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GRAND FORKS — Griffin Ness was the only extra skater Saturday night without an assigned line.
The senior forward never played in the first period.
Just over six minutes into the second half, UND coach Brad Berry ejected Ness for the first time.
“We needed some inspiration,” Berry said. “That’s Griffin’s job. He inspires. He’s a team-first guy.”
About five seconds after he hit the ice, Ben Strinden forced a turnover in the offensive zone, and Ness picked up the spilled puck and backhanded it past Omaha goaltender Simon Ratkoczy into the net, ending the game. scored the first goal.
UND defeated Omaha 3-1 in front of a crowd of 11,622 at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
This gave the Fighting Hawks a series split and prevented Omaha from sweeping UND for the first time in program history.
“That was the first shift of the game,” Ness said. “The puck was lying in the slot. The puck was wobbly a little bit, so I didn’t want to hit it right away. I tried to calm it down a little bit. I took it to my backhand, and it became a puck.” It somehow opened my heart. ”
It was the second goal of the season for Ness, who has been a thorn in Omaha’s side thus far.
Ness scored the winning goal in the decisive Game 3 of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference quarterfinal playoff series in Omaha last March.
“It’s always great to be back (in the lineup),” said Ness, who has been unscathed in the last three games. “We have a great team. We have to fight every day. When your name is called, you just do your job. I was glad it was me today.”
There were several other notable contributions.
Dylan James kept his Omaha number. With 16:25 left in the third period, he buried the rebound of Jackson Blake’s shot for the winning goal.
James currently has 12 goals in college, five of which came against Omaha.
Cameron Berg sent the puck into an empty net with 25 seconds left, clinching the victory against his old team.
This prevented the Fighting Hawks’ games, which they have lost four times since Dec. 1, from going into overtime.
“I’m proud of our guys tonight for finishing the game and finding a way to win,” Berry said. “I thought our guys contained it well and didn’t give us too many chances.”
Eric Hilden/Grand Forks Herald
Another major contributor was goaltender Hobie Hedquist.
According to coach Berry, starting pitcher Ludwig Persson was unable to start due to health reasons. Persson has been battling the flu for the past week and began having cramps late Friday night in overtime of a 5-4 loss to Omaha.
Hedquist stepped in and stopped 22 of 23 shots to make it 3-0.
“We were trying to lead (the Mavericks) to the outside,” Ness said. “We didn’t give anything to the guys who got the overachiever in the third period. They gave a little, but Hobie was there when we needed him. We came together. One night. I drank medium juice. I was talking loudly on the bench.”
Omaha started the game quickly, outscoring UND 7-2 in the opening minutes. The Fighting Hawks then outscored the Mavericks 28-16 the rest of the way.
“The important thing for me is to play the right way,” Berry said. “We learned tonight, just like we learned the other way last night, how to finish games and how to take responsibility. I think that’s part of growing up.”
While overtime hasn’t been good for UND (2-4 in extra sessions, 0-4 in league overtime), the Fighting Hawks have been quietly performing well.
It’s been 15 games since UND lost in regulation, but it all started back on Nov. 3 against Boston College.
In NCHC play, UND is 6-0 in regulation games and within two points of next week’s opponent, No. 1 St. Cloud State.
“Obviously, it wasn’t easy to win in overtime, so we’ve been stressing about finishing the game within 60 minutes,” Ness said. “I think I did a really good job of shutting down my opponent in the third inning.”
Eric Hilden/Grand Forks Herald
Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been selected by the Associated Press Sports Editors, the Herald’s Top His Beat Writer four times, and the North Dakota Sports Writer of the Year once. He lives in Grand Forks. Please contact bschlossman@gfherald.com.
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