Throughout his time in junior and high school-age hockey, North Dakota senior goaltender Ludvig Persson had never suited up against one of his former teams.
So when he faced Miami last weekend on the road, the Swedish former RedHawk got maybe his biggest taste of culture shock since he began playing in the United States in 2019.
Persson only needed 82 appearances over three seasons with Miami to give him the fourth-highest total number of saves in RedHawks history. He was a seven-time NCHC goaltender of the week over that span, unquestionably standing out for a program that hasn’t had a winning season since the RedHawks last reached the NCAA tournament, in 2015.
Two losses to UND put Miami 14 points clear at the bottom of the NCHC standings. Persson wasn’t warmly received by the Goggin Ice Center crowd, either on Friday when UND won 5-4 in overtime, or when 33 saves Saturday in a 4-1 Fighting Hawks victory.
UND swept its four-game season series with the RedHawks, with Persson in net each time.
“I didn’t really know what to expect coming here,” Persson told reporters gathered Saturday night outside UND’s locker room. “Obviously, this place means a lot to me, so it was really fun to be out there, for sure.
“(The Miami fans’ reaction) was harder than I expected, actually. It’s been home for three years, and it’s weird to come back and hear that, but you’re just got to focus on the game and play your game, and I think we did a great job both games here.
UND coach Brad Berry, who picked up his 200th career win Saturday, wasn’t the least bit surprised with how Persson carried himself on the Hawks’ latest business trip.
“On a day-to-day basis, he’s a true professional, the way he prepares himself on the practice days and the game days,” Berry said. “He came into (Friday) night, and I’m glad we came back to give him some goal support there, but tonight, man, he single-handedly won this game. I know everybody in this locker room has a piece of it, but he stood tall in all three periods.”
And it wasn’t as easy as Persson, or his UND teammates, might’ve made it look.
“I was proud of our guys coming in here and getting five of six (points),” Berry said. “I think, when you come into Miami, I think a lot of people think, ‘Well, it’s guaranteed two wins,’ like, uh-uh, this is the NCHC.
“I told you guys on Wednesday in the press conference, these are hard games and I’m just proud of the way our guys battled to try to get these two.”
UND, which bumped its lead atop the NCHC standings to seven points over St. Cloud State, is idle this week ahead of the Hawks’ eight remaining regular-season games.
