Heron Lake native Hobie Hedquist was the number one star Saturday night as he recorded his first collegiate shutout in No. 12 North Dakota's 1-0 win over Robert Morris Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks.
Hedquist made 20 saves in the game, seven in the first, seven in the second and six in the third.
"I might have gotten a shutout, but at the end of the day, we stepped up and had a really good PK (penalty kill)," Hedquist said. "That's something the coaches challenged us on. Our 'D' zone was really good, getting pucks out and blocking shots. It was a collective 20-man effort, and it led to success."
The sophomore made a highlight reel save in the second period on a clean breakaway for Robert Morris’ Mitch Deelstra, who had just exited the penalty box.
"I saw he was coming with a lot of speed, and we had back pressure on him," Hedquist said. "I figured it was going to have to be a quick shot or a quick move. He ended up shooting. We had good back pressure that made it so he couldn't get the rebound."
It was Hedquist’s third start of the season for the Fighting Hawks, who are 7-6.
UND coach Brad Berry met with Hedquist on Saturday morning and told him he would be the starter.
"I told him, 'We believe in you, Hobie. We recruited you and brought you into our program,” Berry commented “You're building and growing your game, and we believe in you,'" Berry said. "We stuck with it. Sometimes, as coaches, you play the same guy again. We didn't do that.
“"He deserved the opportunity," Berry continued. "We started the year off knowing we had two really good goaltenders. You want to present opportunity to both guys."
Hedquist is now 6-0 at home in his career with a .937 save percentage for the Fighting Hawks. He's 0-3 on the road for a .874 save percentage.
North Dakota will close out its nonconference schedule next weekend with a home-and-home series vs. Bemidji State.