GRAND FORKS - The University of North Dakota is going to outshoot a lot of teams this season.
How many wins will it add up to, though?
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That鈥檚 the resonating question after a 2-0 loss to Western Michigan on Friday night, Nov. 16, in Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The Fighting Hawks outshot the Broncos 28-8 through two periods and had nothing to show for it. Then, in the third period, Western Michigan scored the game-winning goal on a pass from the corner that hit UND defenseman Hayden Shaw in the skate and slipped past goalie Peter Thome.
Western Michigan iced the win with an empty-net goal.
UND dropped to 5-4-1 overall and 1-2 in National Collegiate Hockey Conference play.
Not only have the Fighting Hawks outshot their opponent in all four losses, the shots haven鈥檛 been relatively close in those games.
UND outshot the Broncos 32-19 on Friday night. In the other three losses to Bemidji State, MSU-Mankato and Miami, the Fighting Hawks had an edge in shots by 11, 17 and 15.
鈥淪ometimes, it happens,鈥� UND captain Colton Poolman said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the name of the game. It鈥檚 hockey sometimes. You can do all the little things and it won鈥檛 go. Their goalie played really well, I thought. They blocked a lot of shots. And we didn鈥檛 bury our early chances. That鈥檚 something we鈥檝e got to get better at.鈥�
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UND has been one of the best possession teams in the country.
The Fighting Hawks rank third in the nation in shot disparity, averaging a 10.20 edge per game. The only two teams with better shot disparities are No. 1 Minnesota Duluth and No. 9 Providence.
In the advanced stat of Corsi, which measures possession, UND is second in the nation, only behind Minnesota Duluth.
But that disparity hasn鈥檛 always added up to offense and wins.
On Friday night, UND was blanked by a Western Michigan team that entered the weekend ranked 57th nationally in save percentage at .861. The Broncos started Trevor Gorsuch, who turned in a 32-save shutout -- his season high in saves.
UND coach Brad Berry also lamented the number of Grade A-chances that ended in shots that missed the net.
鈥淥ne thing that鈥檚 pretty evident is that we had some pretty good chances and we missed the net,鈥� Berry said. 鈥淭hose are the details of the game you have to make sure you bear down on them. When you have those chances, you鈥檝e got to at least hit the net and give yourself an opportunity. If you don鈥檛 score, you at create a rebound. You have to make sure of the details of the game when you have a Grade A opportunity. You have to hit the net.鈥�
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UND, which played without injured forwards Nick Jones and Ludvig Hoff, now ranks last in the NCHC in scoring offense, averaging 2.6 goals per game.
Its power play, which went 0-for-3 on Friday night, also ranks last at 13.6 percent.
The biggest positive for UND was the play of Thome, who made his first start since Oct. 19. Thome had sporadic work, stopping 17 of 18 shots. But he came up with a couple of key saves, including a breakaway attempt by Dawson DiPietro, Western Michigan鈥檚 leading scorer from last season.
鈥淥bviously, it was exciting to get back in there,鈥� said Thome, who backed up freshman Adam Scheel the last six games. 鈥淲e were playing great hockey. It sucks sitting out, but it鈥檚 all about being a good teammate and cheering the boys on. When you鈥檙e winning games, you can鈥檛 say the coach should change the lineup or anything, because we won five in a row. But it was definitely exciting to get back in there tonight.鈥�
The only puck that beat him was bad luck.
Western Michigan forward Hugh McGing threw a puck from the corner to the slot area, where it hit off of Josh Passolt, then off of Shaw鈥檚 skate before redirecting to the back of the net.
鈥淕osh, that鈥檚 tough,鈥� Poolman said. 鈥淭hey got a bounce there. We didn't. That鈥檚 hockey sometimes. It鈥檚 frustrating to say. It鈥檚 frustrating to play a game like that and have one of those go in. But maybe, later down the road this season, maybe we get a game like that where we get a bounce.鈥�
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Western Michigan scratched star forward Wade Allison at the last minute. The Manitoban, who has played just once since suffering a lower-body injury in January, was listed on the original linechart, but was taken off just before warmups.
During his career, Western Michigan is 34-20-5 with Allison in the lineup, a .618 winning percentage. Without Allison, the Broncos are now 8-18-2, a .321 winning percentage.
UND will look for a series split in the finale at 7:07 tonight in Ralph Engelstad Arena.
鈥淭onight, we played 40 minutes of pretty good hockey to create opportunities and limit opportunities,鈥� Berry said. 鈥淭hen, in the third period, the game鈥檚 up for grabs, 50-50. We backed off a bit. We have to make sure the way we played for 40 minutes -- even though we didn鈥檛 score a goal, you might have to wait until your 40th or 50th shot -- but you have to have that tenacity for 60 minutes.鈥�
