Last Saturday, Quinnipiac University defeated the University of North Dakota 6-2. It wasn’t an ideal way to end a four-game homestand. Saturday’s game started out well for UND. They would take a 2-1 lead after one period of play. Then the roof fell in on the Hawks. The Bobcats would score five unanswered goals to put an exclamation mark on the series.
Post-game, the results of the series didn’t sit well with the UND coaching staff or players. Giving up 11 goals during a weekend series isn’t typical of the UND defense. Some might say that it’s out of character.
Make no mistake about it, after Saturday’s results, it wasn’t going to be an easy week in practice. You could see it in the players after the loss on Saturday night, they set the tone for this week.
“We’ll definitely be addressing that’s – it’s already been addressed,” UND defenseman Ethan Frisch said. “Going into practice this week but not getting pucks out of our zone and not cleaning things up in front of our net in the critical areas. It’s not acceptable, letting them get so many sticks on pucks and second chances and opportunities like that. It’s not the way to play. We take a lot of pride in that. So, we’ll be addressing that I’m sure heavily this week.
“I think it’s the same as always after any loss we have urgency. We don’t like to lose, we don’t lose a ton, and we’ll address things. I don’t think it’s any different than any other loss. We’ve you know, we have a lot of urgency either way. It’s a good chance for us here to redeem ourselves next weekend going to Minnesota.”
“I don’t think we played a full 60,” UND defenseman Chris Jandric said. “Just got to tighten up in our d-zone. We’ve got to grab sticks when the shots are coming from the points. I think it’s just the urgency for us, and the intensity and that goes back to practice. It’s all going to start Monday here. I think that’s going to be an intense week.”
Intense Week
From what I’ve gleaned, it has been an intense week of practice. Back to work. We can also look at it as a learning opportunity for UND, and there’s no reason to panic. On Wednesday, there was no panic in UND Captain Mark Senden as he laid out UND’s game plan. Sounds simple.
“Dialing it in; in our d-zone, coming back to the house,” Senden said. “Working it out from there in the d-zone. Offensively, getting a second man around the puck quick, trying to get more offensive opportunities that way.”
“It’s one loss, but at the end of the day, the standard is the standard, and leaving some play on the table on Saturday night didn’t sit well after the game,” head coach Brad Berry said. “It didn’t sit well on Sunday and through the tough practices that we’ve had Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday here. The guys are carrying their work ethic at a high level and they’re ready to go this weekend.”
The Fighting Hawks didn’t spend a lot of time ruminating or feeling sorry for themselves about last weekend’s loss, there’s work to be done. There’s a lot of excitement surrounding this series.
“There’s a lot of tradition, rivalry and a lot of history between these two teams, us and the Gophers. Growing up it was real big,” UND Captain Mark Senden said.
“I don’t know if there’s anything that matches it in college hockey,” Berry said. “It’s one of the most historic rivalries in the game. It’s something that we’re doing every year, playing each other, which is awesome.”
