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GRAND FORKS — Despite missing Ben Strinden and Will Zellers due to illnesses, UND kept rolling with a 5-3 win over Omaha in Game 1 of their National Collegiate Hockey Conference quarterfinal series.
Here are five takeaways from the game.
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UND’s power play has been successful recently.
The Fighting Hawks finished fifth nationally in 2024-25, ninth in 2023-24, second in 2022-23 and 13th in 2021-22.
Those teams were somewhat predictable, looking for one-timers from Sacha Boisvert, Cameron Berg, Tyler Kleven in the left circle or the downhill attack from Riese Gaber. Even though you knew what was coming, it still worked because those players were so elite.
This year’s group is much more unpredictable, and they’ve done an incredible job adapting when key goal-scorers are out of the lineup.
UND scored on its first two power-play chances Friday, despite the absence of Strinden and Zellers, who have 10 of UND’s 34 power-play goals this season.
When Cole Reschny and Keaton Verhoeff — two key power-play guys — missed four games at the World Junior Championship in December and January, UND went 6-for-14 on the advantage.
“There are lots of good players, lots of players who played power play in the past and in juniors,” UND forward Ollie Josephson said. “So, everyone’s got that experience and everyone’s been ready to go.”
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Right now, seven different players have at least three power-play goals. The last time UND did that was 2014-15.
UND forward Mac Swanson has had one multi-point game since Nov. 7, so he hasn’t grabbed a lot of headlines this season.
But the Alaskan is quietly having a very good sophomore campaign.
He’s up to nine goals and 25 points. If he hits 30 points, it might be one of the quietest 30-point seasons at UND. Swanson makes so many good, small plays that can go unnoticed. The production is becoming noticeable, though.
Swanson now has 10 points in the last 11 games.
After breaking an 18-game goal drought on Feb. 7, Swanson has scored goals in five of UND’s last eight games. Two of them have come on impressive one-timers.
Swanson thrived in big games for the Fargo Force in the United States Hockey League. He was the Clark Cup MVP in 2024, leading the Force to their second USHL title. He’s thriving in big games again at the college level.
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Omaha scored just six seconds into its first power-play opportunity Friday when Maxime Pellerin one-timed a Jérémy Loranger pass.
It ended an impressive run for UND’s penalty kill.
It marked the first power-play goal allowed by UND in exactly a month. The last one was Feb. 6 at Minnesota Duluth, when Zam Plante got one to go.
After that, UND killed off 17 in a row.
The Fighting Hawks also have done a good job of staying disciplined.
In six games from Jan. 16 to Feb. 7, UND allowed opponents 25 power-play chances. That’s an average of 4.2 power plays per game.
In the last seven games, UND has allowed opponents only 13 power-play chances. That’s an average of 1.8 per game.
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“Discipline is always a big thing for this team,” UND forward Jack Kernan said. “We feel we’ve taken a bit too many penalties, so it’s always hammered every video session — make sure we’re disciplined, keep our sticks down and things like that.”
UND is scoring goals at an impressive rate, so it has helped cover up the fact that UND is allowing too many goals right now.
Hockey games are often a race to three — especially in the playoffs — and UND’s opponent is getting to three far too often.
UND has allowed at least three goals in six straight games and in 10 of the last 12.
Prior to that, opponents hit the three-goal mark seven times in 23 games.
Jan Špunar has had a fantastic freshman season and is a finalist for the NCHC’s Goaltender of the Year award, but he will want Omaha’s third goal back. He is 17-3-1 with a .914 save percentage this season.
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Jackson on Josephson, who has six points in his last four games: “Ollie is such a strong two-way player. He’s got so much substance to his game. When he scores, it’s a huge bonus. He can really impact the game by how he checks and how he turns over pucks. He’s got a lot of Dylan James in him. He’s such a strong, smart, 200-foot player. When he scores for us, it’s a huge bonus. We know he can do it. He does a great job in the bumper position on the power play. He’s a key penalty killer and obviously a relied-upon centerman for us.”
Josephson on his first playoff game: “The rally towels were pretty cool to see. The intensity. . . you could tell it was a playoff game. It was awesome.”
Jackson on Kernan: “He’s such a powerful, strong young guy. he’s got good sense and he plays a fast, north game. I give him a lot of credit. He really has stepped into a lot of different roles, different positions. It was a huge performance by him tonight.”
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