GRAND FORKS — It's probably no surprise which players UND leaned on the most during the 2021-22 season.
Jake Sanderson, when in the lineup, played more than anyone on the roster. The first-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators averaged 24 minutes, 13 seconds per game. His defensive partner, Ethan Frisch, was second on the team and sixth in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (23:21).
Up front, first-line center Connor Ford was the guy for UND, logging 20:15 per game. Ford was one of just two forwards in the NCHC to play more than 20 minutes per night. The other was Miami's Matthew Barbolini (20:32).
As you'd expect, the top 15 players in average time on ice per game were all defensemen.
The top five were Miami's Derek Daschke (25:35), Western Michigan's Ronnie Attard (25:11), Western Michigan's Michael Joyaux (24:41), Sanderson and Western Michigan's Aidan Fulp (23:37).
ADVERTISEMENT
Chris Jandric ranked ninth and Tyler Kleven 15th.
Attard (Philadelphia Flyers) and Sanderson (Ottawa Senators) have signed pro deals. Joyaux, a fourth-year senior, is currently weighing pro offers.
Daschke has entered the transfer portal and is expected to play his fifth and final year of college hockey elsewhere. Fulp is expected to return for the Broncos.
NCHC top 15 in ice time per game
1. Derek Daschke, sr, Miami — 25:35
2. Ronnie Attard, jr, Western Michigan — 25:11
3. Michael Joyaux, sr, Western Michigan — 24:41
4. Jake Sanderson, soph, North Dakota — 24:13
5. Aidan Fulp, soph, Western Michigan — 23:37
6. Ethan Frisch, jr, North Dakota — 23:21
7. Bryan Yoon, sr, Colorado College — 23:14
8. Nick Perbix, sr, St. Cloud State — 22:45
9. Chris Jandric, sr, North Dakota — 22:16
10. Wyatt Kaiser, soph, Minnesota Duluth — 22:13
11. Jack Millar, soph, Colorado College — 20:58
12. Seamus Donohue, 5th, St. Cloud State — 20:56
13. Sean Behrens, fr, Denver — 20:50
14. Brandon Scanlin, jr, Omaha — 20:48
15. Tyler Kleven, soph, North Dakota — 20:47
Up front, only three NCHC players logged an average of more than 19 minutes per game — Barbolini, Ford and Miami's Chase Gresock.
Ford has signed a pro deal with the Henderson Silver Knights, the top minor-league affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights. Gresock has entered the transfer portal.
Four UND forwards were in the top 20 in the NCHC — Ford, Riese Gaber, Mark Senden and Judd Caulfield.
ADVERTISEMENT
Barbolini and Gaber are the only sophomores among the top 10 forwards in ice time. Miami's Red Savage and Colorado College's Stanley Cooley are the only rookies in the top 20.
NCHC top 20 forwards in ice time per game
1. Matthew Barbolini, soph, Miami — 20:32
2. Connor Ford, 5th, North Dakota — 20:15
3. Chase Gresock, sr, Miami — 19:25
4. Kevin Fitzgerald, 5th, St. Cloud State — 18:55
5. Noah Cates, sr, Minnesota Duluth — 18:31
6. Jason Polin, jr, Western Michigan — 18:31
7. Cole Guttman, sr, Denver — 18:30
8. Drew Worrad, sr, Western Michigan — 18:25
9. Bobby Brink, jr, Denver — 18:24
10. Riese Gaber, soph, North Dakota — 18:21
11. Ethen Frank, 5th, Western Michigan — 18:19
12. Red Savage, fr, Miami — 18:15
13. Logan Will, soph, Colorado College — 18:08
14. Quinn Olson, jr, Minnesota Duluth — 17:51
15. Mark Senden, sr, North Dakota — 17:40
16. Matt Barry, sr, Miami — 17:37
17. Casey Gilling, 5th, Minnesota Duluth — 17:35
18. Judd Caulfield, jr, North Dakota — 17:30
19. Jami Krannila, jr, St. Cloud State — 17:14
20. Stanley Cooley, fr, Colorado College — 17:12
Hobey Hat Trick named
The Hobey Hat Trick was revealed Thursday morning.
The three finalists are Denver forward Bobby Brink, Minnesota State goalie Dryden McKay and Minnesota forward Ben Meyers. All three will be playing in the NCAA Frozen Four next week in Boston.
Brink is the nation's leading scorer with 56 points in 39 games.
McKay, a senior, posted another excellent season, holding a .934 save percentage. McKay broke Ryan Miller's career shutouts record this season and is hoping to become the first goaltender to win Hobey since Miller in 2001.
Meyers is college hockey's most coveted undrafted free agent. He has 41 points in 33 games for the Gophers.
There are no more rounds of voting left. The final round was conducted earlier this week and the Hobey Hat Trick comprises the top three vote-getters.
ADVERTISEMENT
The most controversial omission in the top three was Northeastern goalie Devon Levi, whose save percentage of .952 is 18 points higher than McKay's.
Toews to play in 1,000th-career game
Former UND standout Jonathan Toews is set to play in his 1,000th NHL regular-season game Thursday night for the Chicago Blackhawks against the Florida Panthers.
Toews will become the sixth former UND player to hit the 1,000 mark. The others are James Patrick (1,280), Craig Ludwig (1,256), Zach Parise (1,125), Travis Zajac (1,037) and Dave Christian (1,009).
The only other college program with six alums to play 1,000 regular-season NHL games is Wisconsin — Ryan Suter, Gary Suter, Chris Chelios, Scott Mellanby, Joe Pavelski and Paul Ranheim.
Toews, who turned pro in 2006 after two seasons with UND, is the captain of the Blackhawks.
Quick hits
- Former UND forward Brock Nelson scored his 200th NHL regular-season goal this week. He's up to a career-high 32 for the season.
- Former UND goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux has helped Salzburg to the finals in Austria's top league. In the playoffs, Lamoureux is 4-0-0 with a .942 save percentage.
- Former UND goalie Clarke Saunders has helped Unia Oswiecim to the finals in Poland's top league. Saunders has a .929 save percentage in the playoffs. Saunders shining at playoff time is nothing new. He posted .926 and .955 save percentages in the last two postseasons.
- St. Cloud State's Nick Perbix signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday after four years at St. Cloud State. He will report to Syracuse (AHL) for the rest of the season.
- Some seldom-used players at Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State entered the NCAA transfer portal on Thursday. From Minnesota Duluth, forward Ben Almquist (18 games) and defenseman Jake Rosenbaum (7 games) entered. From St. Cloud State, forward Thomas Rocco (7 games), forward Jack Johnston (0 games) and goaltender Joey Lamoreaux (2 games).
- Colorado College forward Jackson Jutting, the nephew of former MSU-Mankato coach Troy Jutting, also entered the portal. Jutting had 10 points for Colorado College this season.
- A few prominent players from out East entered the portal — RPI leading scorer Ture Linden (20 goals, 39 points), RPI third-leading scorer Zach Dubinsky (10 goals, 20 points), Mercyhurst sophomore forward Austin Heidemann (12 goals, 27 points) and Clarkson goalie Jacob Mucitelli (8-0-1, .944 save percentage).
- Western Michigan defenseman Ronnie Attard, who signed with the Philadelphia Flyers earlier this week, will make his NHL debut Saturday against Toronto.
