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GRAND FORKS — Among the 11,703 fans in the sold-out Ralph Engelstad Arena crowd Saturday night was UND forward Sacha Boisvert’s uncle and other family members.
It was fitting he scored his first-career goal for the Fighting Hawks in front of them during UND’s 5-2 win over Providence in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game.
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“It was definitely special,” Boisvert said. “Nothing like I’ve been part of before, just in front of so many people. Happy to get the win tonight.”
Boisvert’s first goal came on the power play in the second period and gave UND a 4-1 lead.
He ripped a wrist shot from beyond the faceoff dot past 6-foot-4 Boston Bruins draft pick Philip Svedeback.
“I stayed wide a little bit,” he said. “Got the puck from (Abram Wiebe), and I knew what I was going to do right away when I got the puck, so I just went top right and scored.”
The shot showed why the 18-year-old from Trois-Rivières, Québec, was taken 18th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2024 NHL Draft.
The goal was also reminiscent of what UND coach Brad Berry saw firsthand watching Boisvert play for Muskegon in the United States Hockey League, where Boisvert scored 36 goals last season — the most by a UND recruit in the USHL since Jason Gregoire in 2007-08.
“Elite shot,” Berry said. “I’ve seen a lot of him in the last couple years watching him in Muskegon. He always had a good shot, and it was always accurate, but that was an NHL-caliber shot. When he got it, he talked about knowing where he was going to put it. It was in and out of the net before you even knew it.”
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A 🎯 for Boisvert's first of his career! #UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/YnYHKplTV3
Boisvert also tallied an assist on Jayden Perron’s goal earlier in the second period to end with two points and a plus-one rating in his first regular-season UND game.
Boisvert is a piece of a highly touted freshman class for UND, which includes New York Rangers first-round pick E.J. Emery, Columbus Blue Jackets fourth-round pick Andrew Strathmann, Pittsburgh Penguins seventh-round pick Mac Swanson and Cody Croal. Emery, Strathmann and Croal all tallied assists Saturday.
Boisvert’s power-play goal was an example of why UND believes Boisvert and the other young players will be difference-makers.
“It goes into what he’s done,” Berry said. “You look at his body, and his body has tremendously grown over his last couple years, and it’s going to continue to grow. I think it’s all about what he does and invests in himself each and every day, on and off the ice.”
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