GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The annual Ice Breaker Tournament marks a new beginning to the college hockey season and renewed hopes for teams around the country gearing up for a national title run. That sentiment proved even more true for tournament co-host North Dakota as it started its 2023-24 campaign in the friendly confines of Ralph Engelstad Arena.
 
A dominant 7-2 win over Army and a 2-0 shutout victory over now-No. 6 Wisconsin set the tone for the new-look Fighting Hawks’ roster looking to write a more compelling chapter after their struggles a year ago.
 
The 2022-23 season was a down year in every conceivable way for UND. Despite embarking on a late-season surge to reach the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s Frozen Faceoff, a semifinal loss to St. Cloud State ended an 18-15-6 campaign on a sour note. The 18 victories were North Dakota’s fewest since 2018-19 and it missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since that same season.
 
Defense was one of the main culprits in the Fighting Hawks’ disappointing campaign. UND allowed three or more goals 20 times and their 2.8 goals against per game ranked 29th nationally.
 
“I felt last year we were a little loose in our D-zone coverage and our play away from the puck,” head coach Brad Berry said. “It was a situation where we were chasing a lot of games and chasing the season to get where we needed to go. That was a focus for us right away in August and September when we hit the ice that we’re going to start at our end of the rink.”
 
With a longer offseason than normal, Berry immediately moved to address the team’s issues at the blue line and brought in eight new defensemen through both his freshman signing class (4) and the transfer portal (4). Continuing with the new faces, Berry also tapped the transfer portal to bring in a new starting goaltender to the mix for the 2023-24 season.
 
The new members of the Fighting Hawks spent the summer voluntarily working out with the rest of their new teammates in Grand Forks. For the newcomers on the blue line, there was a certain camaraderie in knowing that they were all going through the same adjustment. They also established themselves as a unit that valued communication both on and off the ice to become an anchor on the Fighting Hawks’ blue line.
 

“A lot of our success comes from our work together in the summer,” said senior defenseman Garrett Pyke, a transfer from the Alaska Nanooks. “We were able to get to know each other right away and get comfortable with our new surroundings. The coaches do a great job preaching communication on the ice and that’s something I’ve noticed. We’re a loud group back there and it helps knowing where each other are on the ice. Coming from different programs, that’s helpful.”
 
Getting everyone on the same page in short order with eight new defensemen stepping onto campus in the summer could have proven difficult. Instead, UND’s newcomers leaned on their experience at different stops to gel as a defensive unit immediately. The transfers had a wealth of success to pull from, with Pyke bringing Alaska Fairbanks to the cusp of an NCAA Tournament berth last season. Fifth-year senior Keaton Pehrson logged heavy minutes for two Frozen Four runs at Michigan, witnessing the preparation necessary to succeed when playing alongside highly-billed NHL prospects Owen Power and Luke Hughes.
 
“Playing with those guys and the other great players at Michigan was huge for me,” Pehrson said. “Practicing throughout the week with those players, you got to see what works and what doesn’t. They made the jump to the next level for a reason, so I took the little things they did each day and transfer them to my game to help the team here.”
 
As the season drew closer, UND made perhaps the biggest addition to the defense in late August when it brought back former captain Dillon Simpson as an assistant coach to oversea the unit. Simpson, who was part of two Frozen Four teams during his career as a defenseman at North Dakota from 2010-14, provided an immediate impact to the staff, having just retired from a nine-year professional career that included an NHL stint with the Edmonton Oilers.
 
“When the NCAA allowed teams to hire another coach, it allowed us to add a growing mind that’s played at a high level professionally,” Berry said. “The biggest thing for us was adding someone who was a little closer generationally to our younger players. He was a mentor to a lot of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ young defensemen who were growing in the AHL in Cleveland. We felt this was an opportunity to add someone to grow with our young defensemen and what better time to do this than with eight new players coming in. He’s done a good job of establishing a rapport early and getting his feet on the ground here.”
 

 
Simpson arguably had the tallest task in store for him. Hired in late August, his job was to build a rapport with the new-look defense with the season just over a month away, while also adjusting to life as a coach himself. As captain of the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters in 2022-23, Simpson drew from his time mentoring young players during his pro career.
 
“The last few years I had been building towards coaching when I was finished playing,” Simpson said. “I didn’t expect it to happen this fast, but when I saw the opportunity to get this job, I applied right away.
 
“The players have been great and open about what I bring to the table. For me coming in late, it was about getting to know personalities and how the players think the game. We had everyone play with everyone for the first couple weeks to get everyone comfortable with each other. Everyone has had to step in and play and they’ve done the job. It was exciting that there were no previous expectations to compare to with eight new players to break in.”
 
The early results for North Dakota showcase the length of its improvement. At 9-2-1, UND is already halfway to its 2022-23 total, and the defense is leading way. Through 12 games, the Fighting Hawks are tied for third nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 2.17 goals per game. The Fighting Hawks have allowed two goals or fewer in eight of their first 12 contests en route to being voted number one in the national polls on Nov. 20.
 
These results are even more impressive when considering the team’s schedule. North Dakota has played five games against teams ranked in the top 13 of the PairWise (as of Nov. 20) and UND’s three victories against those top opponents matches its total from a year ago, when it went 3-11-3 against the PairWise top 13.
 
“All eight of us have bonded with each other and played tough in the defensive zone,” freshman defenseman Abram Wiebe said. “Coach Simpson’s been awesome to work with. He helped us gel in short order. Him being a younger coach has been helpful because he can relate to us since he was just playing professionally.”
 
The Fighting Hawks’ recent sweep against Miami further exemplified the strides the unit has made. UND held MU to a combined 35 shots on goal in the two contests. After allowing four goals in the opener, the Fighting Hawks shut down the RedHawks’ offense the next night to yield just one goal on 22 shots. That performance highlighted the squad’s emphasis on better gap discipline and stick positioning.
 
“Getting everyone on the same page on how we’ll play team defense was a point of emphasis early on,” Simpson said. “After the year the team had last year, to be able to take care of our end first was important. Guys have bought into that. We support our partners and the guys have done a great job learning on the fly playing with new guys every week. The attitude stands out and they all want to learn and put in the extra time to get better.”
 
A hockey season is not defined by its first 12 games, however. The Fighting Hawks appreciate the strides they’ve made and their hot start to the season, but have bigger goals in mind. If the saying that defense wins championships proves true, North Dakota hockey appears to have a unit capable of playing hockey deep into the postseason thanks to its new personnel on the ice and the bench.