North Dakota aims to end the first half of the season on a high note

North Dakota forward Dylan James (26) battles with Denver defenseman Sean Behrens (2) Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, during a game at Magness Arena in Denver, Colo.   Eli Swanson / The Rink Live

GRAND FORKS --- North Dakota is two wins away from their best first-half start since 2020.

Following a 7-5 comeback win and a 3-2 overtime loss in Denver, the Fighting Hawks claimed the top spot on the USCHO/ USA Hockey poll for the second time this season.

UND is 8-2 in their last 10 games. The two losses came on the road against top-ranked teams University of Denver and Boston University. Both of UND’s losses were decided by one goal.

Heading into the final series before Christmas break last year, North Dakota was 6-8-3. It is safe to say UND has improved since last season.

North Dakota has been noticeably better on defense this year, after replacing their entire D-core and adding Miami transfer Ludvig Persson in net. Persson has been stellar so far, posting a .914 save percentage and only allowing an average of 2.12 goals against per game.

UND fans aren’t the only ones who have noticed the improvement in net this year either.

“Teams that win have to have great goaltending, and we’ve been having it,” UND Head Coach Brad Berry said in a press conference earlier this season.

Although Persson has been outstanding, he has also had a lot of help this year. North Dakota is blocking, on average, 11.27 shots per game. Bennett Zmolek leads the NCHC in blocked shots with 35. The next closest is Abram Wiebe with 26.

“He has a knack for doing it,” Berry said when asked about Zmolek’s success shot blocking. “You go back to the days of Matt Greene, Matt Jones, and some of those guys that were on our team and would fearlessly get in front of those pucks too, it’s nice to have a guy that is willing to do that.”

Not only has North Dakota been more efficient on defense this year, it has been just as good offensively. UND is ranked seventh nationally in scoring this season, averaging 3.72 goals per game. Jackson Blake leads the team in points with 11 goals and 11 assists in 22 games.

North Dakota has been phenomenal in the face-off dot this year. Cameron Berg leads college hockey with 169 face-offs, winning 62 percent of his draws, only second to Western Michigan’s Tim Washe’s 63 percent.

“For the first second, it’s me vs the other guy,” Berg said when asked about winning faceoffs. “I just go in and try to out-muscle and outwork them, just try to prove that I want it more.”

Faceoffs have been a point of emphasis for UND teams in years past. The last time a North Dakota team had a faceoff win percentage above 54 percent, they went on to make the NCAA tournament.

The Fighting Hawks will finish out the first half of the year at home against Colorado College. The Tigers are winless in their last four games scoring only three goals while allowing 11. North Dakota will have to battle hard against a hungry CC team.

“Foot on the gas,” Coach Berry said when asked about this upcoming series. “We got a really good team coming in here that’s going to be hungry, and we want to make sure that we have our foot on the gas.”

CC was left scoreless at home last Saturday against Arizona State, despite outshooting the Sun Devils 38-14. The Tigers will be eager to get back into the win column this weekend.

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