Just think: There are still five more games to go between UND and Omaha.
If Friday night was any indication, it's about to be a wild month of hockey for the Fighting Hawks, who took Round 1 between the budding rivals 6-2 in Baxter Arena.
Cooper Moore, Shane Pinto, Mark Senden, Grant Mismash, Jasper Weatherby and Judd Caulfield provided the goals as UND increased its lead atop the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings to five points.
UND's chase for a second-straight Penrose Cup goes directly through Omaha. The Fighting Hawks will play the Mavericks five more times in their final seven regular-season games.
"We kind of knew coming in it was going to be a battle," said Pinto, who leads the NCHC with 21 points. "They play hard. There's a little rivalry brewing. We've got them five more times, so it's not going to get any prettier. We've just got to stick to our game and we've just got to stay disciplined.
"Our PK (penalty kill) obviously did a great job. There were a lot of penalties in that game. They continue to do a great job for us. We just try to fight through that adversity. We grew as a team tonight. We've just got to bring that same mentality tomorrow."
The series finale is scheduled for 6:07 p.m.
The star of Friday night was goalie Adam Scheel.
The UND junior netminder stopped 30 of 32 Omaha shots and was particularly brilliant when UND was shorthanded. The Mavericks had two five-minute major power plays and a five-on-three in the game.
"He played unbelievable," Pinto said. "You saw some of the saves. If it wasn't for him, I don't know if we would have won that game. Obviously, in the stretch run here we're going to need him to keep playing like that, but he obviously was unbelievable for us tonight."
The Fighting Hawks improved to 13-3-1 overall and 10-1 in the last 11 games. That run dates back to the NCHC Pod, where UND played 10 games in 19 games in Baxter Arena.
UND walked back into the building for the first time in just over a month and continued to stay hot.
"I think it was a hard-fought win," UND coach Brad Berry said. "We found a way to grind it down and get the win. I liked the way we started. Obviously, some penalties came into effect here. I thought Adam Scheel was outstanding in net tonight. He had to make some big saves at critical times of the game. That was a big part of our win tonight.
"We've got to be better in a few different areas tomorrow, knowing that it's going to be just as hard of a game. But it was a big three points. It was a huge three points on the road here. It seems like we've been on the road forever."
UND improved to 12-0 when scoring the first goal this season. Moore buried one just 1:25 into the game, but the Fighting Hawks had to rally from behind.
The Mavericks used goals by Chayse Primeau and Martin Sundberg to take a 2-1 lead in the second period.
UND answered with goals by Pinto and Senden just 4:18 apart. Mismash scored early in the third period to make it 4-2 before Weatherby (empty net) and Caulfield tallied goals five seconds apart late in the third.
"We knew it was going to be a battle," Mismash said. "Obviously, we play similar games. Tomorrow we want to limit the penalties and the stuff after the whistle. It happens. Our game plan tomorrow is just to play our game and not worry about the refs or what they want to do after the whistle. Tonight, we kind of got lost in that a little bit. Luckily, it didn't bite us too much."
UND had to survive major penalties on Brendan Budy in the first period and Riese Gaber in the third.
UND did allow one Omaha power-play goal, but it has successfully killed off 47 of the last 49 opponent power plays.
"I think you saw two teams trying to compete extremely hard, knowing that you're playing each other six times in the next eight games," Berry said. "There are a lot of things that go into it. It almost feels like a playoff series. You want to get off to a fast start. The other part is knowing that you want to try to capture the Penrose Cup. That's a big deal. You don't want to lose points in the standings when it's such a tough, hard and heavy league. It's just a matter of trying to get points every game."
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January 30, 2021 at 12:00PM
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UND beats Omaha in penalty-filled game - Grand Forks Herald
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