UND expected to carry four goalies next season

Jun. 9—UND will enter this college hockey season with an uncharacteristic roster.

The Fighting Hawks will be carrying four goaltenders.

Former Grand Forks Central netminder Kaleb Johnson will come to campus this fall and join a goaltending group featuring presumed starter and Bemidji State grad transfer Zach Driscoll, rookie Jakob Hellsten and Harrison Feeney, who has spent two-and-a-half years on campus.

The four-goalie setup isn't common for the Fighting Hawks.

Since 2003, UND has only entered two seasons with four goaltenders on the roster.

It occurred in 2015-16, when UND won its eighth NCAA national championship, and 2016-17.

In the summer of 2015, UND planned to have three goalies: Cam Johnson, Matej Tomek and Matt Hrynkiw. But Tomek was recovering from offseason surgery and the coaches knew he wasn't going to be ready to start the season. So, they brought in Anderson, a former Roseau High starter who had already enrolled at UND, to be a practice goalie while Tomek recovered.

However, the players and staff were impressed by Anderson on and off the ice and wanted to keep him on the roster permanently. They did.

Past goalie injuries

Carrying four goalies could prove beneficial if UND ends up having injuries at that position, which has been commonplace in recent years.

In 2015-16, when Tomek was out, Cam Johnson suffered an injury that kept him out of the lineup for more than a month, leaving UND with two healthy goalies — Hrynkiw and Anderson.

In 2017-18, Cam Johnson suffered an injury and missed the entire month of November, sending Thome into into a starting role and leaving UND with two goaltenders.

In 2018-19, goalie Peter Thome was sidelined with an injury during Christmas break, so UND opted to bring Feeney aboard at semester time to keep with three goalies for practice purposes. Later that semester, Scheel went down with a season-ending injury at Western Michigan.

Last season, Scheel was briefly out with an injury.

After the season, Scheel signed with the Dallas Stars and Thome transferred to Division-I newcomer St. Thomas for his fifth and final year of college eligibility.

The 2021-22 goalie crew

Driscoll comes to UND with a lot of experience.

The Apple Valley, Minn., product has played in 102 career games, posting a .920 save percentage and a 2.19 goals-against average. Driscoll spent one season with St. Cloud State and three with Bemidji State. He will play his final year of college eligibility at UND.

Hellsten, who grew up in Enköping, Sweden, is the leading candidate to be the backup. Hellsten played for the Halmstad Hammers in Sweden last season, posting a .908 save percentage.

Feeney, of Lafayette Hill, Pa., has been with the Fighting Hawks since January 2019. He made his first appearance on Dec. 20 in UND's final game in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Pod in Omaha. Feeney played 3:33 against Miami, stopping all three shots he faced.

Kaleb Johnson, who backstopped the Knights to a North Dakota prep title, could have played one more year of junior hockey but opted to come in after spending the last three seasons with the Minnesota Wilderness in the North American Hockey League. Last season, he had a .906 save percentage during 29 regular-season games.

UND goalies by year since 1999

2021-22: Zach Driscoll, Jakob Hellsten, Harrison Feeney, Kaleb Johnson.

2020-21: Adam Scheel, Peter Thome, Harrison Feeney.

2019-20: Adam Scheel, Peter Thome, Harrison Feeney.

2018-19: Adam Scheel, Peter Thome, Ryan Anderson, Harrison Feeney (January addition).

2017-18: Cam Johnson, Peter Thome, Ryan Anderson.

2016-17: Cam Johnson, Matt Hrynkiw, Matej Tomek, Ryan Anderson.

2015-16: Cam Johnson, Matt Hrynkiw, Matej Tomek, Ryan Anderson.

2014-15: Zane McIntyre, Cam Johnson, Matt Hrynkiw.

2013-14: Zane McIntyre, Clarke Saunders, Matt Hrynkiw.

2012-13: Clarke Saunders, Zane McIntyre, Tate Maris.

2011-12: Aaron Dell, Brad Eidsness, Tate Maris.

2010-11: Aaron Dell, Brad Eidsness, Tate Maris.

2009-10: Brad Eidsness, Aaron Dell, Tate Maris.

2008-09: Brad Eidsness, Aaron Walski, Graeme Harrington.

2007-08: Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, Aaron Walski, Anthony Grieco (left midseason), Landon Snider (Grieco replacement).

2006-07: Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, Aaron Walski, Anthony Grieco.

2005-06: Jordan Parise, Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, Aaron Walski.

2004-05: Jordan Parise, Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, Jake Brandt.

2003-04: Jordan Parise, Jake Brandt, Nate Ziegelmann.

2002-03: Jake Brandt, Josh Siembida, Marc Ranfranz, Ryan Sofie.

2001-02: Andy Kollar, Jake Brandt, Josh Siembida (midseason addition), Ryan Sofie.

2000-01: Karl Goehring, Andy Kollar, Ryan Sofie.

1999-00: Karl Goehring, Andy Kollar, Jason Endres.