Analytics show how Jackson Blake is impacting UND in several ways
Mar. 12—GRAND FORKS — Jackson Blake has all the numbers to back up his Hobey Baker Award candidacy.
The UND sophomore forward has racked up 52 points in 36 games entering the National Collegiate Hockey Conference playoffs.
Only three UND players in the last 20 years have tallied more points than Blake's current total — Brock Boeser (60) in 2015-16, Matt Frattin (60) in 2010-11 and Ryan Duncan (57) in 2006-07.
Frattin was in the Hobey Hat Trick in 2011. Duncan won the award in 2007.
Blake appears to be a near lock to be a Hobey Baker Award finalist and a strong candidate to be in the Hat Trick. Blake is trying to become UND's third Hobey Hat Trick finalist in the last five years. The others were Jordan Kawaguchi in 2020 and Shane Pinto in 2021.
Blake also will likely rack up NCHC league honors.
All-conference teams are set to be announced Wednesday. Finalists for major individual awards will be announced Thursday. The winners will be announced March 21 at the NCHC awards banquet in St. Paul.
Blake was nominated for NCHC Player of the Year and NCHC Forward of the Year.
It's not just the points that jump off the page for Blake.
Some of the other statistics, compiled by InStat, are notable. Althoguh InStat isn't always exact, here are some of the other interesting numbers:
* Blake's offensive zone entries are 175 by stickhandle, 105 by pass and only five by dump-in.
* Blake has drawn 21 penalties this season, most on the team. Riese Gaber is second with 14, followed by Dylan James (12), Jackson Kunz (nine) and Hunter Johannes (nine).
* Blake leads the team in passes to the slot with 51. Owen McLaughlin is second with 41, followed by Jake Livanavage (32), Louis Jamernik V (25) and Jayden Perron (25).
* Blake's 89% pass completion rate is tied with McLaughlin and Griffin Ness as the best among any forward on the team.
* Blake also has the best expected goals differential on the team. UND has a plus-18 expected goal differential when Blake is on the ice. Gaber and McLaughlin are at plus-16.
Carson Albrecht made UND hockey history last week.
The fifth-year forward became the first player in program history to win four conference championships.
He was on UND's Penrose Cup-winning teams in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Albrecht also is the only player in NCHC history to have four league titles.
Three Division-I men's teams are looking for new head coaches.
Bowling Green fired head coach Ty Eigner on Monday after the Falcons posted a 13-22-1 record. They were eliminated in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinals by Michigan Tech.
Stonehill coach David Borges also stepped down after a disastrous first Division-I season. Stonehill went 2-34. One of its two wins came against a Division-III opponent. Its other win was against Lindenwood. Stonehill gave up at least seven goals 18 times.
Lindenwood also let go of Rick Zombo, who coached the team from its transition as a club program to Division-I. Zombo played college hockey at UND.
* NHL signings are underway. Two Notre Dame players signed after the Fighting Irish were eliminated from the Big 10 playoffs by Michigan. Forward Landon Slaggert signed with the Chicago Blackhawks, while free-agent defenseman Drew Bavaro inked a deal with the Boston Bruins.
* Graduating players and those who lost their head coaches have started entering the NCAA transfer portal, including Mercyhurst's leading scorer Garrett Dahm (28 points) and Lindenwood's leading scorer Caige Sterzer (22 points). Lindenwood starting goalie Trent Burnham (.905) also entered.
