OMAHA, Neb. – North Dakota defeated Omaha 3-0 on Friday night, securing the 1,500th win in program history. For the current players and coaches, in the here and now, it may as well have felt like the biggest one yet.
Fighting for their postseason lives – UND entered the night ranked 15th in the PairWise rankings – UND relied on a stellar performance by senior goalie Cam Johnson and received goals from three different players to blank the host Mavericks, a victory that gave the Hawks slightly more breathing room on the national scene.
UND slid up to No. 12 in the PairWise while also climbing into a third-place tie in the NCHC standings with Minnesota Duluth. The top four teams receive home ice for the first round of the playoffs. For the Fighting Hawks, though, the national implications that came with the win were of the greatest importance as UND chases a 17th straight berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Johnson, who watched freshman understudy Peter Thome start UND's past two games, was razor-sharp from the drop of the puck in securing his 11th career shutout. Only Karl Goehring, with 16 shutouts from 1997 to 2001, had more in school history.
Johnson kicked out all 26 shots he faced – 22 of them coming in the first two periods – and was particularly sharp on the penalty kill, helping UND hold the nation's top-ranked power play scoreless in four chances.
“Cam did what Cam always does: he responded,” said sophomore defenseman Colton Poolman, who assisted on two of UND's three goals. “He showed you why he's a national champion. It's a good response by him.”
Johnson held the Mavericks at bay while his teammates searched for some offense. Junior Shane Gersich finally broke the ice at 8:10 of the second period, following up a Poolman rush and whacking a loose puck in the slot past UNO goalie Evan Weninger.
UND stretched the lead to 2-0 just under five minutes into the third period on an alert play by defenseman Josh Rieger. The freshman deliberately sent a point shot wide of the net off the lively Baxter Arena end boards, and senior Johnny Simonson was stationed at the side of the net to receive the carom and bang home his first goal in 19 games.
Unlike Friday night, when UND squandered a pair of two-goal leads, the ninth-ranked Fighting Hawks finished the job. Rhett Gardner sealed things with an empty-net goal with 18:16 remaining.
It was just UND's second win in the last nine games.
“I was playing with a little chip on my shoulder,” said Johnson. “I thought the guys played well in front of me. I had to make a couple tough saves and when they needed me, I was able to be there. It was nice to come back in there and get a win.”
UND head coach Brad Berry retrieved the game puck for his senior netminder following the game.
“He made saves early, hard saves. We got momentum off of what he did early in the game. I was proud of the way he bounced back,” said Berry.
“Other guys stepped up tonight too,” continued Berry. “Guys like Simonson and [Casey] Johnson and [Cole] Smith. That line was good. They possessed pucks in the offensive zone and they were hard to play against. We played a good game last night, we just didn't get the kills. Tonight we got the kills.”
Tonight UND also got a milestone win and a critical NCHC series split. Now it turns the page to next week's road trip to Miami in the penultimate week of the regular season.
“We've got to find a way to win games on Fridays, not just Saturdays,” said Simonson. “We need to make sure that we prepare right away on Monday for the week and we're ready to go on Friday.”
Notes: UND outshot the Mavericks 37-26 and had a 63-50 edge in shot attempts … Gersich, Johnson and UNO defenseman Joel Messner were named the game's three stars … Gersich has reached the scoresheet in nine of 12 games since the New Year and has a team-leading 13 points in that time. He had 11 points in 20 games prior to the New Year.
