis back in goal and swept visiting Niagara with a 5-2 win Friday and a 6-1 win Saturday at Magness Arena.

Davis, a junior from Calgary, had not played in a game since Oct. 27 due to injury. He stopped 49 of 52 shots in the series to pick up his first wins since a 4-3 win on Oct. 21 at Boston College.

Denver (14-5-1) was playing without freshman defenseman Zeev Buium and head coach David Carle, who both helped Team USA win the gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championships in Sweden.

The Pioneers got points from 14 players in the series. On Friday, junior right wing Jack Devine scored two goals to lead Denver to the win. Devine, a Florida Panthers draft pick, leads the nation with 17 goals.

On Saturday, junior left wing Tristan Broz had two goals and two assists to lead the Pioneers to the win. Broz, a Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick, has nine goals and 19 points this season. Junior center Carter King added two goals and sophomore left wing Rieger Lorenz and sophomore center Aidan Thompson each added a goal and two assists in the series.

Western Michigan, ranked No. 11/12 in the national polls, swept Lindenwood (3-13-2) for the second time, though it was not easy on Friday.

In the opener, the Broncos (13-4-1) had to get third period goals from right wing Dylan Wendt and graduate student defenseman Zak Galambos to pick up a 3-2 win in Maryland Heights, Missouri. Galambos scored the game-winner with 2:17 left in regulation. Junior Trent Burnham stopped 43 of the 46 shots he faced for the Lions.

In Game 2, WMU’s top line of left wing Alex Bump, senior center Luke Grainger and Wendt led the way to a 6-1 win. Bump, a freshman from Prior Lake, had two goals and an assist, Grainger had three assists and Wendt had two goals. Wendt, an undrafted junior from Grand Haven, Michigan, moved into second in the nation in goals with 16.

Senior goalie Cameron Rowe

stopped 41 of the 44 shots he faced in the series to pick up two wins.

St. Thomas (10-10-1) picked up its second win over an NCHC opponent this season with a 3-1 victory over Minnesota Duluth on Saturday at St. Thomas Ice Arena. The Tommies got goals from junior center Liam Malmquist, sophomore right wing Ryan O’Neill and graduate student center Luke Manning in the victory.

Center Braden Fischer, a freshman from Winnipeg, picked up his first college goal for the Bulldogs (6-10-4).

The win overshadowed the return of defenseman Will Francis. Francis, a 23-year-old junior from Shoreview, played in his first game of the season. He

took a leave from the UMD hockey team in early August after a post-recovery blood test showed his leukemia had returned.

He had previously been declared cancer-free on July 9, 2020.

Colorado College (10-6-1) picked up its third-straight road win over a top-10 ranked opponent when

it beat No. 9/10 Minnesota 6-4 on Sunday at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The Tigers, ranked 20th in both polls, got two goals from freshman right wing Bret Link, two assists from

senior center Logan Will

and a goal and an assist from sophomore center Noah Laba. Before the holiday break, Colorado College had swept North Dakota in a series in Grand Forks.

After a scoreless first period, the Tigers led 3-1 going into the third period. The Gophers (9-6-4) outshot the Tigers 18-10 in the third period, but CC held on for the win. Minnesota got two goals from sophomore right wing Jimmy Snuggerud, who was back in the lineup after helping Team USA win gold at the IIHF World Junior Championships. The Gophers dropped to 4-4-1 at home, while the Tigers improved to 6-1 on the road.