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GRAND FORKS — Jan Špunar is the first UND goalie to start his career 6-0 since Jordan Parise 21 years ago.
Špunar, a 6-foot-3 netminder from Olomouc, Czechia, has a .934 save percentage and a 1.50 goals-against average through his first two months of college hockey.
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He started both games against Bemidji State last weekend, turning in 5-3 and 2-1 victories. It marked the first time in his college career he’s started back-to-back on the same weekend.
While the Fighting Hawks have notably played better in front of Špunar than senior Gibson Homer this season, the freshman has helped his case in a unique way.
Špunar is frequently playing the puck, starting breakouts and connecting on outlet passes at a high rate.
Špunar is averaging 4.3 outlet passes per game according to SportLogic.
Only Michigan Tech goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz is averaging more per game among goalies with at least three starts. Bartoczkiewicz is averaging five per game.
Špunar’s success rate on outlet passes is 69.2%. Among the top 10 goalies in outlet passes per game, only Minnesota Duluth’s Adam Gajan (76.1%) has a higher success rate.
“We knew he was a good puck handler,” UND coach Dane Jackson said. “I think he’s better than expected.”
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Špunar’s teammates say they’ve noticed it.
“He’s really good at moving the puck,” UND forward Ben Strinden said. “I’ve noticed that for sure, especially on breakouts. It’s something that’s huge. . . can get a first touch to the ‘D’ and then the ‘D’ will snap it right up to us and we can go score.”
Opponents struggled to generate offense against Špunar during his first five college starts.
They tallied 17, 20, 24, 21 and 20 shots on goal on Špunar. Bemidji State bucked that trend Saturday night and put 34 on Špunar.
“That’s a big difference if your D-man can get a small goalie-to-D touch and they get the puck with their toes up ice or looking north,” Jackson said. “All of a sudden, you’re getting a puck and can see what’s coming at you versus going back and picking a puck off the yellow and you’re trying to shoulder check and see what’s around you. It’s a big help for us to be able to get some good middle breakouts and spend less time in our zone.”
Špunar’s 4.3 outlet passes per game are significantly higher than those of recent UND goalies.
Last season, Hobie Hedquist averaged two per game. Starter T.J. Semptimphelter averaged 1.84.
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Two seasons ago, Jakob Hellsten averaged 2.97 per game. Starter Ludvig Persson averaged two.
“You notice it a lot, especially when we have that long change and the ‘D’ are going to change, and Jan is going out to play the puck,” UND freshman forward Will Zellers said. “You have that confidence that you can go stretch and you don’t need to get a touch. Jan can just fire it up to the red line while both teams are changing and give you a scoring chance. We’ve been working on that a lot with all our goalies.”
Špunar moved to North America in 2022 to play for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. He spent two seasons in Portland, finishing second in the WHL in outlet passes per game in 2023-24 with 3.23. Last season, he played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the United States Hockey League, averaging 3.26.
Špunar has become a key part of UND’s impressive freshman class.
Cole Reschny and Zellers rank 2-3 on the team in scoring. Rookie Keaton Verhoeff, age 17, is UND’s top-scoring defenseman. Špunar is now emerging in net.
“He’s a little quiet at first,” Zellers said of Špunar’s personality. “It’s not easy coming to another country and having to learn a completely different, new language, having to take school in a new language. Once you get him to open up, he’s a really funny guy. . . a little bit of dry sense of humor, but I think that’s good. We have a lot of loud, funny guys in the room. Having Jan’s dry sense of humor brings a great aspect to the group.”
Jackson said UND will be adding another strong puck-handling goaltender next season.
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Caleb Heil, who has signed with UND, is currently with the Madison Capitols in the USHL. The seventh-round Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick was recently selected to USA’s World Junior Championship team.
Heil led the USHL last season in outlet passes per game with 5.85. He leads the league with 7.44 this season.
“Caleb Heil is an excellent puck-handler as well,” Jackson said. “It’s a skill we look at. Obviously, stopping the puck is No. 1, but if a guy has the ability to move pucks as well, that’s a big check mark as well.”
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