UND beats Providence in US Hockey Hall of Fame Game to open season – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS – A little more than seven minutes into the first period, Providence was on a roll.

Just as Providence freshman John Mustard crossed the blue line, linesman Nathan Voll ruled it offside.

Nevertheless, Mustard put a shot into the net. It got past UND goaltender TJ Semptimphelter and the Fighting Hawks were not happy. There was a crush.

“I think it kind of fired up the rest of the bench,” UND coach Brad Berry said. “After that we moved and took control of the game.”

UND scored 78 seconds later. They added three more in a dominant second period and defeated No. 13 Providence 5-2 in the US Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

A week after UND sleepwalked through an exhibition game against Augustana University, the Fighting Hawks showed why they are the No. 6 team and have high expectations for this season.

Dylan James scored two goals on his 21st birthday. Rookie Sacha Boisvert scored his first career goal with a Brock Boeser-like sniper on the power play. Cameron Berg had a goal and an assist. Jayden Perron scored a goal and rookies EJ Emery, Andrew Strathmann and Cody Croal picked up their first collegiate points.

“Bubs gave us big challenges on Monday and Tuesday,” James said. “We've gotten a lot better. It was a tough week, but it worked out.”

“I thought we were really good. I don't think we were right in the first game. We had a few turnovers at the blue line. We did everything right in the second and third games. We started plugging something in and working on it.” 'D.'”

UND goaltender TJ Semptimphelter stopped 22 of 24 shots.

The win could pay dividends at the end of the season when the Pairwise rankings are used for selection and seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

Providence is a consensus top-15 team and was picked to finish third in Hockey East.

“It’s absolutely huge,” Berry said. “When we put this game plan together, we try to pick the best. We try to pick the best teams from the Hockey East, the Big Ten, the ECAC… we want to play really, really good teams. This isn't just possible.” To help you with Pairwise, it will help you play correctly.

Russell Hons / UND Athletics

UND played in front of a huge group of former players who were in town for UND Hockey Alumni Weekend.

These included three NCAA Frozen Four MVPs – Phil Sykes (1982), Matt Henderson (1997) and Lee Goren (2000).

2007 Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Duncan watched the game with his father, Bob. NHL coaches Dave Hakstol and Rick Wilson watched together. Stanley Cup winner Mike Commodore was there. So did Hockey Hall of Famer Ed Belfour.

People who built the program as players and coaches — Gino Gasparini, John Marks, Cary Eades — were also at The Ralph.

“I thought it was really cool,” James said. “These are former NHL players who come to watch me play. That’s a pretty big honor.”

Russell Hons / UND Athletics

The Fighting Hawks delivered for them.

The teams exchanged goals in the first game. Berg finished an Emery feed at 8:34. Providence rookie Braiden Clark tied the score at 12:44.

Then the Fighting Hawks blew the game away in the second half. James redirected a pass from Bennett Zmolek at 6:51, Perron scored on a rebound at 9:25 and Boisvert scored his first shot from distance at 18:30.

After Hudson Malinoski scored a power-play goal at 7:32 of the third period, James denied it with an empty-net goal. James tried to center the puck to Louis Jamernik V, but the puck hit Malinoski and went into the net – a nice bounce for his birthday.

“At the end of the game, in the handshake line,” Berry said, “Nate Leaman gave us a pretty big compliment that we played like men tonight.”

Russell Hons / UND Athletics

Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the best beat writer for the Herald's circulation department and once as the North Dakota Sportswriter of the Year. He lives in Grand Forks. Reach him at [email protected].