By Ayden Adair · The Hawks finally got to get their first taste of hockey in the new year after their previous two series had been cancelled. They took the trip down…
The Hawks finally got to get their first taste of hockey in the new year after their previous two series had been cancelled. They took the trip down to Fargo this past weekend to faceoff against rival North Dakota State. The Bison come into the weekend 12-7-0 after getting swept on home ice at the hands of Lake Region State the previous weekend. The Hawks enter the new year an even 8-8-0 and are hungry to get back at it.
Friday night's contest would open with Pavel Rettig putting the puck in the back of the net for the Hawks after 5 minutes of play. The Bison would answer with a pair of their own from Jacob Pierson not but 3 minutes later. Another quick back to back scoring flurry at the 4 minute mark of the period would put the Bison up by 3 with not much time remaining. Josh Sampietro would capitalize on a turnover late in the period to bring the Hawks back within 2. North Dakota State would open the scoring early in the second period with two more tallies before the halfway mark of the game. Philip Buque would add another tally for the Hawks to keep them within striking distance heading into the final period. The remainder of the game would offer a show for those who like old time hockey. Buque would score his second goal of the game before later being ejected for Fighting. The night would not prove successful for the Hawks as they fall 6-4 in highly heated matchup. Oscar Lindemann getting the nod in net for the night would stop 37 of the 43 shots he'd see.
Saturday's Matchup would yet again begin with the Hawks opening up the scoring. Brady Haskell would net the game's first goal at the 8 minute mark of the period. The Bison would answer with two more of their own before the end of the period. Goaltender, Andrew Blahy would leave the game after one period due to injury stopping 12 shots before his exit. Ayden Adair would come in relief of Blahy to play out the remaining 2 periods. North Dakota State would continue their scoring streak with an early goal in the second period to put them up 2. Pavel Rettig and Cody Domagalski would each put a puck in the back of the net to tie up the game heading into the third period. The Bison would open the third period scoring with 3 goals and essentially put the game away. Josh Sampietro would score with 5 minutes remaining to bring some hope back to the Hawks bench. North Dakota State would put the cherry on top scoring an empty net goal with 49 seconds remaining in the game. The Bison would take game 2 of the weekend 7-4. Adair would stop 26 of the 30 shots he saw.
North Dakota State gets the best of UND by sweeping them on home ice this past weekend. The Bison advance to 14-7-0 ahead of their matchup in St. Cloud next weekend. The Hawks drop to 8-10-0 before heading into one of the most important series of the season. They head to Jamestown next weekend with not only an In-State rivalry at stake but a playoff spot on the line.