LOCKER ROOM
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
CONFERENCE CHAMPS
The UND hockey team hoists the Penrose Cup on Feb. 29 in Ralph Engelstad Arena. Photo by Shawna Noel Schill
How will the 2019-20 University of North Dakota hockey team be remembered?
W
ith the No. 1 position in the Pairwise Rankings — the system devised to determine NCAA Tournament teams —the UND hockey team seemed poised to make a strong run at its ninth national title. That is until the COVID-19 pandemic halted their season. No postseason tournament. No chance at finishing what they had started back in October. No way to measure up with historic teams of the past. Sure, this team will have its legacy on a white conference champion banner at its home rink, but was there more in store? The Fighting Hawks had missed out on the national tournament in each of the last two seasons and that didn't sit well with returning captain Colton Poolman. He had seen his older brother win an NCAA championship just four
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seasons ago and he wanted to help lead the organization to its ninth title. So, he bypassed NHL free agent opportunities to finish what he started: Getting the team to the ultimate prize and finishing his degree in biology. The journey began right after the close of the 2018-19 season, a year that saw the team lose many tight games. With new assistant coach Karl Goehring, ’01, aboard to help kickstart a sluggish power play, UND immediately saw dividends on its offseason work. Joining the mix was graduate transfer Westin Michaud, who would surely add to the power play after 14 career power play goals in his first three seasons at Colorado College. Second-round NHL draft pick Shane Pinto would add some scoring
punch as the duo led the Fighting Hawks in goals this past season as those close losses turned into wins — and many of them. This team donned its black jerseys (their “business suits”) during key occasions — in fact, right off the bat in the season opener against Canisius. That game set the tone in a 5-0 win for North Dakota, which rediscovered its scoring and kicked off another season-long storyline: strong goaltending. Sophomore Adam Scheel was among the best goaltenders in the entire country in the first half of the season, piling up a 14-1-2 record in the first half with a sparkling 1.56 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Backup junior Peter Thome later stepped in and solidified things with a 1.37 GAA and a 7-1-2 record in his 11 games. In a season that ended full of question marks, the
