Schlossman: 5 takeaways from UND's 1-0 win over Miami

Grand Forks, N.D. — In a playoff-style chess match that felt more like mid-March than mid-January, No. 1 North Dakota edged Miami 1-0 on Friday night at Ralph Engelstad Arena, leaning on a Tyler Young goal, a puck-moving goaltender, and a defense corps that refused to yield an inch.

Here are five key takeaways from the series opener:

1. Hakstol’s pre-game message resonated Before the opening face-off, former UND coach Dave Hakstol addressed the locker room, stressing the details required to survive low-scoring, heavy-hitting tournament games. The Fighting Hawks responded with their most disciplined, physical effort of the season, surrendering only 12 shots and taking two minor penalties.

2. Young’s milestone moment Fourth-line winger Tyler Young supplied the only offense, burying a rebound midway through the second period. The goal carried extra weight: it was the first time his father had watched him play inside The Ralph. “I just wanted to give him something to remember,” Young said.

3. Špunar plays a third defenseman Sophomore goalie Jan Špunar recorded his second shutout of the year while barely being tested statistically, but his stick and skates were busy all night. He repeatedly wandered from the blue paint to swallow dump-ins and ignite breakouts, finishing with 17 defensive-zone pass attempts—fourth-best among NCAA starters nationally. “He’s so good at puck touches,” coach Dane Jackson said. “It helps our D retrieve with their eyes up instead of on the glass.”

4. Gaps, sticks and track-and-stand UND’s blue-line group—Jake Livanavage, E.J. Emery, Abram Wiebe, Bennett Zmolek, Andrew Strathmann, Sam Laurila and rookie Keaton Verhoeff—throttled Miami’s rush attack by maintaining tight gaps and eliminating entries at the red line. Jackson traced the scheme to ex-assistant Matt Shaw’s tenure (2015-19) and praised the unit’s skating and courage. The RedHawks rarely reached Špunar with speed all evening.

5. Depth delivers again The Fighting Hawks’ bottom six out-shot Miami’s third and fourth lines 11-2, and Young’s goal came off a cycle from the energy unit. Meanwhile, injuries are biting the RedHawks: top-minute defenseman Vladislav Lukashevich sat out, and co-leading scorer Matteo Giampa departed in the first period. UND welcomed back Cole Reschny and Zmolek after each missed last weekend’s finale.

Extra frame The game was the most physical UND has played this season—Jack Kernan, Ben Strinden, Cody Croal and even smaller forwards Will Zellers and Mac Swanson threw highlight-reel hits. “It was a football game,” Young said. Miami freshman Shaun McEwen answered with a team-high seven attempted shots and several booming checks of his own.

NHL talent evaluators took notice. Representatives from 22 of 32 clubs requested tickets, with more likely purchasing independently. Among the scouts in attendance were former UND standouts Matt Greene (Kings development coach) and Brad Pascall (Flames assistant GM).

Saturday’s rematch promises more of the same. “These tight games are what it’s going to come down to at the end of the year,” Verhoeff said. “We have to get more comfortable playing them.”

UND, now 17-3-1 on the season, will try to finish the sweep at 6:07 p.m. Saturday.