UND not expecting to announce starting goaltender until Friday afternoon
Mar. 19—GRAND FORKS — An illness made its way through some UND hockey players last week.
But there was a bit of good news Tuesday.
Every player was on the ice for practice.
That included senior forward Carson Albrecht, who was one of the ill players. Albrecht missed both games of UND's sweep of Miami.
It also included goaltender Ludvig Persson.
UND hasn't disclosed whether Persson was one of the players who had fallen ill or if something else is ailing him — he didn't dress either game against the RedHawks — but he did join his teammates for their National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff preparations in Ralph Engelstad Arena on Tuesday.
UND will skate one more practice in Ralph Engelstad Arena on Wednesday, then head to St. Paul for an 11:30 a.m. practice Thursday in Xcel Energy Center.
When the Fighting Hawks take on Omaha at 4 p.m. Friday in the NCHC semifinals, it's still unclear who will be in net.
UND coach Brad Berry was noncommittal about a starting goalie during a Tuesday afternoon press conference.
"We're going to go through the week here, and when you get close to the weekend, we'll make a decision on who that is," Berry said. "Ludvig Persson has been our goaltender for the majority of the year here. Hobie Hedquist came in and played three games during the regular season and he won them all. He came in for two games this weekend and won his first two playoff games, so he's 5-0."
"We're going to go about our week. We're going to keep our cards close to our chest and announce our lineup when we have to."
Persson, a second-team all-NCHC goaltender, has a 21-10-2 record with a .906 save percentage and a 2.47 goals-against average.
Persson played every minute during the first half of the season, and UND has been trying to keep him fresh by limiting practice reps in the second half of the season.
Hedquist, a rookie from Heron Lake, Minn., is 5-0 with a .919 save percentage and a 2.05 goals-against average.
Hedquist has two wins over Miami and Alaska. He also beat Omaha 3-1 in January.
"I think the strength of our team is the depth of our roster, whether that's forward or 'D' or in goal like you're seeing right now," Berry said. "Everybody's got to be pulling the rope and everyone's got to be bringing their best hockey this time of year. That's the recipe for having success."
Friday's semifinals: UND vs. Omaha, 4 p.m.; St. Cloud State vs. Denver, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday's championship: Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network.
Radio: The Fox (96.1 FM), UND games only.
