2023-24 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[brianvf]

Good article on how Perron ended up at UND:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/how-jayden-perron-ended-up-at-und

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Every team in the Western Hockey League contacted Jayden Perron, looking for an answer.

If their team selected him in the WHL Bantam Draft, would he report to them?

It wasn't an easy answer.

Perron and his mother, Doreen, started doing research. They put pins on a map to denote the location of every WHL team.

"They give you a hard time, I'm not going to lie," Doreen said. "But Jay had some really good mentors. We had a lot of really good, honest conversations. He refused to commit to any WHL team. That's why he went in the second round."

Quote

On Jan. 1, teams could start talking to him. On Aug. 1, he could receive offers and commit.

"There were definitely a good amount of teams (interested), Perron said. "I never went on an official visit. I knew I was coming here the whole time. That kind of made it easy for me. There was no decision-making. I knew what I wanted and went with that."

Doreen urged Jayden to go on two other visits.

"He said, 'No, don't waste money,'" Doreen recalled. "He was going to UND and UND only. He had multiple offers. He could have played anywhere. He didn't give anyone else the time of day."

UND offered on the first day possible, Aug. 1. Perron committed on the spot.

This doesn't surprise me:

Quote

Perron arrived in Grand Forks this summer after being selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2023 NHL Draft.

"He never swayed," Doreen said. "Even just before he started, teams were trying to sway him. There was no way. He was going to UND, through and through."

Quote

What's Perron's scouting report on Celebrini?

"He's got it all," Perron said. "He's super fast. He can think the game. He's got an unbelievable shot. He's kind of the whole package. It will be tough to go against him. I'd rather him be on our team. But it will be good."

 

[tnt]

26 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Good article on how Perron ended up at UND:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/how-jayden-perron-ended-up-at-und

This doesn't surprise me:

 

Wonder if was the usual suspects that tried to sway him, which could be the team we are playing.

[The Sicatoka]

That win over Wisconsin (now 9-1-0) is looking better by the minute ... 

[Kevin G]

Last season's PP%: 27.3% (second in the nation)

This season's PP% so far: 15.2% (45th in the nation)

Largely the same group of forwards. None of the same defensemen quarterbacking the PP. Perhaps integrating new defensemen into the PP scheme takes some time. Expecting we'll see improvement as the season progresses. 

[siouxfaninseattle]

2 minutes ago, Kevin G said:

Last season's PP%: 27.3% (second in the nation)

This season's PP% so far: 15.2% (45th in the nation)

Largely the same group of forwards. None of the same defensemen quarterbacking the PP. Perhaps integrating new defensemen into the PP scheme takes some time. Expecting we'll see improvement as the season progresses. 

Hopefully this season's PP goes the opposite of last season - last season started very strong and cooled toward the end.

[burd]

A little ironic in that I'd say this year's defensemen are more poised under pressure in the D end than last year's.  

[jk]

24 minutes ago, burd said:

A little ironic in that I'd say this year's defensemen are more poised under pressure in the D end than last year's.  

There were times this weekend when I thought, how is this the same team as last year?  I guess the answer is, at least on the back end, it isn't.

[petey23]

48 minutes ago, burd said:

A little ironic in that I'd say this year's defensemen are more poised under pressure in the D end than last year's.  

I think our forwards being active in the d zone and available for outlets helps a bit.

[burd]

54 minutes ago, petey23 said:

I think our forwards being active in the d zone and available for outlets helps a bit.

Absolutely.   Forwards play a big part in defense, including breakout.  And it looks like the coaches are positioning the winger a little ways off the wall more this year, with success.  Pretty easy for opponents to jam that breakout if the winger is always on the wall.  

But this young D group has really shown poise under pressure, IMO.

But as I've said before, I have not seen any games in person, and you miss a lot watching the game televised.  

[siouxfaninseattle]

I think the team is missing Jandrik running the PP. But the forwards need to keep the puck moving. 

[brianvf]

UND doing better at blocking shots this season:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/und-defensemen-are-blocking-shots-at-a-high-rate?fbclid=IwAR3Wg8dUnQJIETA-jdFRmNuAfEWNq4CyPThbgB3Mn-7-U-QMcm-Nb_N2mM4

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Entering this weekend's series at Minnesota Duluth, UND leads the National Collegiate Hockey Conference in blocked shots with 125.

Of the top 10 individuals in the NCHC in shot blocks, five are UND defensemen.

Freshman Abram Wiebe leads all NCHC players in blocks with 18. Garrett Pyke ranks third with 15. Jake Livanavage is tied for fourth with 14. Bennett Zmolek and Logan Britt have 12.

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In 2013-14, Dillon Simpson was UND's captain and led the Fighting Hawks to the NCAA Frozen Four.

Simpson blocked an NCAA-high 109 shots that season. In the decade since, only one player in all of college hockey has blocked more shots in a season — New Hampshire's Matias Cleland (112) in 2015-16.

 

[burd]

11 hours ago, brianvf said:

UND doing better at blocking shots this season:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/und-defensemen-are-blocking-shots-at-a-high-rate?fbclid=IwAR3Wg8dUnQJIETA-jdFRmNuAfEWNq4CyPThbgB3Mn-7-U-QMcm-Nb_N2mM4

 

I have wondered what effect Simpson has had on this team.   That would be difficult to sort out, but this D seems more . . . efficient?  Poised?   It's not like they are loaded with high draft picks.  

[SIOUXELEVENS]

Maybe take care of their own end first then add some offense after. 

[SiouxFan100]

Enough of the season to say I am encouraged about our chances this year

[burd]

6 minutes ago, SiouxFan100 said:

Enough of the season to say I am encouraged about our chances this year

Winning it all is such a crapshoot, but this team will give us some viewing pleasure this year.  

[Sodbuster]

9 minutes ago, burd said:

Winning it all is such a crapshoot, but this team will give us some viewing pleasure this year.  

They sure have already.

[fightingsioux4life]

34 minutes ago, SiouxFan100 said:

Enough of the season to say I am encouraged about our chances this year

Yes, the #drivefornine is looking good so far. Lot of season left, though.

[tnt]

3 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

Yes, the #drivefornine is looking good so far. Lot of season left, though.

Yes, coming off a very hard schedule early on, the challenge now is to focus on not getting ahead of themselves and take wins for granted against teams that are most likely not going to be in the upper echelon.  In other words, “stay focused” so you don’t get dragged down by bad pairwise losses.

[brianvf]

Just now, tnt said:

Yes, coming off a very hard schedule early on, the challenge now is to focus on not getting ahead of themselves and take wins for granted against teams that are most likely not going to be in the upper echelon.  In other words, “stay focused” so you don’t get dragged down by bad pairwise losses.

And...cue the upcoming next two series against Miami and BSU at home.
Four games that need to be won.

[fightingsioux4life]

1 minute ago, tnt said:

Yes, coming off a very hard schedule early on, the challenge now is to focus on not getting ahead of themselves and take wins for granted against teams that are most likely not going to be in the upper echelon.  In other words, “stay focused” so you don’t get dragged down by bad pairwise losses.

Yeah, I remember the debacle at Canisius a few years ago.

[tnt]

51 minutes ago, brianvf said:

And...cue the upcoming next two series against Miami and BSU at home.
Four games that need to be won.

We certainly have had our fair share of sleepy games on Thanksgiving weekend, and I’m not talking about the fans.

 I would like to see Hedquist get a game against Bemidji, but does that send a message to the players that it should be an easy game, or does it help them focus on making sure they don’t hang him out to dry.  

I’m glad I don’t have to make decisions like that, because if it doesn’t work out the fans go crazy, just like when Cam Johnson was given his first start against Lake Superior State and had to be pulled after giving up 3 goals after a period.

 

[brianvf]

A few on here have been requesting Perron on the top PP unit...they moved him up there last night with success:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/unds-new-look-power-play-is-sharp-in-win-over-minnesota-duluth

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Louis Jamernik V scored on a rebound with the man advantage. Riese Gaber, Cameron Berg and Jackson Blake all hit the post. UND racked up 12 shots on goal (which does not include the posts) during its five power-play opportunities.

"We definitely should have had a few," Gaber said. "We were pretty happy with it. We had some pretty good looks and we started right away. Our intensity and urgency was really good. We took our looks and that was a big part of the game tonight."

UND moved rookie Jayden Perron up to the top unit and put him on the left side. It moved Gaber back to the right side, where he spent much of last season as the Fighting Hawks converted at a 27.3 percent rate — the second-best mark in the country.

Rookie Jake Livanavage ran the unit from the top, Jackson Blake started in the middle and moved around, while Jake Schmaltz won key faceoffs and played alongside the goal line.

Quote

After Schmaltz left the game late in the second period with an upper-body injury, Berg took his spot on the top unit.

The second unit featured defenseman Garrett Pyke, forward Owen McLaughlin, Berg, Jamernik V and Abram Wiebe. Hunter Johannes took Berg's spot when he was moved up to replace Schmaltz.

Agreed with the earlier post about Livanavage having difficulty holding the blue line a couple times while on the PP, but he'll get comfortable back there and do very well.  You can already see his skill coming thru...he's going to be an impact player for sure at the collegiate level as he gets older.

[burd]

18 hours ago, fightingsioux4life said:

Yeah, I remember the debacle at Canisius a few years ago.

It is also true that nearly all teams can play very good hockey on any given weekend.   Cliche' but true.  It's not as much keeping in mind that even weak teams might beat you if you take them lightly, it's that even a weaker team can play like a strong team capable of beating you even if you don't take them lightly.  

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

Sure nice to see Ludvig towards the top of active goalies with a .925 save %. Another player, granted through only 4 games, is Mr Jakob Hellsten sitting at .939 for UNH.

[Kevin G]

With ten games played of 36 regular-season games scheduled, UND is just past the quarter pole for the 2023-24 season. So far, UND is averaging:

• 3.2 goals/game, which is tied for 20th in the nation
• 2.0 goals allowed/game, which is tied for 5th best in the nation

I really thought we'd be scoring more goals than we're scoring and that we'd be allowing more goals (quite a bit more) than we're allowing. In other words, I thought our offense would be a little better and I thought our defense would be worse.

By comparison, last year's team scored 3.3 goals/game (9th best in the nation) and allowed 2.8 goals/game (29th in the nation). So this year's team is scoring about the same as last year's team but defending much better. 

Probably related: Last year's save% was .886 (57th in the nation). This year's save% is .922 so far (7th in the nation).