GRAND FORKS — Abram Wiebe felt the pressure.
Miami forward Ilia Morozov was hounding the UND junior defenseman in the neutral zone during overtime Saturday night.
“I kind of saw him to go one side,” Wiebe said.
Wiebe made a spin move to his left to shake loose of Morozov. Then, he chipped a puck past Miami forward Ryan Smith at the blue line and beat him along the side wall, opening up a lane to the net.
“Didn’t really think about which move to make,” Wiebe said. “I just drove it, chipped it and thankfully it went in.”
Wiebe’s highlight-reel overtime goal capped UND’s rally from a two-goal deficit in the third period, giving the Fighting Hawks a 4-3 win over Miami in the series finale.
Wiebe started the comeback by feeding Mac Swanson for a goal in the opening minute of the third. Defenseman Jake Livanavage sent it to overtime with an extra-attacker, power-play goal with 1:51 left in the third.
Then, Wiebe made the play of the game to beat Miami goalie Matteo Drobac with a short-side chip from the top of the crease. It was Wiebe’s fourth goal of the season.
“Big-time skating and finish there,” UND coach Dane Jackson said. “We didn’t have much luck. Their goaltender was outstanding. Even on breakaways, he was really good.
“Normally, I find Abram makes high-level plays with his brain and how he sees the game, his ability to feel pressure and move pucks. But that one was evasiveness and finish, so I’m really happy for Wieber. I feel like he gets overlooked playing behind Livanavage at times, but he’s a heck of a player.”
UND players celebrate after beating Miami 4-3 in overtime Saturday in Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald
Wiebe’s last overtime winner came with the Chilliwack Chiefs in the British Columbia Hockey League. He scored on the road against the Victoria Grizzlies on Oct. 28, 2022.
How did this one compare?
“It’s not even close,” Wiebe said. “You go from scoring one with 500 fans to 12,000.
“Obviously, scoring any goal at The Ralph is surreal. To get the overtime winner, that brings it up another notch.”
UND won its 12th straight against Miami, but this was different than ones of the past.
Miami, no longer a hapless opponent languishing at the bottom of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings, pushed the Fighting Hawks all weekend.
UND narrowly edged Miami 1-0 in the series opener, then needed a comeback to beat a RedHawks team that played without its second-leading scorer (Matteo Giampa) and top defenseman (Vladislav Lukashevich).
For UND, it sets up the possibility of winning the Penrose Cup next weekend at home.
If the Fighting Hawks get six points against St. Cloud State, they will clinch at least a share of the NCHC regular-season title and will be presented the Penrose Cup in The Ralph.
UND is one point ahead of Denver, which is idle next weekend, and six points ahead of Western Michigan, which plays at Colorado College. The Fighting Hawks close the regular season at Western Michigan.
“We have no quit in our game,” Wiebe said. “As you saw tonight, not the greatest first two periods, but we just kind of stuck with it. There wasn’t any doubt in the room. We all had confidence that we’re going to come back and win that game, and that’s exactly what we did. It just shows what our identity is this year. It’s just being able to use that heading into next weekend.”
UND (23-7, 15-5 NCHC) received three goals from defensemen on Saturday — E.J. Emery, Livanavage and Wiebe. Swanson had the other and Dylan James tallied two assists.
The Fighting Hawks outshot the RedHawks 44-20 in the game, but Miami received a brilliant performance from Drobac once again. He stopped 81 of 86 on the weekend.
Miami, after not scoring for 101:54, broke through in the second period, tallying three goals in the span of 12:02 to open up a 3-1 lead. UND pushed back at the end of the second, but went into the intermission down two.
“We had a heart-to-heart stern talk about who we want to be,” Jackson said.
UND shuffled lines in the third, put Gibson Homer in net for Jan Špunar (14 saves) to get a spark, then went to work in its favorite period this season.
UND outshot Miami 15-3 in the final frame as it rallied.
The Fighting Hawks have outscored opponents 49-16 in the third period this season. They’ve managed to get at least a point the last three times they trailed by two goals.
“It’s a perilous way to exist,” Jackson said. “We’ve been quite consistent. Obviously, they’re still college players. But we’ve been talking about that mindset game in and game out, having a relentless 60 minutes. We didn’t have it tonight. We’ll focus on the part that you never know what’s going to happen in one-game shots. You have to be ready to adapt, change, change lines, whatever. They did a good job of that to be able to reset and find another level in the third.”
UND’s Ellis Rickwood reaches for the puck in the first period as Miami’s Ryder Thompson, left, and Ethan Hay look on.
Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald