Apr. 10—GRAND FORKS — Peter Thome is the tallest goaltender to ever play at UND.
Thome, 6-foot-4, played at UND from 2017-21.
That mark is about to change.
Gibson Homer, who is transferring from Arizona State to UND, is listed at 6-foot-5. He might be even taller.
“I’m 6-6,” he said.
The first roster addition under new UND head coach Dane Jackson is a change in philosophy at the goaltender position.
UND had recently recruited smaller (by today’s standards) and more athletic goaltenders in 6-foot-1 T.J. Semptimphelter, 6-foot Ludvig Persson, 5-foot-11 Drew DeRidder and 5-foot-11 Zach Driscoll.
Homer towers over them.
The Grand Rapids, Mich., product is a pro-style goalie, using his enormous frame to take away the net.
Homer was asked on his introductory Zoom press conference Thursday how his style compares with Semptimphelter, a former Arizona State teammate.
“I’m obviously big,” Homer said. “I use that to my advantage in my game. At the same time, I also think me and T.J. are both very athletic goalies. I also can kind of use my athletic ability, my flexibility. Both of us have the same ability to read plays and understand who are the threats in the offensive zone. Maybe I don’t have to move as much in net, a little more patient in that aspect.
“Playing behind T.J. at ASU, I was able to learn a lot from him.”
Homer entered the transfer portal last week. He spent three years in Tempe, redshirting his freshman season.
Jackson was the third coach to call Homer after he entered the portal.
“I got a call pretty early from coach Jackson and I think right away I knew when North Dakota calls, you have a feeling in your gut that’s probably going to be the spot you end up,” Homer said. “The relationship we built right away, the opportunity North Dakota has and their ability to develop their players to get to the next level. . . as soon as I entered the portal, I kind of knew this would be the next spot.”
Homer said he did not lean on Semptimphelter during the recruiting process.
“I didn’t reach out to him during this process, because it was kind of a no-brainer decision,” Homer said. “This week, I’m going to shoot him a text and we’ll laugh over this — that it just happened to be that the ASU goalies of the last couple years ended up here.”
Homer got an introduction to UND hockey in January, when he started against the Fighting Hawks in Tempe’s Mullett Arena.
“It was the first game I’ve ever played at Mullett that felt a little bit like an away game,” Homer said. “That’s an environment I’m really excited to be a part of, always having the support from (UND) fans makes every single game that homefield advantage feel.”
Homer said he’s looking forward to his time in Grand Forks and at UND.
“I’m going to try to take it all in,” Homer said. “I don’t think I’ll ever play somewhere as special as The Ralph again. This whole year, I’m going to be grateful. I’m just hoping to have a fun year.”
UND needs to add forwards for next season and the Fighting Hawks have set their sights on one in the transfer portal.
Minnesota Duluth winger Anthony Menghini entered the portal this week, kicking off a fierce recruiting battle for the Baxter, Minn., product. The number of teams that reached out to Menghini hit double digits within 24 hours.
Menghini is a two-way forward who scored 12 goals as a sophomore, including a hat trick against the Fighting Hawks in November. Menghini led the Bulldogs in plus-minus the last two seasons.
The 5-foot-10, 187-pound physical winger is considered one of the top available forwards along with New Hampshire’s Ryan Conmy and UND’s Owen McLaughlin.
Menghini is expected to make a decision by early next week.
* Eric Lang has been hired as RPI’s next head coach. Lang previously served as the head coach at American International, where he turned the Yellow Jackets into an Atlantic Hockey power. American International is dropping its hockey program out of Division-I beginning next season.
* RIT announced head coach Wayne Wilson is retiring after 26 seasons at the helm. Former RIT player Matt Thomas is expected to be announced as his successor.
* Hobey Baker Award finalist Isaac Howard, a first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, is planning to return to school for his senior season after he could not come to an agreement with the Lightning, according to
College Hockey News.
* Minnesota State lost two of its top forward recruits this week. Center Jack Kernan of the Des Moines Buccaneers and winger Tate Pritchard of the Sioux City Musketeers de-committed from the Mavericks. Kernan is Des Moines’ leading scorer. Pritchard ranks third on Sioux City. The Mavericks filled one forward spot by picking up Liam Watkins from Omaha in the transfer portal.
* Colorado College goaltender Kaidan Mbereko, an All-American in 2024, is returning to school for his senior season. In turn, freshman backup Carsen Musser, a Utah Hockey Club sixth-round pick, has entered the transfer portal.
* Western Michigan coach Pat Ferschweiler is the Spencer Penrose Award winner as the national coach of the year.