GRAND FORKS 鈥� Bemidji State center and Grand Forks native Jaksen Panzer had the puck on the blue line at Ralph Engelstad Arena in the second period Saturday night.
Panzer found Rhys Chiddenton cutting behind UND defenseman E.J. Emery. Chiddenton鈥檚 shot was tipped in by Noah Quinn, giving the Beavers a 3-2 lead and forcing the Fighting Hawks to pull starting goaltender Hobie Hedquist.
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Panzer鈥檚 assist was his second in his fifth collegiate game 鈥� and first point in his hometown rink.
鈥淚t鈥檚 huge,鈥� he said after the 3-3 tie. 鈥淭o be able to go battle and get a point and play, it's awesome.鈥�
The freshman, who tallied 125 points in a three-year prep career at East Grand Forks Senior High, wasn鈥檛 sure how many family members and friends were in attendance at The Ralph Saturday, but knew there were 鈥渜uite a few people, for sure.鈥�
鈥淚've grown up watching games here,鈥� Panzer said, 鈥渂ut touching the ice in front of all the fans is something different. It's a feeling I just can't describe.鈥�
Panzer flipped his college commitment to Bemidji State in March, after initially committing to UND as an eighth-grader in 2019.
Panzer made the move in his second full season with the USHL鈥檚 Sioux Falls Stampede. UND didn鈥檛 plan to bring him in until 2025, but the Beavers had room for him this season.
The atmosphere of The Ralph was what he had anticipated, and what he experienced as a fan watching games throughout his childhood with his father, Jeff, who played on UND鈥檚 2000 NCAA national championship team and was a Hobey Baker Award finalist.
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鈥淚t was awesome,鈥� Panzer said. 鈥淚t was loud and fun, but once you get going, playing the game, it's pretty easy to dial in and focus in.鈥�
Panzer also went 2-for-2 in the faceoff dot in the 3-3 tie against UND.
鈥淛aksen鈥檚 smart,鈥� Beavers coach Tom Serratore said. 鈥淗e's smart. He's sturdy. He's good on faceoffs. He does the little things well. Really like Jaksen.鈥�
Panzer didn鈥檛 dress for Friday night鈥檚 2-1 Bemidji State win in Bemidji 鈥� he hasn鈥檛 played both games of a weekend series yet in his young career 鈥� but he felt the importance of carrying the momentum into Saturday鈥檚 finale.
鈥淲e knew it was going to be a battle coming into tonight,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e gave them everything we had. They gave us everything they had. I thought it was a very good game. It was huge last night to get that win, and then tonight to get that tie. Big weekend for us.鈥�
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