Louis Jamernik is Flying High at UND

Nov. 19—The UND hockey team's plane wobbled slightly on its approach into Dayton, Ohio, last Thursday afternoon.

When it touched down, it smacked the runway, a harder-than-usual landing. The entire team immediately turned around and looked directly at sophomore forward Louis Jamernik.

"Jammer, what's going on?!" one player exclaimed.

Jamernik calmly explained.

"We didn't even have full flaps," Jamernik said. "And I don't know if you noticed, but he punched the jets a little bit right before we landed to get a little more speed. Less flaps, more speed when you have a crosswind like that, because it was gusting up to 32. That's a heavy crosswind. The pilot did really well."

Any suggestion that the pilot screwed up, Jamernik rejected.

"He was dealing with a lot," Jamernik said. "He did a good job."

Jamernik knows.

He is in the renowned aviation school at UND, currently planning to major in commercial aviation. Jamernik began flying during this summer, has completed his first solo flight and will soon have his private pilot license.

UND coach Brad Berry said Jamernik is the first in his time at the school to attempt to both play hockey for UND and go through the university's intensive flight school.

One administrator said UND runs its flight school much like the hockey program — rigorous demands that are time consuming with the expectation that when they're done, they'll be among the best in their field — and many are surprised to see someone attempt to do both.

"We'll see if it can be done," Jamernik said. "So far, so good. I'll be here in the summers to really knock out the big ones. It's tiring. There's no free time. I get maybe, once I'm done with homework, maybe 30 minutes to an hour of free time a day. Other than that, I'm here at the gym or mostly at the rink. But it's good. I enjoy staying busy. I don't really need to watch TV."

Family history of flying

Aviation runs in Jamernik's family history.

His maternal grandfather, Jack Dickson, was in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a navigator during the Cold War. His paternal grandfather, Louis Jamernik III, got his private pilot's license at age 50.

"He knows I'm very specific of how I do things and rule-oriented, and knows that's huge when it comes to flying," Jamernik said. "He kind of strongly suggested it."

While playing junior hockey for the Okotoks Oilers in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Jamernik researched which schools had both Division-I hockey and aviation schools. He found five of them and told Oilers coach Tyler Deis that UND was his top choice. That kick-started the process that landed the 5-foot-11, 195-pound forward in Grand Forks.

"I didn't know the full extent of the school, that this was a full-on commercial aviation where you go through all the ratings, multi-engine and everything," he said. "But this is perfect."

Jamernik plans to spend every summer of his college career in Grand Forks flying, because it's difficult to schedule flights during the hockey season.

"I only have two or three days a week to fly that are open," he said. "If those two or three days are weathered because of wind, then I can't fly. That's been the story this past month. I think I've only flown once this month because of the weather. That goes away once I finish 221 and 222 and get my instrument rating and can go into the clouds, but right now, I can't."

Jamernik did his first solo flight in August. He said coach Berry drove out to the airport at 7 a.m. to be there for it.

"That was pretty awesome," Jamernik said. "It was so cool. It made my day. Then, he called my dad right after. That meant a lot to me."

Jamernik said he appreciates the demands of the aviation school, because it means he'll be a better pilot.

"My buddy back home in Calgary is taking aviation and he doesn't have the full-on school like this," Jamernik said. "It makes you kind of wonder about the different types of pilots, where they're coming from, how much knowledge they have. The people coming from UND, I'm confident if they're in the cockpit. I'm happy flying with them."

Jamernik has completed his solo and his first cross-country flight, a 2.7 hour journey from Grand Forks to Detroit Lakes to Thief River Falls and back in the single-engine Piper Archer.

Next up, he has to finish his final stage check and he will officially have his private pilot's license. He will eventually move on to get his instrument rating and begin flying multi-engine aircrafts.

On the ice, Jamernik is thriving this season, too.

He's on one of UND's key lines with Gavin Hain and Mark Senden, tasked with shutting down every opponent's best players. Offensively, Jamernik has three goals and six points in 11 games, surpassing his output from last season in just over a month. He scored two goals in a win over Denver earlier this month.

Jamernik has played several roles for the No. 6 Fighting Hawks — he's a regular on the power play, penalty kill and he's the team's resident expert on aviation.

"Any time we have a tough landing, the boys are always asking what's going on," Jamernik said. "Sometimes, I do know, but I don't. In the summer, or last year, I had no clue. But now I have a lot better understanding."

No. 4 Minnesota Duluth at No. 6 UND

When: 7:07 p.m. Friday, 6:07 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Ralph Engelstad Arena.

TV: Midco Sports (GF Ch. 27/622 HD).

Webcast: NCHC.tv.

Radio: The Fox (96.1 FM).

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