GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics)– Five-different goal scorers found the back of the net while freshman goaltender Hobie Hedquist stopped 23 shots in a surprise start to help top-seeded North Dakota take down No. 8 seed Miami, 5-1, in the opening game of the NCHC Quarterfinals on Friday night from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
Hedquist, who had not started a game since Jan. 13 vs. Omaha, was thrust into action due to senior netminder Ludvig Persson missing Friday’s game due to undisclosed reasons and shined by stopping 23-of-24 shots thrown his way to put UND (25-10-2) within a win of reaching the NCHC Frozen Faceoff.
Four Fighting Hawks recorded multiple points, with Jackson Blake continuing his dominance over Miami (7-25-3) with a goal and two assists to give the sophomore 19 points (9G, 10A) in nine career games against the RedHawks. Riese Gaber, Owen McLaughlin and Jake Livanavage each potted a goal and a helper to see 10 UND skaters notch at least a point.
It was a bit of a slow start for UND, failing to generate much in the opening 19 minutes of the contest, but that changed in the dying seconds of the first period as Jake Schmaltz turned and wired home a shot from distance to give the junior his first goal of the season and a 1-0 UND lead after the opening 20.
For Schmaltz, the goal snapped a 33-game drought without finding the back of the net and gave the Fighting Hawks a 1-0 advantage for the 27th time this season.
NoDak doubled the lead near the midway point of the contest when McLaughlin pounced on a loose puck in the crease after a strong drive to the net by Garrett Pyke to score the sophomore’s 13th of the season and extend the score to 2-0.
Miami trimmed the lead down to one, 2-1, just under a minute after the McLaughlin tally, but UND restored the two-goal advantage quickly on a patented Riese Gaber snipe on the power play to make it 3-1 in favor of the hosts after 40 minutes.
UND put its foot on the gas in the opening minutes of the third period, striking twice on goals from Blake and Livanavage to increase the lead to 5-1 and seal the victory.
North Dakota will go for the weekend sweep and try to advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff on Saturday night at 6:07 p.m. from the Ralph on Midco Sports, NCHC.tv and the Home of Economy Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- UND improves to 30-8-1 all-time against Miami and 14-3-2 in Grand Forks
- The Hawks are also now 16-4-0 in NCHC Quarterfinal games and 8-0-0 as the No. 1 seed
- Jackson Blake notched a goal to hit 20 on the season, becoming the second player this season to hit 20
- Blake and Cameron Berg are the first duo to each pot 20 goals since 2015-16 (Boeser, Caggiula)
- Jake Schmaltz scored his first goal of the season and first in 33 games
- Riese Gaber potted his first goal since Feb. 23 vs. Minnesota Duluth, a span of six games
- Hobie Hedquist finished with 23 saves to improve to 4-0-0 this season
- Hedquist also becomes the first freshman goalie to start a postseason game for UND since Zane McIntyre in 2012-13
- Jake Livanavage has tied Brian Lee for the most points by a rookie defenseman at UND since 1999-00 with 27 after a goal and an assist
- The freshman now has 24 points over the last 25 games
- Blake is just four points away from reaching 100 in his career and six away from hitting 60 this season
- UND is now 8-0-0 at home in the opening game of the NCHC Quarterfinals and 8-2-0 overall
- NoDak finished with 23 blocked shots, with Bennett Zmolek and Livanavage each blocking five
- The Hawks went 1-for-2 on the power play while Miami was 0-for-3
- UND has killed 18 of the last 19 penalties it has taken
- Gaber moves to 44th all-time in career scoring at UND and seventh since 2001 with 128 points
- UND finished with a 32-27 advantage in the faceoff circle, with Cameron Berg going 13-10
How It Happened
First Period
19:59 | UND – Jake Schmaltz fires a shot from distance that beats the goaltender to give UND a 1-0 lead
Second Period
09:23 | UND – Owen McLaughlin doubles the advantage on a rebound tally off a Garrett Pyke dish
10:20 | MU – Ryan Sullivan connects on a one-timer to get the RedHawks on the board
12:13 | UND – Riese Gaber wires home a power play goal from his office to restore the two goal advantage
Third Period
01:48 | UND – Jackson Blake fires home a shot from the slot for his 20th of the season and a 4-1 lead
05:13 | UND – Jake Livanavage finishes off a pretty passing play from Blake and McLaughlin to make it 5-1
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 3/15/2024 11:33:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
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