# 2023–24 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey season was the 83rd season of play for the program and 11th in the NCHC. The Fighting Hawks represented the University of North Dakota in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at Ralph Engelstad Arena and were coached by Brad Berry in his 9th season.

## Season

With so many changes to the team's lineup, North Dakota was a complete mystery at the start of the season. Senior transfer Ludvig Persson was the only goaltender on the roster with any experience but his performance over the last two years had been less than stellar. However, how much of that was a result of his own shortcomings rather than his team's poor defense was unknown. To help out their new goaltender, North Dakota's entire defense had to be replaced. Not a single blueliner from '23 returned to the team but the revamped group was not completely devoid of experience. Four incoming defenders were transfers who had already seen their fare share of college action. Up front, the situation wasn't quite as desperate but North Dakota still had several new forwards for '24.
North Dakota debuted their new team by hosting the Ice Breaker Tournament and demonstrated that their training camp had been put to good use. The team won the tournament with many of the new players performing well, particularly Hunter Johannes who finished with 3 goals (2 on the penalty kill). The Fighting Hawks suffered their first defeat of the year the following week but they did manage to earn a split with #1 Minnesota in a continuation of their long-standing rivalry. By the beginning of November, The team was being supplied with goals from several players but had yet to find the heart of their offense. Jackson Blake took matters into his own hands and went of a tear that lasted the rest of the season. The sophomore had led the team in scoring the year before but now took his offense to a new level. Blake sparked the offense in November, scoring in seven of eight games and guiding the team on an eight-game winning streak. As the victories piled up, North Dakota rose to #1 in the nation and looked strong even when they lost to #3 Denver at the beginning of December.
Just before the winter break, the Hawks ran into a hot goalie and lost consecutive games against Colorado College. For the first time all season, the team showed a weakness and lost three 2–3 decisions (all in overtime). TO make matters worse, Persson suffered an injury over Christmas and the team had to turn to untested Hobie Hedquist when they began the second half of the season. Despite some jitters in the first few games, Hedquist played well in relief and helped to the Fighting Hawks back on track and Persson eventually was able to work himself back into the lineup. With the offense continuing to fire on all cylinders, the team remained atop the conference standings and got back up to #2 in the national polls by the beginning of February.
In the middle of the month, North Dakota suffered its worst weekend of the season and were swept by Colorado College for a second time. The lopsided losses called Persson's health into question but he answered with two shutouts over the next four weeks to quell any worries. As the team entered the final week of the season, North Dakota had already wrapped up the top seed for the NCHC tournament and were eyeing one of the four 1-seeds for the NCAA tournament. While losing the season finale to Omaha didn't help their case, North Dakota suffered a bigger loss during the week when Persson went down to injury for a second time.
At the opening of the tournament, UND hosted the worst team in the conference, Miami, and had a relatively easy time dispatching the RedHawks. The offense was on full display while Hedquist got to work himself back into game condition with his first action in almost a month. Unfortunately, Persson was still unable to play when the team headed to Saint Paul so the Hawks had to rely on Hedquist to get them over the hump against Omaha. Despite scoring first, North Dakota was unable to get on track offensively and eventually the Maverick offense took over. UND Found itself down 1–3 near the end of the second and, though they were able to score twice more, Omaha kept up the pressure and pumped three more into the goal in the third. The loss dropped North Dakota to 2–7 in NCHC semifinals and prevented any chance of the Hawks getting a 1-seed.
The Hawks slipped down to 6th in the PairWise ranking which caused them to be sent to the Midwest Regional where they faced Michigan in the opening round. While North Dakota had one of the top offenses in the nation, their opponents were even better on offense. North Dakota would have to hope the return of Persson would allow their defense to rise to the challenge. At the start, at least, thing looked to be going in North Dakota's favor. Johannes opened the scoring less than 5 minutes into the game while Persson only had to stop 4 shots in the first period. Michigan picked up the pace in the second, tying the score in the opening minutes but Blake was able to get his team back into the lead before the midway point. Unfortunately, while North Dakota had the lead, they were unable to add to their advantage. The Hawks entered the final period with their narrow lead but soon found themselves in trouble. Less than a minute into the period, Persson tried to kick a slow-rolling puck away from the crease but it rebounded off of Keaton Pehrson's skate and into the cage. 90 seconds later, Persson was unable to control a rebound and Michigan pounced on it to grab their first lead of the game. The Wolverines continued to press and with less than 10 minutes to play, they increased their lead when Persson was unable to stop a one-timer on a rush. North Dakota fought desperately to tie the game and Jackson Kunz did his part by firing a rebound short-side. In the final 5 minutes, however, the Hawks were unable to solve Michigan's goaltender and North Dakota's season came to a close.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Luke Bast | Defenseman | Canada | Transferred to Minnesota Duluth |
| Judd Caulfield | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Anaheim Ducks) |
| Matteo Costantini | Forward | Canada | Transferred to Western Michigan |
| Drew DeRidder | Goaltender | United States | Graduation (signed with Cincinnati Cyclones) |
| Michael Emerson | Forward | United States | Departed mid-season (returned to Chicago Steel; later transferred to Merrimack) |
| Ty Farmer | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Allen Americans) |
| Ethan Frisch | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with San Jose Barracuda) |
| Gavin Hain | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Iowa Heartlanders) |
| Jakob Hellsten | Goaltender | Sweden | Transferred to New Hampshire |
| Chris Jandric | Defenseman | Canada | Graduation (signed with Rochester Americans) |
| Brent Johnson | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Ohio State |
| Tyler Kleven | Defenseman | United States | Signed professional contract (Ottawa Senators) |
| Cooper Moore | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Quinnipiac |
| Nick Portz | Forward | United States | Transferred to St. Cloud State |
| Mark Senden | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Charlotte Checkers) |
| Ryan Sidorski | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Milwaukee Admirals) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Nate Benoit | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Concord, NH; selected 182nd overall in 2021 |
| Cameron Berg | Forward | United States | 21 | West Fargo, ND; transfer from Omaha; selected 125th overall in 2021 |
| Logan Britt | Defenseman | United States | 24 | Crystal Lake, IL; graduate transfer from Sacred Heart |
| Michael Emerson | Forward | United States | 19 | Yorktown Heights, NY; selected 190th overall in 2023 |
| Hobie Hedquist | Goaltender | United States | 20 | Heron Lake, MN |
| Hunter Johannes | Forward | United States | 25 | Eden Prairie, MN; graduate transfer from Lindenwood |
| Tanner Komzak | Defenseman | Canada | 21 | North Vancouver, BC |
| Jake Livanavage | Defenseman | United States | 19 | Gilbert, AZ |
| Keaton Pehrson | Defenseman | United States | 24 | Lakeville, MN; graduate transfer from Michigan |
| Jayden Perron | Forward | Canada | 18 | Winnipeg, MB; selected 94th overall in 2023 |
| Ludvig Persson | Goaltender | Sweden | 23 | Göteborg, SWE; transfer from Miami |
| Garrett Pyke | Defenseman | Canada | 24 | Etobicoke, ON; graduate transfer from Alaska |
| Abram Wiebe | Defenseman | Canada | 20 | Mission, BC; selected 209th overall in 2022 |
| Bennett Zmolek | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Rochester, MN; transfer from Minnesota State |

## Roster

As of August 21, 2023.
    1.^ Michael Emerson departed the team on January 11, 2024 to return to the Chicago Steel before transferring to Merrimack in the offseason.

## Standings

2023–24 National Collegiate Hockey Conference Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #8 North Dakota † | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 49 | 87 | 67 | 40 | 26 | 12 | 2 | 151 | 105 |
| #1 Denver * | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 110 | 80 | 42 | 30 | 9 | 3 | 198 | 119 |
| #18 St. Cloud State | 24 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 41 | 77 | 74 | 38 | 17 | 16 | 5 | 121 | 114 |
| #15 Colorado College | 24 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 66 | 56 | 37 | 21 | 13 | 3 | 111 | 93 |
| #12 Omaha | 24 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 68 | 74 | 40 | 23 | 13 | 4 | 117 | 112 |
| #14 Western Michigan | 24 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 35 | 78 | 64 | 38 | 21 | 16 | 1 | 136 | 97 |
| Minnesota Duluth | 24 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 65 | 80 | 37 | 12 | 20 | 5 | 103 | 125 |
| Miami | 24 | 1 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 44 | 100 | 36 | 7 | 26 | 3 | 78 | 135 |
| Championship: March 23, 2024 † indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Frozen Faceoff Championship Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll Updated: April 1, 2024 |||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| October 7 | 6:07 pm | Manitoba* | #7 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Exhibition) | Midco | Persson | W 10–0 | 11,692 | |
| Ice Breaker Tournament ||||||||||
| October 13 | 7:07 pm | Army* | #7 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Ice Breaker Game 1) | Midco | Persson | W 7–2 | 11,548 | 1–0–0 |
| October 14 | 6:07 pm | Wisconsin* | #7 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Ice Breaker Game 2) | Midco | Persson | W 2–0 | 11,783 | 2–0–0 |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 20 | 7:07 pm | #1 Minnesota* | #5 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Rivalry) | Fox 9, Midco | Persson | L 0–4 | 11,616 | 2–1–0 |
| October 21 | 6:07 pm | #1 Minnesota* | #5 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Rivalry) | Fox 9+, Midco | Persson | W 2–1 | 11,636 | 3–1–0 |
| October 27 | 7:07 pm | Minnesota State* | #4 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Persson | W 6–2 | 11,604 | 4–1–0 |
| October 28 | 6:07 pm | Minnesota State* | #4 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Persson | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 11,646 | 4–1–1 |
| November 3 | 6:00 pm | at #9 Boston University* | #3 | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Persson | L 2–3 | 4,390 | 4–2–1 |
| November 4 | 6:00 pm | at #9 Boston University* | #3 | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Persson | W 5–4 $^{OT}$ | 4,968 | 5–2–1 |
| November 10 | 7:07 pm | at #18 Minnesota Duluth | #4 | AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota | | Persson | W 4–2 | 6,437 | 6–2–1 (1–0–0) |
| November 11 | 6:07 pm | at #18 Minnesota Duluth | #4 | AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota | | Persson | W 2–0 | 6,833 | 7–2–1 (2–0–0) |
| November 17 | 7:07 pm | Miami | #2 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Persson | W 6–4 | 11,589 | 8–2–1 (3–0–0) |
| November 18 | 6:07 pm | Miami | #2 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Persson | W 5–1 | 11,657 | 9–2–1 (4–0–0) |
| November 24 | 7:07 pm | Bemidji State* | #1 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Persson | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 11,631 | 10–2–1 |
| November 25 | 6:07 pm | Bemidji State* | #1 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Persson | W 5–0 | 11,690 | 11–2–1 |
| December 1 | 8:00 pm | at #3 Denver | #2 | Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Rivalry) | | Persson | W 7–5 | 5,958 | 12–2–1 (5–0–0) |
| December 2 | 7:00 pm | at #3 Denver | #2 | Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Rivalry) | | Persson | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 6,136 | 12–3–1 (5–1–0) |
| December 8 | 7:07 pm | Colorado College | #1 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco, SOCO CW | Persson | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 11,569 | 12–4–1 (5–2–0) |
| December 9 | 6:07 pm | Colorado College | #1 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Persson | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 11,673 | 12–5–1 (5–3–0) |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| December 30 | 6:07 pm | USNTDP* | #4 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Exhibition) | Midco | Hedquist | L 3–4 $^{OT}$ | 11,569 | |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| January 5 | 7:07 pm | Alaska* | #4 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Hedquist | W 6–4 | 11,190 | 13–5–1 |
| January 6 | 6:07 pm | Alaska* | #4 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Hedquist | W 6–2 | 11,656 | 14–5–1 |
| January 12 | 7:07 pm | Omaha | #4 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Persson | L 4–5 $^{OT}$ | 11,394 | 14–6–1 (5–4–0) |
| January 13 | 6:07 pm | Omaha | #4 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Hedquist | W 3–1 | 11,622 | 15–6–1 (6–4–0) |
| January 19 | 7:30 pm | at #13 St. Cloud State | #6 | Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota | Fox 9+ | Persson | W 5–3 | 4,568 | 16–6–1 (7–4–0) |
| January 20 | 6:00 pm | at #13 St. Cloud State | #6 | Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota | Fox 9+ | Persson | T 3–3 $^{SOL}$ | 5,568 | 16–6–2 (7–4–1) |
| January 26 | 7:07 pm | #4 Denver | #5 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Rivalry) | CBSSN | Persson | W 5–2 | 11,610 | 17–6–2 (8–4–1) |
| January 27 | 7:07 pm | #4 Denver | #5 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Rivalry) | Midco | Persson | W 4–2 | 11,702 | 18–6–2 (9–4–1) |
| February 2 | 6:05 pm | at Miami | #2 | Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio | | Persson | W 5–4 $^{OT}$ | 2,717 | 19–6–2 (10–4–1) |
| February 3 | 6:05 pm | at Miami | #2 | Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio | | Persson | W 4–1 | 3,101 | 20–6–2 (11–4–1) |
| February 16 | 8:00 pm | at #15 Colorado College | #2 | Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | SOCO CW | Persson | L 1–7 | 3,503 | 20–7–2 (11–5–1) |
| February 17 | 7:00 pm | at #15 Colorado College | #2 | Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Persson | L 2–6 | 3,585 | 20–8–2 (11–6–1) |
| February 23 | 7:07 pm | Minnesota Duluth | #4т | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Persson | W 6–0 | 11,670 | 21–8–2 (12–6–1) |
| February 24 | 6:07 pm | Minnesota Duluth | #4т | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Persson | W 4–2 | 11,693 | 22–8–2 (13–6–1) |
| March 1 | 7:07 pm | #12 Western Michigan | #3 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco, CBSSN | Persson | W 5–3 | 11,833 | 23–8–2 (14–6–1) |
| March 2 | 6:07 pm | #12 Western Michigan | #3 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco 2 | Persson | W 3–0 | 11,776 | 24–8–2 (15–6–1) |
| March 8 | 7:07 pm | at #16 Omaha | #3 | Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska | | Persson | L 2–3 | 7,802 | 24–9–2 (15–7–1) |
| March 9 | 6:07 pm | at #16 Omaha | #3 | Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska | | Persson | L 1–4 | 7,802 | 24–10–2 (15–8–1) |
| NCHC Tournament ||||||||||
| March 15 | 7:07 pm | Miami* | #5 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Quarterfinal Game 1) | Midco | Hedquist | W 5–1 | 11,320 | 25–10–2 |
| March 16 | 6:07 pm | Miami* | #5 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Quarterfinal Game 2) | Midco | Hedquist | W 7–1 | 11,569 | 26–10–2 |
| March 22 | 4:07 pm | vs. #11 Omaha* | #4 | Xcel Energy Center • Saint Paul, Minnesota (Semifinal) | CBSSN | Hedquist | L 3–6 | 8,977 | 26–11–2 |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||||||
| March 29 | 7:30 pm | vs. #10 Michigan* | #5 | Centene Community Ice Center • Maryland Heights, Missouri (Midwest Regional Semifinal) | ESPNU | Persson | L 3–4 | 3,148 | 26–12–2 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Jackson Blake | RW/C | 40 | 22 | 38 | 60 | 26 |
| Owen McLaughlin | C | 39 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 8 |
| Cameron Berg | C | 40 | 20 | 17 | 37 | 8 |
| Riese Gaber | RW | 40 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 34 |
| Jake Livanavage | D | 40 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 6 |
| Garrett Pyke | D | 39 | 3 | 22 | 25 | 14 |
| Hunter Johannes | LW | 31 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 29 |
| Jackson Kunz | C | 37 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 4 |
| Dylan James | LW | 40 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 12 |
| Jayden Perron | RW | 39 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 8 |
| Louis Jamernik | RW | 40 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 18 |
| Logan Britt | D | 40 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 10 |
| Ben Strinden | C | 39 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 18 |
| Jake Schmaltz | C/LW | 36 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 13 |
| Abram Wiebe | D | 40 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 27 |
| Keaton Pehrson | D | 35 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| Bennett Zmolek | D | 33 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 22 |
| Griffin Ness | F | 30 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 16 |
| Carson Albrecht | RW | 26 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Ludvig Persson | G | 34 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Dane Montgomery | RW | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Nate Benoit | D | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Kaleb Johnson | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tanner Komzak | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Emerson | RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Hobie Hedquist | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | | | 151 | 243 | 394 | 303 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Ludvig Persson | 34 | 2022:27 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 85 | 803 | 5 | .904 | 2.52 |
| Hobie Hedquist | 7 | 382:14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 153 | 0 | .905 | 2.51 |
| Empty Net | - | 14:02 | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 40 | 2418:43 | 26 | 12 | 2 | 105 | 956 | 5 | .901 | 2.60 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 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 | 26 (Final) |
| USCHO.com | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 (1) | 4 | 2 (9) | 1 (33) | 2 (31) | 1 (33) | 4 | – | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 (1) | 2 (2) | 2 (2) | 2 (14) | 4т | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | – | 8 |
| USA Hockey | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1т (15) | 2 (16) | 1 (23) | 4 | 4 | – | 4 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 (10) | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 or 25. Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award |
| Jackson Blake | AHCA West First Team All-American |
| Jackson Blake | NCHC Player of the Year |
| Jackson Blake | NCHC Forward of the Year |
| Jackson Blake | NCHC First Team |
| Ludvig Persson | NCHC Second Team |
| Jake Livanavage | NCHC Third Team |
| Garrett Pyke | NCHC Third Team |
| Cameron Berg | NCHC Third Team |
| Riese Gaber | NCHC Third Team |
| Jake Livanavage | NCHC Rookie Team |

## 2024 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
| 1 | 18 | Sacha Boisvert $^†$ | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 1 | 30 | E. J. Emery $^†$ | New York Rangers |
| 3 | 76 | William Zellers $^†$ | Colorado Avalanche |
| 7 | 207 | Mac Swanson $^†$ | Pittsburgh Penguins |
† incoming freshman