2024-02-17 18:30:45
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — There was a sequence in the third period Friday night that started with UND forward Dane Montgomery hitting the post with a slap shot from the point.
UND forward Jayden Perron picked up the rebound and fired it off the post again.
Then, Colorado College went the other way and Zaccharya Wisdom scored his fourth goal, the final tally, of
the Tigers’ 7-1 win over UND
in Ed Robson Arena.
That summed up the night for the Fighting Hawks.
Not much went their way.
From a quick whistle that wiped out a Jackson Kunz goal in the first period to a pair of failed challenges to four posts to a tough night for starting goaltender Ludvig Persson, everything piled up on a cloudy, snowy evening in Colorado Springs.
On top of that, UND is still looking to break through offensively against the Tigers.
UND has only managed 11 goals in the last seven games against Colorado College. The lone tally Friday night came on the power play from captain Riese Gaber.
UND has not hit the three-goal mark in any of the last seven games against the Tigers.
“You know what, I thought we had our looks,” UND coach Brad Berry said. “We hit three pipes in the third period. We had some Grade-A opportunities. (Kaidan Mbereko) made some good saves, but I thought we hit some pipes, too. At the end of the day, who knows, if you get two or three of those, maybe it’s a different story.”
Gaber and Jackson Blake led UND with three shots on goal each.
While Blake was much more effective than he was in the December series between the teams, he was held without a point for the first time since. . . the last time UND played Colorado College.
It ended a 10-game point streak for UND’s Hobey Baker Award candidate.
Blake has no points in three games against the Tigers this season. He has 39 points in the other 26 games.
According to InStat, the game should have been much closer.
InStat listed expected goals as 3.05 to 2.95 in favor of Colorado College.
“I think it’s important to stick together and just stay positive,” Gaber said. “Don’t let any negativity creep into our group. I think as long as we’re sticking together, that’s obviously very important. At the end of the day, it sucks. But it’s over with now. We’ve got to look forward to (Saturday).”
UND will go for a series split at 7 p.m. Central.
Colorado College is looking to win four in a row against UND for the first time since 1974-75.
The Tigers have been UND’s kryptonite this season. The Fighting Hawks are 0-3 against Colorado College, 20-4-2 against everyone else.
“We’re disappointed,” Louis Jamernik V said. “We’re not happy with our performance. But I know we’re going to have a good reflection here and play the right way (Saturday).”
- Kunz missed the third period due to an injury he sustained blocking a shot. Berry said he expected Kunz to be “fine.”
- Ben Strinden moved into Kunz’s spot alongside Cameron Berg and Riese Gaber for the third period.
- Colorado College, the NCAA’s best faceoff team, went 36-24 in the dot against UND in the series opener. UND’s best was Berg at 10-6. Logan Will went 14-6 for the Tigers.
- The announced attendance of 3,503 was a sellout. The students are gone, though, on break.
By
Brad Elliott Schlossman
Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the top beat writer for the Herald’s circulation division four times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year once. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at [email protected].
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