Rink Report: Hawks Stressing the Importance of Teamwork Ahead of Alaska-Anchorage Series

UND has lost three conference games in a row

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — UND Hockey started out conference play 1-3, losing to both Miami and Western Michigan. The Hawks were swept at home against the Broncos last weekend, which the team says has been a bit of a wake-up call.

Since taking a step back and reflecting on the losses, they say the issues are stemming from frustration and individualistic mindsets.

“I think guys were individualistic in maybe doing roles they weren’t supposed to do or trying to take it upon themselves to win the game, which you can see that they care about it, they care about the team and want to win but they’re not doing it in the right way,” junior captain Colton Poolman said. “On the flip side of that, some guys maybe weren’t doing enough and being selfish in that regard, not giving enough to the team.”

“That word individualistic, that’s not usually a word in our vocabulary here at North Dakota,” head coach Brad Berry said. “We’re team first, we play as a five-man unit on the ice, very much play for the guy next to you.”

Berry believes the lack of goal scoring is playing a role in the teams’ recent attitude.

“Obviously we’re not scoring a lot of goals right now, power play, 5-on-5, we’re not scoring a lot of goals and I think what happens is guys get out of their element on how we play as a team,” Berry said. “When you go through these stretches and there’s not a lot of offensive production, yeah you have to make some changes and tweaks to the way we play as a five-man unit. We can’t change the way individually we play. I think that’s something that got away from us on Saturday night. Our guys’ hearts are in the right place, they’re playing extremely hard, but it’s one of those things where you have to trust the process.”

The Hawks will face an Alaska-Anchorage team that’s been shut out in five of its ten games this season and ranks dead last in the NCAA in scoring offense.