UND Hockey Season Preview
UND OPENS 2023-24 SEASON RANKED 2ND IN NCHC PRESEASON POLL.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (KVRR) — The Ralph Engelstad Arena will soon be filled with North Dakota hockey fans cheering on the Fighting Hawks. UND is just a few weeks away from starting their 2023-24 season. As there always are, there are a lot of expectations with this program. Last year, the Fighting Hawks fell short by not making it to the frozen four tournament, but they have a lot of new guys on this years squad. 26 players are on the roster, and 14 of them are newcomers. But the leaders who are staying around as captains are laying down the foundation and showing the new players what this culture is all about here at the Ralph.
“It means everything to me,” said senior forward and team captain, Riese Gaber. “I know how special this program is to me and it’s a big responsibility. I’m confident in myself and that I’m ready to take on that role, and hopefully get the guys to where we want to go. So, it’s a very exciting opportunity and it allows me to raise my standard. I’m just really excited to get out there and show that.”
Speaking of new players on this team, a lot of new faces on defense in particular — a unit that struggled last season. In addition to the newcomers on defense, there is also a new goalie in town in Ludvig Persson. Persson transfers in from Miami of Ohio. The former rival, now Fighting Hawk believes the defense in front of him is a much improved unit going forward this season.
“Obviously it’s a new environment,” said Persson. “I love it so far. It’s a privilege to be here. The building, just all the history behind this team in general. Obviously we have a lot of new faces on the d-core. We Just have to work together and be detailed every day. There are a lot of good players. The hardest challenge is to get it all together and work as a unit, but so far it’s been really good. The coaching staff and players are working together really well.
Senior forward Louis Jamernik is entering his third full season with UND and sees a change in this years squad.
“A lot of new faces, but I think similar identity,” said Jamernik. “Every single day I feel like guys are putting in a lot more effort. At the end of every practice guys are still on the ice — even after the practice is concluded. Almost the whole team is on the ice working on little things and trying to get better. And maybe in previous years we didn’t have the whole team, and you have school and stuff going on, that is totally fine, but finding those little time slots throughout the day or afternoon to get in the weight room or on the ice to get those extra reps in is huge.”
And with so many new guys, the same standard remains for UND hockey. A winning season last year, but not exactly up to the standard. UND holds the second longest active winning streak of having a winning season (2nd to Michigan), but obviously the Fighting Hawks want to get to that frozen four tournament and they talked a lot about the expectations going into the year and not having a slow start like they did last season.
“We got a chip on our shoulder,” said Jamernik. “I think last year was a huge letdown for us and I think the guys that came in now know the expectation here of North Dakota hockey is very high. We want to win everything, that’s the goal every single year. At the end of the day it is a process. We are not focused on the outcome, but we’re focused on Monday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday and so on from there. At the end of the day, it’s just putting in the daily work and I think the results will take care of itself.”
Sophomore forward Jackson Blake is coming off a historic season. Blake notched 42 points last season, becoming only the third freshman at UND since 1980 to lead the team in points. He feels improvement on defense will lead to success this season.
“I think last year we struggled a little bit in the D zone,” said Blake. “If we can clean that up a little bit [we will be better]. Last year, in second half I feel like we got a little better at it. But you know, this year if we can start right off the hop in the D zone, it will help us play offense and when you’re in the offensive zone you have a better chance at scoring goals. So, that’s probably the main thing [we need to do in order to have success.]
UND will have a green vs. white scrimmage on October 3, then an exhibition game on October 7 against Manitoba. The Fighting Hawks will then open the regular season October 13 (Army) and 14 ( Wisconsin) at the Ralph as they hold the Ice Breaker Tournament.
