Former championship goalie Karl Goehring begins his sixth season as an assistant coach at his alma mater in 2024-25. Goehring has had a huge hand in North Dakota's return to national prominence, helping UND rank near the top of the national rankings for the power play and goaltending in each of his previous seasons.
NoDak was once again dominant on the power play in 2023-24, finishing the season again inside the top-10 nationally at 25.5 percent as well as with 35 power play goals. Consistency was shown throughout the season as well, scoring a power play goal in 27 games and had multiple tallies with the man advantage seven times.
Between the pipes, UND bounced back in 2023-24 with a pair of strong performances from a pair of newcomers with senior Ludvig Persson and freshman Hobie Hedquist. The duo combined to help the Fighting Hawks win 26 games, capture the program's sixth NCHC Penrose Cup and advance to the NCAA Tournament once again. Persson was named a finalist for NCHC Goaltender of the Year and earned All-NCHC Second Team honors after finishing the year with a 2.52 goals against average, .904 save percentage and five shutouts, while Hedquist became the first UND goalie to start his career with five straight wins since 2003-04 to post a 2.51 GAA and .905 save percentage in six starts.
The Fighting Hawks produced one of the nation's most potent power play units in 2022-23, finishing the season tied for the top spot in the nation with a 27.3 percent clip and second in the NCAA with 45 total goals on the man advantage. UND scored at least one power play goal in 29 of the 39 games played while recording multiple tallies on the man advantage in 10 of those contests. In a pair of contests against Miami and Western Michigan, UND struck for four power play strikes -- the most for the program in a single game since 2016.
UND once again clicked on the man advantage despite 14 newcomers to the roster in 2021-22, finishing the season tied for 13th in the nation and fifth in the NCHC at 23.1 percent. Between the pipes, NoDak brought in a pair of new goaltenders in veteran transfer Zach Driscoll and freshman Jakob Hellsten. The duo shined, with Driscoll earning All-NCHC Second Team honors and finishing as the runner-up for the league's goaltender of the year honor while Hellsten was a unanimous selection to the NCHC All-Rookie Team.
Driscoll ranked in the top-2 for wins (15), save percentage (.919) and goals against average (2.17), with the save percentage leading the league. He saved his best play for late in the season, earning NCHC Goaltender of the Month honors in February after going 7-1-0 with a .941 save percentage, 1.74 goals against average and one shutout. The Apple Valley, Minn., native rode a nine-game winning streak, the longest of his career, to help North Dakota reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.
The power play took another step in the second year under Goehring in 2020-21, ranking 11th in the nation at 23.2% and second in the NCHC. The 29 goals were third in the country and tops in the conference.
Between the pipes, junior goaltender Adam Scheel pieced together one of the top seasons by a netminder, finishing third in the nation with 20 wins, second with a .788 winning percentage, third in goals against average (1.74), tied for sixth in save percentage (.931) and tied for fourth in shutouts (4). Each one of those numbers paced the conference, earning him NCHC Goaltender of the Year honors.
Overall, UND finished fourth in the country allowing just 1.97 goals per game to become the first team in NCHC history to lead the conference in both offense and defense.
UND's power play ranked 52nd in the country a season before Goehring's arrival. In 2019-20, under Goehring's tutelage, the man-advantage improved to 17th in the NCAA (21.2%) and second-most efficient in the conference. North Dakota tallied 29 power-play goals on the season.
In net, UND's tandem of sophomore Adam Scheel (19-4-2, 2.07 GAA) and junior Peter Thome (7-1-2, 1.37 GAA) were one of the best goaltender units in the country. Scheel won 14 games in the first half of the season, starting all 17 games. Once Thome was given a chance to see time, he seized his moment, winning his first six starts and capturing the NCHC's GAA title with a minscule 1.37 GAA that ranks second-best all-time at UND.
Goehring was officially announced as the new hockey assistant coach by UND head coach Brad Berry in May 2019. Goehring (UND, 2001) returned to his alma mater after a two-year stint in the Tampa Bay Lightning system with the Syracuse Crunch (AHL).
"Absolutely thrilled to be coming back to UND, a place that has given me so many opportunities," Goehring said at the time of his hiring. "I am thrilled and humbled to be part of it again and I'm looking forward to getting back and to making it the best it can be."
Goehring left North Dakota following the 2016-17 season to spend two years with the Crunch as their goaltenders coach and video coach. Prior to that, the Apple Valley, Minn., native helped mentor several successful goaltenders at UND serving as a volunteer goaltending coach, including four starters in a seven-year stretch with three of them dressing in the NHL at some point this season: (Aaron Dell- San Jose, Cam Johnson- New Jersey, Zane McIntyre- Boston)
"We are extremely excited to have Karl back with our family at North Dakota," Berry said at the time of his hiring. "Karl made a tremendous impact in our program previously here as a player and a coach. He exudes all the qualities of our strong culture-- tremendous work ethic, high compete level, team first approach, outstanding professionalism and possesses great communication skills. He is a true "Everydayer". We look forward to Karl adding to the tradition here at North Dakota."
Goehring got his coaching start with the Syracuse Crunch following his record-breaking career in the crease. He enjoyed an eight-year professional career, mostly with the Crunch, retiring with the franchise's record for career wins (78) and single-season marks with lowest goals against average (2.12) and highest save percentage (.930).
He was a two-time All-American at UND, leading the Fighting Sioux to back-to-back national title games in 2000 and 2001. He was 19-6-4 with a sparkling 1.89 GAA and a program-record eight shutouts in guiding UND to its seventh NCAA championship in 2000. He still owns program records in career wins (80), winning percentage (.765) and shutouts (15).
Goehring fills out a coaching staff that is made up of all UND alums (Berry, '02, associate head coach Dane Jackson, '92).
His family includes his wife Lauren and their daughters Halle and Lily.
