Nov. 28—BEMIDJI, Minn. — The last time UND and Bemidji State played a two-game series where neither contest went to overtime was October 2016.
"Was that (Brock) Boeser?" Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementYes, it was.
"We had that one," Serratore said.
Bemidji State was up 2-0 late in the second period, but UND's Boeser scored three goals in a row to win it 3-2. The winning goal came with 7:08 left on a penalty shot after a questionable-at-best hooking call. UND won the next night by one goal again.
Since then, all seven series have had at least one overtime game. Eight of the last nine have featured an overtime game.
The last time UND and Bemidji State played a series where there was not a one-goal game was 2010-11, assistant coach Dillon Simpson's freshman season.
UND swept Bemidji State to open the Sanford Center in October, and swept the Beavers again on North Dakota boys state hockey weekend in Grand Forks in late February.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"They've been battles as of late," Serratore said. "We have similar mentalities. Structurally, we're fairly similar. We have the same type of values.
"When you play North Dakota, we know who we're playing. They do get everybody's best. It's like Alabama football, Georgia football, Duke basketball. You're paying a little more attention to detail."
Few coaches in the country have been as aggressive as Bemidji State in the new college hockey landscape.
Serratore began scouting Canadian major juniors months before the rules changed allowed those players to retain college eligibility, and the Beavers were prepared when it happened.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBemidji State's class of newcomers includes players from the WHL (goalie Max Hildebrand), OHL (forward Max Namestnikov), QMJHL (defenseman Ben Vigneault), the USHL (defenseman Maxon Vig), Swedish U20 (forward Oscar Karlsson), the NCAA (forward Vann Yuhas), USports (forwards Oliver Peer, Connor McClennon and Vincent Labelle) and the ECHL (defenseman Hudson Thornton).
"We did work the year before, wondering if (the rule) would change," Serratore said. "We watched a lot of the Western league. Once we got word (of the change), we dove in 100%."
It hasn't changed the make-up of the Beavers, UND coach Dane Jackson said.
"They have that earmark of being a tenacious, high-pressure team," Jackson said. "They're fast all over the ice. They check to score. They pressure pucks, so you have to be sharp. You have to be able to manage the puck well against them. They come hard on the forecheck.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"It looks like there's some good ability on their top line — they're making plays and scoring. Their power play looks good."
The Fighting Hawks held a team Thanksgiving meal on Wednesday night with a lot of the traditional foods — turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, green beans and pie.
"We don't want to get too heavy, too bogged down close to the weekend," Jackson said about having the meal Wednesday.
For some of UND's Canadians, it was a new experience.
"We were up in Tri-Cities, Washington, last year for Thanksgiving, so we got a little meal there," UND freshman Cole Reschny said. "I never really experienced the whole week. I didn't really know it was this big."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUND skated in Grand Forks on Thursday morning, then departed for Bemidji on Thursday night.
"They're going to be a hard team to play against," Reschny said. "We're going to have to bring our A-game, for sure. I think if we just stick to the way we can play — play hard, play fast, support the puck — we're going to be more than just fine."
Reschny said he thinks UND can take things to another level, though.
"I think we're in a good spot right now," he said. "We're starting to see more consistency, but I think we need to take another step. We've got a lot of good players in this room and on this team — guys who know their role and play their role. If we stick to that, I think we can take this team to another level."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUND BSU
8-4 Rec 9-5-2
3.8 (7th) Off 3.5 (14th)
2.5 (16th) Def 2.6 (19th)
26.0 (8th) PP 23.3 (20th)
76.2 (46th) PK 79.4 (36th)
52.8 (12th) FO 49.2 (39th)
.890 (47th) SP .898 (37th)
Note: National rank in parentheses. Categories are record, offense (goals per game), defense (goals against per game), power play percentage, penalty kill percentage, faceoff percentage and team save percentage.
UND — F Josh Zakreski out (lower body), F Ellis Rickwood doubtful (lower), D Bennett Zmolek questionable (lower), F Jack Kernan probable (undisclosed), D Abram Wiebe probable (undisclosed), D Keaton Verhoeff probable (undisclosed)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBSU — D Isa Parekh probable (lower body), G Max Hildebrand questionable (upper body)
Flammang put together strong sophomore and junior seasons, tallying 19 and 18 points. But the right wing from St. Michael, Minn., is at another level as a senior. Flamming is the sixth-leading scorer in the country with 20 points in 16 games. He's been incredibly consistent, tallying points in 14 of Bemidji State's 16 games this season.
"Adam has always had an unbelievable stick," Serratore said. "What's going on is I've seen a lot of what he's been doing in practice over the last couple years. He has scoring ability, he's making plays. That's always been in his DNA. Not only does he have experience, he's got a really good line with a lot of chemistry. They work well together. They mesh well."
The sophomore forward could play a key role this weekend if Rickwood is out of the lineup. Littler, a center, hasn't scored since the first game of the season, but he has a terrific release and this weekend would be a good time for him to break out. His style of play fits a competitive series like UND-Bemidji State.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"It will be a hard game, a lot of pucks on walls," Littler said. "Goals will be hard to get, so I think we'll have to be ready to go and prepare to win a 2-1 game."
Bemidji State has already gone to overtime six times this season. The Beavers have won three and lost one. Oliver Peer has scored the winner in two and set up the other. UND has only been to overtime once and lost. If a game goes to ov
Friday: Bemidji State 3, UND 2, OT
Saturday: UND 4, Bemidji State 2
TV: None.
Stream:
Midco Sports Plus
(CCHA TV package). Brian Schultz play-by-play, Brian Bissonette analyst.
Radio:
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Fox (96.1 FM).
Darrin Looker play-by-play, Mike LaMoine analyst.
TV: Midco Sports (GF Ch. 27/622 HD). Alex Heinert play-by-play, Jim Scanlan analyst, Taylor Budge and Erik Fabian at the desk.
Stream:
NCHChockey.com/tv.
Radio:
The Fox (96.1 FM).
Tim Hennessy play-by-play, Mike LaMoine analyst.
GFH:
UND grad Jackson Keane is behind the bench at Bemidji State
GFH:
Q&A with UND goalie Jan Špunar
GFH:
Fighting Hawks expecting to get three back from injury
Bemidji Pioneer:
Beaver rookie Maxon Vig is the son of former UND captain Mitch Vig
Bemidji Pioneer:
Bismarck's Kirklan Irey ready for one last trip to The Ralph
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Athletic:
Projecting USA's World Junior roster
The Athletic:
Projecting Canada's World Junior roster
GFH:
10 area North Dakota boys hockey players to watch
GFH:
10 area Minnesota boys hockey players to watch
GFH:
12 area girls hockey players to watch
GFH:
EGF's Blake Schultz returns with new linemates
GFH:
Top defenseman Max Bies is back from season-ending injury
GFH:
State champion Central returning loaded team
GFH: Caden Ulmer providing offensive spark for Red River
Scoring
21 Ben Strinden (NSH), sr, f, 7-8—15
9 Will Zellers (BOS), fr, f, 7-4—11
17 Cole Reschny (CGY), fr, f, 2-9—11
7 Mac Swanson (PIT), so, f, 4-6—10
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement26 Dylan James (DET), sr, f, 6-3—9
25 Abram Wiebe (VGK), jr, d, 2-7—9
4 Jake Livanavage, jr, d, 1-8—9
18 Keaton Verhoeff (2026), fr, d, 4-4—8
29 Ellis Rickwood, sr, f, 1-7—8
19 Cody Croal, so, f, 3-3—6
8 Ollie Josephson (SEA), fr, f, 2-4—6
6 E.J. Emery (NYR), so, d, 2-2—4
20 Cade Littler (CGY), so, f, 2-2—4
15 Jack Kernan, fr, f, 1-2—3
24 Josh Zakreski, fr, f, 1-2—3
14 Tyler Young, sr, f, 1-1—2
13 Sam Laurila (NYI), fr, d, 0-2—2
2 Bennett Zmolek, sr, d, 0-2—2
27 Anthony Menghini, jr, f, 1-0—1
22 David Klee (SJS), fr, f, 0-1—1
3 Jayden Jubenvill, so, d, 0-1—1
28 Dalton Andrew, so, f, 0-0—0
31 Gibson Homer, sr, g, 0-0—0
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement35 Jan Špunar, fr, g, 0-0—0
11 Ian Engel, fr, d, dnp
1 Zach Sandy, sr, g, dnp
Goaltending
31 Gibson Homer, sr, 4-4, 2.78, .882
35 Jan Špunar, fr, 4-0, 1.26, .939
1 Zach Sandy, sr, dnp
Scoring
11 Adam Flammang, sr, f, 6-14—20
22 Oliver Peer, so, f, 10-9—19
28 Kasper Magnussen, jr, f, 6-10—16
18 Max Namestnikov, fr, f, 4-7—11
26 Reilly Funk, 5th, f, 5-5—10
5 Hudson Thornton, so, d, 2-8—10
15 Connor McClennon (PHI), jr, f, 7-2—9
20 Kirklan Irey, sr, f, 0-8—8
8 Vincent Labelle, jr, f, 2-5—7
27 Jake McLean, jr, f, 3-3—6
17 Noah Quinn, jr, f, 1-5—6
19 Vann Yuhus, so, f, 0-5—5
6 Mitch Wolfe, sr, d, 2-2—4
21 Vince Corcoran, sr, d, 1-3—4
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement2 Maxon Vig (MTL), fr, d, 2-1—3
23 Luke Roelofs, so, d, 1-2—3
14 Alexi Sylvestre, so, f, 1-2—3
4 Patrik Satosaari, sr, d, 1-1—2
25 Tory Lund, so, f, 1-1—2
9 Jaksen Panzer, so, f, 0-2—2
29 Ryan Henderson, so, f, 0-2—2
13 Ben Vigneault, fr, d, 1-0—1
7 Isa Parekh, so, d, 0-1—1
16 Oscar Karlsson, fr, f, 0-0—0
35 Raythan Robbins, sr, g, 0-0—0
1 Max Hildebrand, fr, g, 0-0—0
30 Trent Wiemken, so, g, 0-0—0
12 A.J. Macaulay, sr, d, dnp
Goaltending
35 Raythan Robbins, sr, 5-1-2, 2.08, .909
1 Max Hildebrand, fr, 4-4, 3.05, .888
30 Trent Wiemken, so, 0-0, 2.01, .900
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