DULUTH, Minn. – Given the way the last three weeks have gone, all that opposing shooters will want for Christmas is a way to solve North Dakota goaltender Cam Johnson.
The Troy, Mich., native won his sixth straight start since returning from injury and pitched his third straight shutout in North Dakota's 3-0 win over Minnesota Duluth tonight at AMSOIL Arena.
The win sent the fourth-ranked Fighting Hawks into the Christmas break with a 16-2-2 overall record and sole possession of first place in the NCHC.
But the big story once again was Johnson, who became the third UND goalie ever to log three straight shutouts while running his scoreless streak to 218 minutes, 38 seconds, second-longest in school history.
Only Gerald “Spike” Schultz, who recorded four straight shutouts in Jan. 1954, had a longer streak at 249:41.
Tonight, facing a swarming Bulldogs attack, Johnson stopped all 38 shots he faced after Friday night's 40-save performance.
“They were firing from all angles,” said Johnson. “I thought maybe they got a little frustrated and started ripping pucks at the net trying to get goofy bounces. The boys did a good job clearing pucks and clearing rebounds and taking care of bodies in front of the net.
“I've had a few streaks where I put together some good games, but I don't think I've ever had a shutout streak this long,” added Johnson.
Much like Friday night, UMD came out firing in the first period and held a 14-6 edge in shots on goal after a scoreless 20 minutes.
But the game tilted in UND's favor at 7:31 of the second period, when Bulldogs captain Andy Welinski was ejected for a boarding major.
UND's power play, silent all weekend up to that point, broke the game open with goals 31 seconds apart by sophomore defenseman Tucker Poolman and freshman forward Brock Boeser.
Poolman threaded a wrist shot through traffic from the top of the circle to open the scoring, then Boeser beat Kasimir Kaskisuo with a backhander from the bottom of the left circle to make it a 2-0 game.
“I want our specialty teams to take it up another notch,” said UND head coach Brad Berry. “I thought our kill was good tonight again. I thought our power play responded at the right time. I thought our power play won us the game tonight.”
Johnson made the two goals hold up, despite the Bulldogs dictating play again in the third period and outshooting the Fighting Hawks 13-3. But with Kaskisuko on the bench for an extra attacker and Boeser in the box for tripping in the final 90 seconds, junior forward Luke Johnson found the empty net from inside his own blue line with 1:13 remaining, sealing the win and the sweep.
“We knew they were going to throw the kitchen sink at us so we just tried to play as defensive as we could,” said Duluth native Trevor Olson, who was playing against his hometown team for the first time this weekend. “We were making sure we were holding guys accountable for getting pucks out, getting pucks deep. We wanted them to come 200 feet.
“It's probably one of my most memorable moments to this date. I've looked forward to this one all year. To get the two wins for our team is the best outcome,” said Olson.
Although UND was outshot 78-42 in the series, Berry said he was completely satisfied with his team's performance in the sweep.
“You go through that roster of theirs and it's all juniors and seniors, guys that have been around the block,” said Berry. “They've got a very good team. The thing I'm happy with is our pushback after last night's game.”
Johnson, the two-time reigning NCHC Goaltender of the Week, concurred.
“I was happy with our weekend although there might be some guys in there who don't think we played our best. I think we solid, we got a couple greasy road wins against a good team, so that's all you can ask for,” said Johnson.
Asked to reflect on his recent run after barely playing as a freshman and allowing two goals on his first four shots in this season's opener, Johnson readily conceded he is a different goaltender heading into the break.
“At the start of the year I was a little nervous, a little shaky,” admitted Johnson. “I'm feeling pretty confident. I'm seeing the puck well right now. Everything's going well but I couldn't be doing that without the team in front of me.”
Berry credited Johnson's maturity for the growth in his game.
“If you go back to the games in Maine (to open the year), he looked a little nervous,” said Berry. “That comes from not getting a lot of reps, and then going in and playing in that environment. Now he's adjusted to it, he's focused and I see more so an off-ice focus before practices and games as far as dialing in.
“He's playing with a lot of confidence. His calmness is one of his best qualities. There were a lot of pucks coming his way and he stood his ground. Our guys feed off of it as far as confidence.”
Notes: Johnson, Poolman and Boeser were named the game's three stars … UND finished 2-6 on the power play and killed all four UMD opportunities with the man advantage … UND has 16 wins at the Christmas break since freshman Zach Parise and teammates did it in 2002 … Boeser's 13 goals are the most by a UND freshman at the break since Parise scored 13 … Nick Schmaltz extended his career-long point streak to 11 games with an assist on Boeser's goal. Boeser (10 games), Drake Caggiula (6 games) and Poolman (6) also extended their career-long streaks ... UND will return to action Jan. 1-2 at home against Alabama-Huntsville.
