5 things you might have missed from UND's 2-2 tie with Western Michigan

Russell Hons / UND athletics By Brad Elliott Schlossman Today at 11:18 AM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? GRAND FORKS — UND played one of its best games of the season Friday night, but only had a 2-2 tie with Western Michigan to show for it. Here are five things you might have missed from the series opener. ADVERTISEMENT 1. Friday's analytics UND's strong performance showed up in SportLogic's analytics. Grade-A chances: 10-2 UND. Slot-driving plays: 33-7 UND. Expected goals: 3.44-1.54 UND (2.52-1.05 at even strength). "We were committed to come back hard," UND coach Dane Jackson said of his team's improved defense. "Our defensemen did a better job holding lines. Closed pretty well in our defensive zone. I thought we closed as a group and swarmed them. Didn't give them a ton of chances there. Real positive on both our rush defense and our D-zone coverage." UND didn't get the result, but Jackson was encouraged by the performance. "We've been talking about it," Jackson said. "Do the right things. Play the right way. Stack up shift after shift and good stuff will happen our way." ADVERTISEMENT 2. Power play misses a chance It's hard to be too critical of a power play that's converting 32.4% of its chances and has scored in all eight games this season. But UND had a golden chance to win in overtime with a 4-on-3 power play for 1:08 — and didn't come close. The Fighting Hawks failed at four consecutive zone entries and never set it up. "That was not good," Jackson said. "Our power play has been excellent, but they were squeezing us at the line. You've got to be either willing to chip or hard rim there. Didn't adapt." 3. Bauer Dumanski comes in UND used freshman Bauer Dumanski as the seventh defenseman in Friday night's game. Once again, he looked strong in limited game action. Dumanski played 6:54 in his second regular-season game. "He's solid, reliable," Jackson said. "That's what we're looking for. He provided that. He's a character guy, good in the room, defended hard and was efficient with his puck movement, so it was a real strong performance." ADVERTISEMENT UND will likely want to get Ethan MacKenzie back in the lineup for the series finale. If MacKenzie comes in, the coaching staff will have a difficult decision on who to take out. Russell Hons / UND athletics 4. Miller's incredible shootout save Western Michigan grabbed the extra point in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings, thanks in part to an incredible save by goalie Quentin Miller in the shootout. UND freshman Cooper Simpson, who won the team's weekly shootout to end practice Thursday, shot second for the Fighting Hawks. Simpson fooled Miller with a deke and had him way out of position, but the sophomore swung his stick back and picked the puck out of midair. UND's shooters went 0-for-3 one day after 11 players scored in their own shootout competition. Russell Hons / UND athletics 5. Beer brother makes an appearance One of the brothers who went viral last week at the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game was in Ralph Engelstad Arena on Friday night. Jett Deren, wearing his black Jonathan Toews throwback jersey, even re-enacted the beer spill with the Fighting Hawk mascot. ADVERTISEMENT Deren finished that skit by drinking a beer out of a shoe. He also joined Midco's Taylor Budge at the desk during the first intermission. Bonus takes UND forward Kasper Magnussen brought a physical element to the game, finishing four hits. Western Michigan forward Ty Henricks has scored four goals in eight career games against UND (.5 per game). He has 10 goals in 40 career games (.25 per game) against everyone else. Jackson on UND playing well but still not getting a win to show for it: "You need mentally tough guys and that's what we recruit. Obviously it's disappointing. Feel we deserved better. That's how it goes. You've got to come back, be more resolute, more determined and get ready to try to get a series win. It's going to be harder tomorrow night. But overall, we judge the performance, not the result, and the performance was good." Cole Reschny led UND in the dot, going 11-5. Jack Kernan, who moved to center for the game, went 9-5. Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS UND SPORTS UND FIGHTING HAWKS HOCKEY SUBSCRIBERS ONLY By Brad Elliott Schlossman Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the top beat writer for the Herald's circulation division four times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year twice. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at [email protected]. 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