Daily Skate: NCAA tournament injury keeps Riese Gaber from making pro debut
Apr. 30—GRAND FORKS — UND captain Riese Gaber lined up for the faceoff next to Michigan's Rutger McGroarty in the NCAA Maryland Heights Regional.
The two jostled a bit.
Within four seconds of the opening draw, Gaber suffered a fractured hand.
The senior winger managed to play the rest of the game — a 4-3 loss to the Wolverines — but the injury ended his season and any shot of playing pro hockey this spring.
Had UND advanced in the NCAA tournament, it's unlikely Gaber would have been able to play. If he attempted to, he would have been severely limited.
Gaber signed with the Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League after the regional and briefly traveled to Charlotte. But when the Checkers determined he wouldn't be able to play, they sent Gaber back to Grand Forks.
Gaber's two-year, one-way deal with Charlotte will begin next season.
Charlotte is the top minor-league affiliate of the Florida Panthers.
It was an untimely injury for Gaber, who did not miss a game as a junior or a senior.
Gaber isn't the only UND player who suffered an injury that hurt his chances of playing pro this spring.
Defenseman Garrett Pyke, who led the Fighting Hawks in time on ice, suffered an upper-body injury in UND's National Collegiate Hockey Conference semifinal game against Omaha.
That injury kept Pyke out of the NCAA tournament game against Michigan. Ultimately, he was unable to get into a game with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, either. Pyke has been with Colorado this month.
A few players from UND's 2023-24 roster have made their pro debuts.
Forward Jackson Blake played
one regular-season game
for the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes are in the playoffs, but Blake has not played in the postseason.
Forward Hunter Johannes played in six regular-season games for the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins, the top minor-league affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. Grand Rapids is in the second round of the AHL playoffs.
Forward Griffin Ness played in two regular-season games for the ECHL's Maine Mariners. Maine is down 3-2 to Adirondack in the ECHL playoffs. Ness has not played in the postseason.
Defenseman Logan Britt played in four regular-season games for the ECHL's Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Britt also has played in four of Greenville's five playoff games. Greenville is down 3-2 in a best-of-seven series against Orlando. Britt has tallied one assist in the regular season and one in the playoffs.
Goalie Ludvig Persson signed with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers, but has not yet played. Wheeling won its first-round playoff series 4-1 over Indy.
UND defenseman Keaton Pehrson has signed a one-year deal with Charlotte in the AHL.
Pehrson's deal will begin next season.
Pehrson played his final season of college hockey at UND after spending four years at Michigan. He played in 35 games and tallied eight assists, while serving as an alternate captain.
Two of UND's incoming freshmen have been lighting it up in the USHL playoffs.
Forward Mac Swanson of the Fargo Force is tied as the leading scorer in the playoffs with eight points (two goals, six assists) in five games. Fargo is tied 1-1 in a best-of-five series with Sioux City. Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday in Sioux City.
Defenseman Jayden Jubenvill of the Dubuque Fighting Saints also has caught fire. Jubenvill has three goals and five points for Dubuque. He's the team's leading goal-scorer and second-leading scorer in the playoffs.
Jubenvill scored the overtime winner in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Muskegon, then scored again in Game 2 on Monday night. Dubuque leads the best-of-five series 2-0.
UND incoming freshman forward Cody Croal is tied as Muskegon's leading scorer in the playoffs with six points in seven games.
* Grand Forks native Bauer Berry, a defenseman, scored his USHL playoff goal Monday night for Muskegon.
* New Miami coach Anthony Noreen is close to naming his staff. He's expected to retain assistant coach Zack Cisek and hire David Nies from USA Hockey's National Team Development Program and Dartmouth assistant Troy Thibodeau. Nies and Thibodeau were previously Noreen's assistants with Tri-City in the USHL.
* Former UND alternate captain Colten St. Clair is a potential candidate to replace Noreen in Tri-City. St. Clair has served as an assistant in the USHL with Omaha and Sioux City, where he won a Clark Cup in 2022. He's currently the head coach of the Minnesota Wilderness in the North American Hockey League.
