Jackson Gets North Dakota Back to Frozen Four : College Hockey News

March 29, 2026

by Jacob Cheris/CHN Reporter (@JCheris17)

(photo: Bill Prout, CenterIceView)

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — All season North Dakota has been able to roll four lines, three rock solid defense pairs, and one of the best young netminders in the country.

It is why the Fighting Hawks were the top-scoring team in the NCHC, why they earned back-to-back shutouts at this NCAA Regional, and why they are going to the Frozen Four for the first time in a decade.

In a rematch of the 2016 national championship, where UND downed Quinnipiac, 5-1, North Dakota took care of business handily once again, blanking the Bobcats, 5-0.

For Dane Jackson, who was on the staff when UND won that last championship, and took over as head coach this past offseason after the team fall short one too many times, it was the culmination of a year of rebuilding things in his own image.

“All of us for the last decade put in a ton of work and time and effort, and we know we get measured at these big games at the end of the year. It’s tough because it’s Game 7’s. We’ve got a lot of Penrose Cups and have done a lot of good things,” UND coach Dane Jackson said. “But we know at North Dakota you get measured by reaching the Frozen Four and the green banners that you put up. So in our biggest games to be able to play our best game is huge.”

Jan Špunar, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Region, recorded back-to-back shutouts, turning aside all 22 Quinnipiac shots and upping his season shutout total to six. No UND goaltender has ever registered consecutive shutouts in the same tournament.

The freshman netminder from Olomouc, Czechia, didn’t have a lot of knowledge about the Frozen Four experience, and gave an all-time answer during his postgame press conference.

“I kind of knew about it more than last year, but I really never thought that I could be there,” Špunar said. “I’ve never been [to Las Vegas]. I’m not a big gambler.”

Hopefully none of the players will be gambling there next week either, except by putting their cards on the table for a chance at a national championship.

While the Fighting Hawks played a near-flawless game, there were some breakdowns in front of the 21-year-old goaltender, who upped his save percentage to .917. But there was no panic in his game and he was ready to make the save every time.

“His reliability and consistency has been outstanding this year. I think his demeanor and his low key, casual personality helps him. I don’t think he gets too nervous,” Jackson said. “Technically, he’s really good and the moment has never seemed too big for him. He just seems to consistently give us a strong performance.”

Three of North Dakota’s four forward lines registered goals, with the trio of Cody Croal, Jack Kernan and Tyler Young earning a pair. Croal earned his first multi-goal game of his career back in the Regional semifinals against Merrimack. His third goal was in highlight-reel fashion, batting a puck out of midair, between his legs and doing so on his backhand.

Kernan struck twice and Young had the primary assist on the goal, marking his first point of the tournament.

“They’re very fast, straight-line players. They got a lot of pop to their game. They play hard, they play direct, they play north. They’re fast skaters but they move the puck faster because they’re simple,” Jackson said. “They don’t try to get too fancy. I think it can be kind of overwhelming on the forecheck and create some chances.”

Both of Kernan’s goals wouldn’t have occurred if it wasn’t for Abram Wiebe. The junior left-shot blueliner stood tall along the boards at the attacking blue line to keep the puck alive in the zone.

“I think a big part of those [keep-ins] are just being able to have good gaps. I think two of those plays are just having a good stick and just keeping it in. I thought Kernan did a great job of getting to middle ice and obviously a great shot,” Wiebe said. “You just look at our d-corps up and down our roster, I think we’ve one of the best d-corps in the nation. We’re just so big, physical, fast. We play the right way and I think that’s helped us a lot this year.”

Kernan’s first goal was a simple wrist shot from the left faceoff circle, but the puck found its way through the five hole of Quinnipiac goaltender Dylan Silverstein. His second goal was scored at the opposite faceoff circle, going top shelf over the blocker side of Silverstein to give UND a 3-0 lead.

North Dakota continued to bully its way to the interior, and Dylan James scored his second goal of the tournament in the high slot to extend the advantage to 4-0. Then the Fighting Hawks’ second line got on the scoresheet thanks to a Cole Reschny one-timer between the hash marks.

Reschny’s goal epitomized how in-sync all four lines were for all 60 minutes. Ben Strinden found him from below the goal line on a spin-o-rama pass.

While the Fighting Hawks were playing their brand of hockey, the Bobcats were doing the opposite. It was surprising considering how well they played against Providence. They were owning the puck, playing fast and winning the faceoff battle.

“We’re a young team. We’re immature at times. I got caught off guard by that. I got caught off guard by a few things this year,” Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said. “In the end we had a great season. I’ll try to focus more on what we did well.”

For seniors Anthony Cipollone and Victor Czerneckianair, the team’s captain, they are the last two of the three remaining members of Quinnipiac’s 2023 national championship team. Pecknold got emotional when asked about his senior leaders and had a difficult time finding words for what they meant to the program.

“These guys are the epitome of winners, and they set the standard for this program. Every single one of those guys impacted me in being a leader. They inspired me, and they definitely inspired this team and obviously the community around us,” sophomore Tyler Borgula said. “From the bottom of my heart and from everyone else’s heart, these guys mean the world to us, and we look up to them and wish him nothing but the best in the future.”