UND cruises past Alaska Anchorage, 5-0

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FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The University of North Dakota had no captains, one senior and only three forward lines dressed.

You never would have known watching the game Friday night.

In a surprisingly impressive season-opener considering the circumstances, UND dominated Alaska Anchorage 5-0 in front of a sparse crowd that was largely UND fans in the Carlson Center.

Mark MacMillan scored twice, Bryn Chyzyk, Rocco Grimaldi and Jordan Schmaltz each added one, and junior transfer Clarke Saunders stopped 21 shots for a shutout in his first UND start.

“It was a pretty determined group,” UND coach Dave Hakstol said. “I thought coming into the week of practice and coming into game day today, we were a pretty determined group and a pretty focused group. That’s the way we played. We played a real hard-working game.”

UND’s captains — Andrew MacWilliam, Danny Kristo, Corban Knight and Carter Rowney — sat in the top row of the arena alongside forward Brendan O’Donnell and defenseman Dan Senkbeil, all of whom were serving suspensions.

Add in an injury to Michael Parks, who was the only player that didn’t make the trip, and UND only had nine available forwards.

But wearing the new green jerseys for the first time, UND was relentless against the Seawolves (1-1-1), forcing them into turnovers most of the night. The veteran defensive corps was outstanding and Saunders was sharp when he needed to be.

UND will have a chance to win the Brice Alaska Goal Rush when it takes on host Alaska (Fairbanks) in tonight’s game at 9:07 p.m. MDT.

“Our mindset is that we have to do everything we usually do as a team,” MacMillan said. “We have to play Fighting Sioux hockey – get pucks in deep and get after it. That’s exactly what we did. Lots of guys stepped up. The results speak for themselves.”

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