2021–22 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey season
College ice hockey team season
The 2021–22 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey season was the 81st season of play for the program. They represented the University of North Dakota in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season and for the 9th season in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). The Fighting Hawks were coached by Brad Berry , in his seventh season, and played their home games at Ralph Engelstad Arena .
Season
North Dakota's lineup saw a great deal of change with 14 of the team's 26 players in their first year with the program. While several were transfers from other schools, head coach Brad Berry had his work cut out for him in getting the team to work together. Despite the turnover, UND was still seen as having a good chance at the title and was ranked in the top-10 in the preseason polls. However, the Hawks struggled with consistency early in the season and only possessed a middling record after the first month of the campaign. Once the team got into its conference schedule, they began playing much better and rose to the top of the NCHC.
When they returned after the winter break, North Dakota was in the top-5 in both polls but the offense sputtered. UND lost four games in a row, all to ranked teams, and began sinking in both the rankings and the standings. They recovered at the end of January and then had a tremendous month by winning seven out of eight games in February. The extended winning streak put them back atop the conference standings and had the Hawks set up for a 1st-place finish. Unfortunately, losing to Omaha in the final game of the regular season put UND into a tie with Denver and, because the Pioneers possessed the tie-breaker, meant that North Dakota received the #2 seed for the NCHC tournament.
The entire second half of the Hawks season was dominated by the status of Jake Sanderson , the team's top prospect. He wasn't able to play a single game after January 29 due to joining Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics .[ 1] COVID-19 , forcing him to miss the first game, and was then injured during the preliminary round.[ 2] Colorado College .
Sanderson opened the scoring on his return, however, in spite of the boost his reappearance provided, the Hawks did not play well against the Tigers. North Dakota had almost three times as many wins as CC during the season but they got a huge fight from their opponents. UND only managed to score twice in each of the two games and it was only through the heroics of Zach Driscoll in goal that they managed to squeeze through into the semifinals. To make matters worse, Sanderson was injured while blocking a shot in the second match and ended up needing wrist surgery to repair the damage.[ 3] Western Michigan .
NCAA tournament
Though the loss was disappointing, North Dakota was already guaranteed a bid for the NCAA tournament and received a #2 seed, one of five NCHC teams in the field. They opened against Notre Dame , a team that played an almost identical style of defensive hockey. The match lived up to predictions as a slow, methodical game with few scoring attempts and solid goaltending. Brent Johnson scored near the end of the first period to give UND the lead but their advantage lasted less than 3 minutes before ND evened the match. Near the end of regulation, when it appeared that the game was heading into overtime, Notre Dame got the puck deep into the Hawks' end before passing it out to an open man in the slot and scored with less than a second to play. While the Irish celebrated, however, the referees reviewed the play and found a discrepancy in the time. The broadcast clock and the official game clock were not in synch and the file was reviewed to determine which was correct. After a long process, it was determined that the game had ended moments before the puck entered the goal and the Hawks were saved from defeat.
UND began the extra session on the power play, however, a gaff at the blueline forced Chris Jandric to take a penalty to stop a Notre Dame breakaway. After the ensuing 4-on-4 finished, The Irish got an abbreviated man-advantage and made no mistake, potting the winner and ending North Dakota's season.
Departures
Recruiting
Player
Position
Nationality
Age
Notes
Luke Bast
Defenseman
Canada 20
Red Deer, AB
Ashton Calder
Forward
United States 20
Sault Ste. Marie, MI ; transfer from Lake Superior State
Matteo Costantini
Forward
Canada 19
St. Catharines, ON ; selected 131th overall in 2020
Zach Driscoll
Goaltender
United States 24
Apple Valley, MN ; transfer from Bemidji State
Brady Ferner
Defenseman
United States 24
Dakota Dunes, SD ; transfer from Rensselaer
Connor Ford
Forward
United States 23
Pittsburgh, PA ; graduate transfer from Bowling Green
Jakob Hellsten
Goaltender
Sweden 21
Ljusdal, SWE
Chris Jandric
Defenseman
Canada 22
Prince George, BC ; transfer from Alaska
Brent Johnson
Defenseman
United States 18
Dallas, TX ; selected 80th overall in 2021
Kaleb Johnson
Goaltender
United States 20
Grand Forks, ND
Jackson Kunz
Forward
United States 19
Grand Forks, ND ; selected 113th overall in 2020
Dane Montgomery
Forward
United States 19
Grand Forks, ND
Nick Portz
Forward
United States 21
St. Cloud, MN
Jake Schmaltz
Forward
United States 20
McFarland, WI ; selected 192nd overall in 2019
Roster
As of September 6, 2021.[ 4]
No. S/P/C
Player
Class
Pos
Height
Weight
DoB
Hometown
Previous team
NHL rights
1
Kaleb Johnson Freshman
G 5' 11" (1.8 m)
178 lb (81 kg)
2001-01-07
Grand Forks, North Dakota Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL —
2
Brady Ferner Junior
D 5' 10" (1.78 m)
193 lb (88 kg)
1997-08-27
Dakota Dunes, South Dakota RPI (ECAC —
4
Cooper Moore Sophomore
D 6' 1" (1.85 m)
182 lb (83 kg)
2001-02-16
Cos Cob, Connecticut Chilliwack (BCHL DET 2019
5
Dane Montgomery Freshman
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
2002-01-07
Grand Forks, North Dakota Waterloo (USHL —
6
Brent Johnson Freshman
D 5' 9" (1.75 m)
174 lb (79 kg)
2003-03-20
Frisco, Texas Sioux Falls (USHL WSH 2021
7
Chris Jandric Graduate
D 5' 10" (1.78 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
1998-10-03
Prince George, British Columbia Alaska (WCHA —
8
Jake Schmaltz Freshman
F 6' 2" (1.88 m)
183 lb (83 kg)
2001-04-24
McFarland, Wisconsin Green Bay (USHL BOS 2019
9
Brendan Budy Sophomore
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
2000-06-06
Langley, British Columbia Langley (BCHL —
10
Gavin Hain A Senior
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
184 lb (83 kg)
2000-04-03
Grand Rapids, Minnesota USNTDP (USHL PHI 2018
11
Griffin Ness Sophomore
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
174 lb (79 kg)
1999-12-10
Wayzata, Minnesota Waterloo (USHL —
13
Carson Albrecht Junior
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
193 lb (88 kg)
1998-05-23
Martensville, Saskatchewan Melfort (SJHL —
15
Ethan Frisch A Junior
D 5' 11" (1.8 m)
187 lb (85 kg)
2000-10-29
Moorhead, Minnesota Fargo (USHL —
16
Ashton Calder Junior
F 6' 1" (1.85 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
1998-02-09
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Lake Superior State (WCHA —
17
Riese Gaber Sophomore
F 5' 8" (1.73 m)
161 lb (73 kg)
1999-10-10
Gilbert Plains, Manitoba Dubuque (USHL —
18
Matteo Costantini Freshman
F 6' 1" (1.85 m)
187 lb (85 kg)
2002-08-16
St. Catharines, Ontario Sioux City (USHL BUF 2020
19
Mark Senden C Senior
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
194 lb (88 kg)
1998-01-22
Medina, Minnesota Fargo (USHL —
20
Nick Portz Freshman
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
174 lb (79 kg)
2000-05-15
St. Cloud, Minnesota Muskegon (USHL —
21
Connor Ford Graduate
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
186 lb (84 kg)
1998-02-05
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Bowling Green (WCHA —
24
Luke Bast Freshman
D 5' 10" (1.78 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
2000-11-20
Red Deer, Alberta Waterloo (USHL —
25
Tyler Kleven Sophomore
D 6' 4" (1.93 m)
198 lb (90 kg)
2002-01-10
Fargo, North Dakota USNTDP (USHL OTT 2020
26
Jake Sanderson A Sophomore
D 6' 0" (1.83 m)
183 lb (83 kg)
2002-07-08
Whitefish, Montana USNTDP (USHL OTT 2020
27
Louis Jamernik Sophomore
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
2000-02-22
Calgary, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL —
28
Judd Caulfield Junior
F 6' 3" (1.91 m)
203 lb (92 kg)
2001-03-19
Grand Forks, North Dakota USNTDP (USHL PIT 2019
29
Jackson Kunz Freshman
F 6' 3" (1.91 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
2002-08-13
Grand Forks, North Dakota Green Bay (USHL VAN 2020
32
Jakob Hellsten Freshman
G 5' 11" (1.8 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
2000-02-02
Ljusdal, Sweden Halmstad (Hockeyettan )—
33
Zach Driscoll Senior
G 5' 11" (1.8 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
1997-02-25
Apple Valley, Minnesota Bemidji State (WCHA —
35
Harrison Feeney Senior
G 6' 1" (1.85 m)
217 lb (98 kg)
1998-02-04
Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania Lone Star (NAHL —
Standings
Conference record
Overall record
GP
W
L
T
OTW
OTL
3/SW
PTS
GF
GA
GP
W
L
T
GF
GA
#1 Denver †
24
18
6
0
1
0
0
53 98
55
41
31
9
1
175
93
#9 North Dakota †
24
17
6
1
1
1
1
53 78
58
39
24
14
1
119
99
#6 Western Michigan
24
14
9
1
1
0
1
43 84
68
39
26
12
1
138
101
#11 St. Cloud State
24
10
10
4
1
2
1
36 84
69
37
18
15
4
133
97
#5 Minnesota Duluth *
24
10
10
4
1
1
2
36 61
56
42
22
16
4
109
93
Omaha 24
11
13
0
2
1
0
32 65
74
38
21
17
0
123
102
Colorado College 24
6
17
1
2
1
0
18 48
87
36
9
24
3
79
116
Miami 24
4
19
1
0
3
1
17 54
105
36
7
27
2
94
153
Championship : March 19, 2022 † indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup)USCHO.com Top 20 Poll
Schedule and results
Date
Time
Opponent#
Rank#
Site
TV
Decision
Result
Attendance
Record
Exhibition
October 2
6:07 PM
#14 Bemidji State *
#8
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Exhibition)
W 2–1 11,812
Regular season
October 8
7:07 PM
Niagara *
#8
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
W 6–2 11,386
1–0–0
October 9
6:07 PM
Niagara*
#8
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
W 4–0 11,689
2–0–0
October 15
7:07 PM
at #20 Bemidji State*
#7
Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota
Driscoll
W 4–3 4,242
2–1–0
October 16
6:07 PM
#20 Bemidji State*
#7
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
L 3–4 OT
11,314
3–1–0
October 22
6:00 PM
at #7 Quinnipiac *
#6
People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut
Driscoll
L 2–5 3,498
3–2–0
October 23
6:00 PM
at #7 Quinnipiac*
#6
People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut
Driscoll
W 3–1 3,512
4–2–0
October 30
7:07 PM
vs. Penn State *
#6
Bridgestone Arena • Nashville, Tennessee (US Hockey Hall of Fame Game)
Driscoll
L 4–6 14,659
4–3–0
November 5
7:07 PM
#11 Denver
#8
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
W 3–1 11,058
5–3–0 (1–0–0)
November 6
6:05 PM
#11 Denver
#8
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
W 4–1 11,337
6–3–0 (2–0–0)
November 12
6:05 PM
at Miami
#7
Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio
Driscoll
W 4–1 3,135
7–3–0 (3–0–0)
November 13
4:05 PM
at Miami
#7
Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio
Driscoll
W 5–4 2,626
8–3–0 (4–0–0)
November 19
7:07 PM
#4 Minnesota Duluth
#6
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
L 1–4 11,686
8–4–0 (4–1–0)
November 20
6:07 PM
#4 Minnesota Duluth
#6
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
W 2–1 11,858
9–4–0 (5–1–0)
November 26
7:07 PM
#11 Minnesota *
#6
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Midco
Driscoll
L 1–5 11,624
10–4–0
November 27
6:07 PM
#11 Minnesota*
#6
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Midco
Driscoll
W 3–2 11,617
10–5–0
December 3
7:37 PM
at #5 St. Cloud State
#7
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota
Driscoll
L 1–8 4,703
10–6–0 (5–2–0)
December 4
6:07 PM
at #5 St. Cloud State
#7
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota
Driscoll
W 5–3 5,224
11–6–0 (6–2–0)
December 10
8:07 PM
at Colorado College
#7
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado Midco, ATTRM
Driscoll
W 5–2 3,587
12–6–0 (7–2–0)
December 11
7:07 PM
at Colorado College
#7
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Hellsten
W 4–1 3,569
13–6–0 (8–2–0)
January 1
2:37 PM
USNTDP *
#5
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Exhibition)
Midco
Hellsten
L 0–2 10,291
January 7
7:07 PM
#14 Cornell *
#5
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
L 3–4 10,128
13–7–0
January 8
6:07 PM
#14 Cornell*
#5
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
L 1–3 11,192
13–8–0
January 21
6:05 PM
at #4 Western Michigan
#9
Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan
Driscoll
L 1–4 3,769
13–9–0 (8–3–0)
January 22
6:05 PM
at #4 Western Michigan
#9
Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan
Hellsten
L 0–2 3,567
13–10–0 (8–4–0)
January 28
7:07 PM
#6 St. Cloud State
#13
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Hellsten
W 7–1 11,417
14–10–0 (9–4–0)
January 29
6:07 PM
#6 St. Cloud State
#13
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
T 3–3 SOW
11,876
14–10–1 (9–4–1)
February 4
7:07 PM
#18 Omaha
#12
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
W 4–1 11,173
15–10–1 (10–4–1)
February 5
6:07 PM
#18 Omaha
#12
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
L 2–3 OT
11,632
15–11–1 (10–5–1)
February 11
7:07 PM
Colorado College
#12
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
ATTRM
Driscoll
W 3–2 10,842
16–11–1 (11–5–1)
February 12
6:07 PM
Colorado College
#12
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
W 4–0 11,180
17–11–1 (12–5–1)
February 18
7:07 PM
at #7 Minnesota Duluth
#9
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota CBSSN
Driscoll
W 4–3 6,453
18–11–1 (13–5–1)
February 19
7:07 PM
at #7 Minnesota Duluth
#9
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota
Driscoll
W 3–2 7,206
19–11–1 (14–5–1)
February 25
7:07 PM
#6 Western Michigan
#7
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
CBSSN
Driscoll
W 2–1 11,510
20–11–1 (15–5–1)
February 26
6:07 PM
#6 Western Michigan
#7
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota
Driscoll
W 5–2 12,088
21–11–1 (16–5–1)
March 4
7:07 PM
at #20 Omaha
#4
Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska
Driscoll
W 5–4 OT
6,387
22–11–1 (17–5–1)
March 5
6:07 PM
at #20 Omaha
#4
Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska
Hellsten
L 1–4 6,748
22–12–1 (17–6–1)
NCHC Tournament
March 11
7:07 PM
Colorado College*
#5
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks , North Dakota (Quarterfinal Game 1)
Driscoll
W 2–1 10,475
23–12–1
March 12
6:07 PM
Colorado College*
#5
Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks , North Dakota (Quarterfinal Game 2)
Driscoll
W 2–1 10,095
24–12–1
North Dakota Won Series 2–0
March 18
7:37 PM
vs. #7 Western Michigan *
#5
Xcel Energy Center • Saint Paul, Minnesota (Semifinal)CBSSN
Driscoll
L 2–4 10,253
24–13–1
NCAA tournament
March 25
5:00 PM
vs. #9 Notre Dame *
#7
MVP Arena • Albany, New York (East Regional semifinal)ESPNU
Driscoll
L 1–2 OT
2,345
24–14–1
*Non-conference game. # Rankings from USCHO.com Poll . All times are in Central Time . [ 5]
Scoring statistics
Name
Position
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
PIM
Riese Gaber RW 34
15
22
37 28
Connor Ford RW 37
4
24
28 8
Jake Sanderson D 23
8
18
26 6
Jake Schmaltz C /LW 39
8
16
24 10
Ashton Calder F 34
11
10
21 14
Matteo Costantini C 35
8
13
21 4
Judd Caulfield RW 39
11
9
20 10
Louis Jamernik RW 37
9
10
19 32
Mark Senden C 34
5
12
17 16
Ethan Frisch D 36
9
6
15 16
Chris Jandric D 38
1
14
15 39
Tyler Kleven D 38
7
3
10 93
Gavin Hain C 18
6
3
9 18
Cooper Moore D 38
2
7
9 49
Nick Portz F 39
2
5
7 18
Jackson Kunz C 31
3
3
6 31
Luke Bast D 26
2
4
6 4
Carson Albrecht RW 29
2
4
6 8
Griffin Ness F 36
2
4
6 23
Brady Ferner D 29
0
4
4 6
Brent Johnson D 23
2
1
3 12
Dane Montgomery RW 16
1
2
3 2
Brendan Budy LW 22
1
0
1 6
Harrison Feeney G 1
0
0
0 0
Jakob Hellsten G 7
0
0
0 0
Zach Driscoll G 34
0
0
0 0
Total
110
194
313
453
[ 6]
Goaltending statistics
Name
Games
Minutes
Wins
Losses
Ties
Goals Against
Saves
Shut Outs
SV % GAA
Zach Driscoll 34
1970
22
11
1
77
757
2
.908
2.35
Jakob Hellsten 7
364
2
3
0
18
131
0
.879
2.97
Empty Net
-
17
-
-
-
4
-
-
-
-
Total
39
2351
24
14
1
99
888
2
.899
2.53
Rankings
Poll
Week
Pre
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25 (Final)
USCHO.com
8 (2)
8
7
6
6
8
7
6
6
7
7
5
5
10
9
13
12
12
9
7
4
5
5
7
-
9
USA Today
7
7
6
6
6
10
7
6
5
7
7
5
5
11
10
13
11
12
10
7
5
5
5
8
9
9
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24. [ 7]
Awards and honors
Players drafted into the NHL
† incoming freshman
[ 13]
References
^ "United States" . IIHF . Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022 .^ "Whitefish native Jake Sanderson not in the U.S. men's hockey lineup due to undisclosed injury" . Montana Sports.com . February 13, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 .^ "Senators' Jake Sanderson steps into media spotlight after 'crazy' season filled with injuries and setbacks" . The Atlantic . April 5, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022 .^ "2018–19 M Hockey Roster" .^ "North Dakota 2021-22 Team Schedule" . College Hockey Inc . Retrieved February 2, 2022 .^ "Univ. of North Dakota 2021-2022 Skater Stats" . Elite Prospects . Retrieved December 20, 2020 .^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll" . USCHO.com . Retrieved November 26, 2019 .^ "Four players return to 2021-22 Division I men's All-American teams, led by three-time pick Dryden McKay" . USCHO.com . April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022 .^ a b c d "Denver's Brink earns Player of the Year; UND's Berry wins third straight Coach of the Year" . nchchockey.com . March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022 .^ "Five Different Teams Represented on All-NCHC First Team" . NCHC . March 9, 2022. Archived from the original on March 12, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022 .^ "Record four Pioneers, two Fighting Hawks recognized for strong freshman seasons" . nchchockey.com . March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022 .^ "Hockey East Names Men's Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team" . Hockey East . March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022 .^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2022 NHL Draft" . USCHO.com . Retrieved July 9, 2022 .
