Sioux Sports Talk – UND fans discuss the Fighting Hawks

Weekend Preview: UND vs. Denver

#9 North Dakota (5-4-0) hosts #1 Denver (10-0-0) this weekend in a battle of NCHC heavyweights.

To this point of the season, UND has faced #10 Providence (home win), #16 Minnesota State (road split), #11 Boston University (home split), #6 Cornell (two road losses), and unranked Minnesota Duluth (a road sweep).

Denver, on the other hand, has road sweeps at Alaska-Anchorage and Yale and home sweeps over Northeastern, Wisconsin, and Lindenwood. The defending national champions have not allowed more than two goals in any game this season and have outscored their opponents 49-13. It is worth mentioning, however, that of those five teams, only Northeastern is receiving votes in the most recent USCHO poll, and they would be considered #26 in the country.

In the NCHC preseason poll, Denver was picked to finish in first place, while North Dakota was tabbed for second place.

The NCHC has been the premier hockey conference since its inception, and particularly over the past ten seasons. The eight teams in the league have gone 534-275-85 (.645) in non-conference action since the start of the 2014-15 season and sent thirteen teams to the Frozen Four (UND and Omaha in 2015, UND and Denver in 2016, Denver and Duluth in 2017, Duluth in 2018, Denver and Duluth in 2019, Duluth and St. Cloud State in 2021, and Denver in both 2022 and 2024) over that nine-year stretch (there was no national tournament in 2020). Conference members North Dakota (2016), Denver (2017, 2022, 2024), and Minnesota Duluth (2018, 2019) have won six of the last eight national titles.

Before we dig into this weekend’s matchup, let’s take a quick look back at the past few games between the two teams…

UND swept the Pios at Ralph Engelstad Arena on January 26th and 27th, 2024. Eight different Fighting Hawks lit the lamp in the two victories (by final scores of 5-2 and 4-2), and North Dakota went 4-for-6 on the power play while holding DU powerless on four man-advantage situations. The final shot counter for the weekend showed 62-43 in favor of the home team.

On December 1st and 2nd, 2023, North Dakota traveled to Denver for a pair of NCHC contests. In Friday’s opener, UND’s Dylan James got the visitors on the board less than two minutes into the action. The Pioneers would storm back with four first-period goals of their own, and it looked like the rout was on. The Fighting Hawks pulled within one in the middle frame, but a late DU goal from Tristan Broz had the Pios up by two with just twenty minutes remaining. The third period was all Green and White, as Jackson Blake, Louis Jamernik V, Riese Gaber, and Cameron Berg all potted goals en route to a 7-5 North Dakota victory.

In Saturday’s finale, UND never trailed in regulation but also never extended a lead past a single goal. DU tied things up at two goals apiece with nine minutes remaining and scored the game-winner during 3-on-3 action to take the extra league point.

Given how things started out on Friday night, grabbing four out of six points in the conference standings was a good result for the Fighting Hawks.

UND looked overmatched against the visiting Pios back in November 2022, as David Carle’s squad managed a 3-2, 6-3 road sweep over a Fighting Hawks team that had taken five of six points at Omaha the week before. Friday’s opener ended up as a one-goal DU victory, but that was only because North Dakota held the Pioneers scoreless on six man-advantage opportunities.

And in the rematch at altitude in February 2023, it was more of the same. Denver scored five goals each night and held the Fighting Hawks to five total goals on the weekend in securing the rare four-game season sweep. In Friday’s opener, UND played well enough to win but were undone by poor goaltending, as Drew DeRidder allowed four goals on the eleven shots he faced before giving way to Jacob Hellsten just five minutes into the second period. The last two goals that DeRidder allowed came just fourteen seconds apart.

In the 2021 NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinals (held at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks), North Dakota needed overtime to outlast a gutsy performance by a Pios squad that had been decimated by COVID-19. DU dressed only nine forwards for the contest but led 1-0 with under 90 seconds remaining. With the goalie pulled, the Fighting Hawks’ Shane Pinto blasted a shot on net that hit Jasper Weatherby on the way in to send the game to overtime. It took over eight minutes of extra time before Gavin Hain sent the home crowd into a frenzy with a blast of his own that advanced the Green and White into the championship game; Denver had just killed Antti Tuomisto’s boarding minor but could not clear the zone. UND outshot the weary Pioneers 20-4 in the third period and overtime.

With the playoff victory, North Dakota moved to 20-5-1 on the season; David Carle’s squad saw its season end at 10-13-1, the first time DU failed to advance to the NCAA tournament since 2007. The 2020-2021 season was the first losing campaign for DU since the 1999-2000 team went 16-23-2. UND won five of the seven meetings between the teams three years ago, outscoring the Pios 22-14. North Dakota allowed ten goals in the first three meetings with a record of 1-2; since their loss in game one at Denver on January 17th, the Fighting Hawks notched four consecutive victories over DU (15 goals for, 4 goals against). That mid-January defeat was definitely a wakeup call for Brady Berry’s squad; from that point until the end of the season, the Green and White went 13-3, outscoring opponents 69-28.

Denver definitely rebounded three seasons ago, going 31-9-1 and defeating Minnesota State 5-1 for the program’s ninth national title. That championship game was tied 1-1 until the 7:33 mark of the third period. The Pios would add two empty-net goals for the misleading final score.

Since Denver ended North Dakota’s season in 2019, UND has gone 11-7-1 against the Pios.

In the NCHC, it is clear that Denver/North Dakota is at the top of the league rivalries, with the two programs combining for nine NCHC regular season titles and averaging a top-three finish in the league standings each year (UND 2.4, DU 2.8).

The teams have played 49 times during the first eleven seasons of the new conference (with UND holding a slight 22-20-7 edge), but the feud goes all the way back to Geoff Paukovitch’ illegal check on Sioux forward Robbie Bina during the 2005 WCHA Final Five.

Since that 2005 Final Five contest (a Denver victory), the two teams have met thirteen times in tournament play. Denver won the 2005 NCAA title with a victory over North Dakota and claimed a 2008 WCHA Final Five win as well. UND has earned six victories and a tie in the last ten playoff games between the schools, including three consecutive victories in the WCHA Final Five (2010-2012), the 2011 NCAA Midwest Regional final which sent the Fighting Sioux to the Frozen Four, 2016’s thrilling Frozen Four semifinal (a 4-2 UND victory) in Tampa, Florida, and the 2017 NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinal in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Denver turned the tables by dispatching North Dakota in the first round of the league playoffs at Magness Arena to end the Fighting Hawks’ 2018-2019 campaign.

(It is impossible to bring up the Paukovitch/Bina incident without also writing that Brad Malone‘s check on Denver’s Jesse Martin during an October 2010 contest at Ralph Engelstad Arena fractured three of Martin’s vertebrae and ended the hockey career of the Atlanta Thrashers’ draft pick.)

The rivalry intensified four seasons ago, with the teams combining for 187 penalty minutes in six regular season games (the NCHC semifinal game featured just four minor penalties). The last contest between the squads in Denver saw a DU goaltender run over with nine minutes remaining, which ignited tempers further. That spilled over to the series in Grand Forks in February, with the Pioneers “winning” the penalty minute battle 54-29. North Dakota won the specialty teams battle, scoring two goals on ten man-advantage opportunities and blanking DU on its ten power play chances.

In Saturday’s series finale, North Dakota led on the scoreboard 5-2 thanks to two goals by Jasper Weatherby and 18 saves from Peter Thome, who started in place of injured netminder Adam Scheel. And how was Scheel injured, you might ask? Denver’s Kohen Olischefski ran Scheel from behind late in Friday’s 3-0 UND victory. Olischefski was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for goaltender interference and was issued an additional one-game suspension by the league office.

And in the only series played between the teams three years ago, the two sides combined for 78 penalty minutes and ten power play opportunities. UND swept the series 3-1 and 4-1, thanks in no small part to a 1-for-5 effort on the power play and a perfect penalty kill.

Turning our attention to this season…

North Dakota bench boss Brad Berry will be without six players in this important NCHC series:

Junior goaltender Kaleb Johnson looks to be sidelined for an extended period of time; the team brought in Aleksi Huson to be the third goaltender on the roster. Huson backstopped Shakopee High School last season, serving as team captain while posting a record of 20-5-1 with a goals-against average of 2.13 and a save percentage of .934.

Junior defenseman Bennett Zmolek remains out of the lineup; Zmolek has missed the last eight games.

Fellow blueliner Tanner Komzak, a sophomore, was injured in practice two weeks ago and has not traveled with the team since.

Two other players – freshman forward Cody Croal and freshman defenseman Andrew Strathmann – were injured in the opening game at Cornell on November 1st.

Without Zmolek, Komzak, and Strathmann, North Dakota’s defensive corps consists of two freshmen and three sophomores plus junior Dane Montgomery, whose position was changed from forward to defenseman on the team’s official roster last week.

And finally, forward Cameron Berg, who had returned to the lineup at Duluth after missing both games against the Big Red, was injured in practice this week and will not compete this weekend against the Pios. Berg leads the team in points per game (4-4-8 in seven games played).

It is no surprise given the level of competition these two teams have faced to this point of the season, but Denver far outpaces UND in two key puck possession statistics:

Denver: 2nd in Corsi (60.7%) and 2nd in Fenwick (60.8%)
North Dakota: 23rd in Corsi (51.9%) and 30th in Fenwick (50.3%)

Corsi measures the share of shot attempts for each team at even strength, while Fenwick measure the share of unblocked shot attempts for each team at even strength.

As always, a key area to watch this weekend is the face-off circle. The Fighting Hawks are the nation’s 15th-best team on draws (54.5%), while the Pioneers clock in at 57.0% (3rd).

For UND, senior Jake Schmaltz has been making a living on draws, winning 91 of 148 (61.5%). Graduate forward Louis Jamernik V has been stellar as well (41 of 74; 55.4%). Brad Berry will miss senior Cameron Berg’s presence this weekend; Berg has won 60 of 100 faceoffs to this point of the season.

For Denver, it’s been senior Carter King (133 of 220, 61.9%) taking the majority of draws, with sophomore Kieran Cebrian (99 of 167, 59.3%) and junior Samu Salminen (69 of 122, 56.6%) contributing as well.

North Dakota has five drafted skaters among its eight first-year players, including a pair of highly-touted recruits:

Forward Sacha Boisvert: 2024 Round 1 #18 overall to the Chicago Blackhawks

Boisvert last played with the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL).

Defenseman E.J. Emery: 2024 Round 1 #30 overall to the New York Rangers

Emery spent the last two seasons with the U.S. National Development Team in Ann Arbor.

Other North Dakota freshmen who were drafted by NHL teams over the past three years include:

Defenseman Andrew Strathmann: 2023 Round 4 #98 overall to the Columbus Blue Jackets

Forward Mac Swanson: 2024 Round 7 #207 to the Pittsburgh Penguins

Forward Cade Littler: 2022 Round 7 #219 overall to the Calgary Flames

The three freshman forwards listed above have combined for six goals and ten assists in 25 games played this season, while Emery and Strathmann have each picked up an assist while playing heavy minutes for the Hawks (Emery 21:34, Strathmann 11:05). Strathmann was averaging nearly thirteen minutes a game before being injured early in last Friday’s game at Cornell.

According to College Hockey News, North Dakota’s freshman class ranks #4 in the country. Denver clocks in at #10, with four drafted players among five first-year skaters:

Forward Jake Fisher: 2024 Round 4 #121 overall to the Colorado Avalanche

Fisher, who spent the last two seasons with the Fargo Force (USHL), was a teammate of UND freshman forward Mac Swanson.

Forward Hagen Burrows: 2024 Round 4 #128 overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning

Burrows, a Mr. Hockey Award winner (19-40-59 in his final season at Minnetonka), spent last season with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL.

Forward James Reeder: 2024 Round 7 #198 overall to the Los Angeles Kings

Last season, Reeder put up an eye-popping stat line of 20-40-60 in 53 games with the Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL).

Defenseman Tory Pitner: 2024 Round 6 #185 overall to the Colorado Avalanche

Pitner spent the past two seasons with the Youngstown Phantoms (USHL), winning a Clark Cup title in 2023. The Avs draft pick turned up the offense last season, scoring 24 points (eight goals) in fifty games.

These same two teams will tangle in Denver on February 14th and 15th, 2025.

Denver Team Profile

Head Coach: David Carle (7th season at DU, 158-62-16, .703)

National Rankings: #1/#1

This Season: 10-0-0 overall, 0-0-0-0 NCHC
Last Season: 32-9-3 overall (National Champions), 12-7-4-1 NCHC (2nd)

2024-2025 Team Statistics:

Team Offense: 4.90 goals scored/game – 1st of 64 teams
Team Defense: 1.30 goals allowed/game – 1st of 64 teams

Power Play: 34.8% (16 of 46) – 3rd of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 93.1% (27 of 29) – 6th of 64 teams

Key players: Senior F Jack Devine (1-16-17), Junior F Aiden Thompson (7-10-17), Senior F Carter King (7-6-13), Sophomore F Sam Harris (9-4-13), Sophomore D Eric Pohlkamp (4-9-13), Sophomore D Zeev Buium (0-10-10), Sophomore D Boston Buckberger (2-7-9), Senior G Matt Davis (9-0-0, 1.34 GAA, .955 SV%)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (10th season at UND, 211-108-33, .646)

National Rankings: #9/#10

This Season: 5-4-0 overall, 2-0-0-0 NCHC (1st of 9 teams)
Last Season: 26-12-2 (NCAA tournament appearance), 14-4-1-5 NCHC (1st)

Team Offense: 3.67 goals scored/game – 9th of 64 teams
Team Defense: 2.89 goals allowed/game – 32nd of 64 teams

Power Play: 33.3% (9 of 27) – 4th of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 75.8% (25 of 33) – 45th of 62 teams

Key Players: Graduate F Louis Jamernik V (4-5-9), Freshman F Sacha Boisvert (2-5-7), Junior F Owen McLaughlin (0-7-7), Junior F Dylan James (4-0-4), Sophomore F Jayden Perron (2-3-5), Freshman F Mac Swanson (2-4-6), Sophomore D Jake Livanavage (1-7-8), Sophomore D Abram Wiebe (2-5-7), Freshman D E.J. Emery (0-1-1), Graduate G T.J. Semptimphelter (5-2-0, 2.76 GAA, .901 SV%)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: January 27, 2024 (Grand Forks, ND). It was déjà vu all over again for the Pios, as they were blitzed for the second night in a row by the homestanding Hawks. North Dakota secured the weekend sweep with a 4-2 victory after winning by a final score of 5-2 in the opener. UND outshot, outscored, outpaced, and outdid their rivals on both special teams, going 4-for-6 with the man advantage on the weekend while holding Denver scoreless on four power plays.

Earlier Last Season: December 2, 2023 (Denver, Colorado). UND never trailed in regulation but also never extended a lead past a single goal. DU tied things up at two goals apiece with nine minutes remaining and scored the game-winner during 3-on-3 action to take the extra league point. One night earlier, UND’s Dylan James got the visitors on the board less than two minutes into the action. The Pioneers would storm back with four first-period goals of their own, and it looked like the rout was on. The Fighting Hawks pulled within one in the middle frame, but a late DU goal from Tristan Broz had the Pios up by two with just twenty minutes remaining. The third period was all Green and White, as Jackson Blake, Louis Jamernik V, Riese Gaber, and Cameron Berg all potted goals en route to a 7-5 North Dakota victory.

A Recent Memory: April 7, 2016 (Tampa, Florida). In the semifinals of the NCAA Frozen Four, the two league rivals squared off in a tightly-contested matchup. Senior forward Drake Caggiula scored twice early in the middle frame to stake UND to a 2-0 lead, but the Pioneers battled back with a pair of third-period goals. The CBS line came through when it mattered most, with Nick Schmaltz scoring the game winner off of a faceoff win with 57 seconds remaining in the hockey game. North Dakota blocked 27 Denver shot attempts and goaltender Cam Johnson made 21 saves for the Fighting Hawks, who won the program’s eighth national title on the same sheet of ice two nights later.

Most Important Meeting: It’s hard to pick just one game, as the two teams have played four times for the national title. Denver defeated UND for the national championship in 1958, 1968, and 2005, while the Sioux downed the Pioneers in 1963. But the game that stands out in recent memory as “the one that got away” was DU’s 1-0 victory over the Fighting Sioux in the 2004 NCAA West Regional final (Colorado Springs, CO). That North Dakota team went 30-8-4 on the season (Dean Blais’ last behind the UND bench) and featured one of the deepest rosters in the past twenty years: Brandon Bochenski, Zach Parise, Brady Murray, Colby Genoway, Drew Stafford and David Lundbohm up front; Nick Fuher, Matt Jones, Matt Greene, and Ryan Hale on defense; and a couple of goaltending stalwarts in Jordan Parise and Jake Brandt.

Last Ten Games: The two teams have each won five of the last ten games, with UND holding a 35-33 edge in goals scored over that stretch. Before North Dakota’s home sweep over the Pios in January of this year, the Pios had won five of the last six contests.

All-time Series: UND leads the all-time series, 159-135-16 (.539), including a strong 94-46-10 (.707) record in games played in Grand Forks. The teams first met in 1950, with North Dakota prevailing 18-3 in Denver. The 310 games played between the schools is the most among all of UND’s opponents.

Game News and Notes

Since Denver ended North Dakota’s season in 2019, UND has gone 13-7-1 against the Pios. Twelve of Denver head coach David Carle’s 62 head coaching losses have come against UND. Last season, the Fighting Hawks won the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular season champions for the sixth time in the eleven-year history of the league; the Pioneers have captured the Penrose only three times (2016-2017 and back-to-back in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023). Three Pios players hail from the state of Colorado, while five Fighting Hawks are from North Dakota. Since seven of Michigan’s nine titles were earned by 1964, I consider Denver (ten titles) and UND (eight titles) to be the top two men’s college hockey programs of all time.

On A Personal Note

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The Prediction

If North Dakota was at full strength, I would feel much better about this matchup. DU’s defensemen are active and offensive-minded, so the recipe for success is to make them work in their own end by getting pucks in and forcing them to defend and work hard to break out pucks. After the first five weeks of the season, North Dakota is certainly more battle-tested than the Pios. As always. goaltending and special teams will be huge. The North Dakota fans and the Denver fan should enjoy two entertaining contests this weekend, with the home crowd doing just enough to help the Hawks earn a split. UND 4-3, DU 5-2.

Broadcast Information

Both games will be broadcast live on Midco Sports Network, with Friday’s opener also available on TSN3. The series is also available via webcast at NCHC.tv. All UND men’s hockey games can be heard on stations across the UND Sports Home of Economy Radio Network as well as through the iHeart Radio app. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. Central Time on Friday and 6:07 p.m. Central Time on Saturday.

Social Media

Keep up with the action live during all UND hockey games by following @UNDmhockey and @UNDInsider on Twitter. Fans can also read the action via Brad Schlossman’s live chat on the Grand Forks Herald website.

As always, thank you for reading. I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions. Follow me on Twitter (@DBergerHockey) for more information and insight. Here’s to hockey!

Weekend Preview: UND at Minnesota Duluth

#10 North Dakota (3-4-0) travels to Duluth this weekend to face the unranked UMD Bulldogs (3-4-0) in the NCHC opener for both teams.

To this point of the season, UND has faced only ranked opponents (#11 Providence, #16 Minnesota State, #9 Boston University, and #6 Cornell).

Minnesota-Duluth, on the other hand, has faced unranked Bemidji State, #17 UMass-Lowell, #3 Minnesota, and unranked Stonehill.

In the NCHC preseason poll, UND was picked to finish in second place (behind Denver), while the Bulldogs ended up in seventh place (ahead of only Arizona State and Miami).

The NCHC has been the premier hockey conference since its inception, and particularly over the past ten seasons. The eight teams in the league have gone 532-275-85 (.644) in non-conference action since the start of the 2014-15 season and sent thirteen teams to the Frozen Four (UND and Omaha in 2015, UND and Denver in 2016, Denver and Duluth in 2017, Duluth in 2018, Denver and Duluth in 2019, Duluth and St. Cloud State in 2021, and Denver in both 2022 and 2024) over that nine-year stretch (there was no national tournament in 2020). Conference members North Dakota (2016), Denver (2017, 2022, 2024), and Minnesota Duluth (2018, 2019) have won six of the last eight national titles.

The Bulldogs played ten games at the Division I level in the early 1930s but didn’t really get started until after World War II. Its first 19 seasons after the war were played as an independent before joining the WCHA in 1965. It would take 18 seasons – and a head coach named Mike Sertich – before UMD would make the NCAA tournament, and Sertich would take them there in three consecutive seasons:

1982-1983: National Quarterfinalist
1983-1984: 2nd Place (National Runner-Up)
1984-1985: 3rd Place (Consolation Champion)

In 1984, Duluth was tantalizingly close to winning its first title. The Bulldogs defeated North Dakota 2-1 in overtime (behind a goal by Bill Watson) to advance to the championship game, where they would face Bowling Green in the longest NCAA final in Division I men’s hockey history. Gino Cavallini scored for the Falcons in the fourth overtime session, ending a game that took over 97 minutes of game action to complete.

And, perhaps, fittingly, UMD would find themselves locked in overtime contests in 1985 as well. The Bulldogs took RPI to three overtimes in the national semis before falling 6-5. Back in those days, there was still a third-place game, and so Duluth faced Boston College (which had also played three overtimes in its semifinal) for no reason at all. Of course, that game also went to overtime, with UMD defeating the Eagles 7-6.

After that three-year splash on the national scene, Mike Sertich would manage just one more tournament appearance (1993) over the final fifteen years of his head coaching career before giving way to Scott Sandelin, who has guided the Bulldogs to the NCAAs eleven times in his 24 completed seasons behind the Bulldog bench. It is worth noting, however, that Duluth has had two consecutive losing seasons (28-40-6) overall and has missed the last two NCAA tourneys.

Even though UMD has been a more frequent participant over the past two decades than at any other point in team history, Duluth and North Dakota have only met twice in the national tournament (1984 and 2021). UND had a chance to meet the Bulldogs in the 2011 title game but fell to the Wolverines in the semifinals 2-0 (with an empty-net goal) despite outshooting Michigan 40-20.

Before the Wolverines were forced to withdraw from the 2021 tournament, UMD and Michigan were set to square off in the national tournament for the first time since that overtime thriller in St. Paul.

With three national titles in a nine-year stretch, the Bulldogs could certainly be considered the best team of the 2010s; North Dakota’s eight national titles have been spread out across the decades: 1959, 1963, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1997, 2000, and 2016.

The Wolverines have won nine NCAA titles but only two since 1964, those coming in 1996 and 1998. For that reason, I consider North Dakota (eight titles) and Denver (ten titles) the two best programs in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey history.

And turning our attention to this season…

North Dakota bench boss Brad Berry will be without five players in this important NCHC series:

Junior defenseman Bennett Zmolek remains out of the lineup; Zmolek has missed the last six games.

Fellow blueliner Tanner Komzak, a sophomore, was injured in practice a week ago and did not travel to Cornell last weekend.

Two other players – freshman forward Cody Croal and freshman defenseman Andrew Strathmann – were injured during last Friday’s game at Cornell.

In the good news department, forward Cameron Berg returns to the lineup this weekend after missing both games a week ago. Berg, who has scored three goals and added three assists in five games this season, was injured late in Saturday’s home loss to Boston University on October 26th when he got tangled up with two other players in his own end. Berg was on the ice for the final fourteen seconds of the game and participated in portions of practice last week but was not cleared to play against Cornell a week ago.

Minnesota Duluth brought in eleven freshmen this season, including two defensemen and two goaltenders. Head coach Scott Sandelin is hoping to turn things around after a dreadful 12-20-5 season (5-11-5-3 in the NCHC) a year ago.

Through seven games this season, only five Bulldogs have more than two points, including two freshmen – forwards Jayson Shaugabay (4-1-5) and Zam Plante (1-3-4). The other leading point-getters for UMD will be more familiar names: senior forward Dominic James (6-4-10), sophomore defenseman Aaron Pionk (0-8-8), and senior defenseman Owen Gallatin (1-5-6).

By comparison, TEN North Dakota players have collected more than two points through the team’s first seven contests.

The injury bug has also struck the Bulldogs, although to a lesser extent. Two UMD forwards – freshman Max Plante and junior Max Smith are not expected in the lineup this weekend.

One key area to watch this weekend is the face-off circle. The Fighting Hawks and Bulldogs are tied for 13th in the nation at 54.6%. Although the numbers are identical, North Dakota does appear to have an edge in the experience department.

For UND, senior Jake Schmaltz has been making a living on draws, winning 81 of 121 (66.9%). Graduate forward Louis Jamernik V has been stellar as well (31 of 54; 57.4%). Brad Berry will welcome senior Cameron Berg’s return to the dot; Berg has won 37 of 69 faceoffs to this point of the season (53.6%).

Duluth will counter with a combination of senior Dominic James (96 of 153, 62.7%), freshman Zam Plante (20 of 42, 69.0%), and freshman Callum Arnott (24 of 54, 44.4%). Plante has a unique style on faceoffs that must be seen to be appreciated. Scott Sandelin certainly misses the presence of Jack Smith in the lineup, the junior has gone 40 of 79 (50.6%) in this number games this season.

North Dakota has five drafted skaters among its eight first-year players, including a pair of highly-touted recruits:

Forward Sacha Boisvert: 2024 Round 1 #18 overall to the Chicago Blackhawks

Boisvert last played with the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL).

Defenseman E.J. Emery: 2024 Round 1 #30 overall to the New York Rangers

Emery spent the last two seasons with the U.S. National Development Team in Ann Arbor.

Other North Dakota freshmen who were drafted by NHL teams over the past three years include:

Defenseman Andrew Strathmann: 2023 Round 4 #98 overall to the Columbus Blue Jackets

Forward Mac Swanson: 2024 Round 7 #207 to the Pittsburgh Penguins

Forward Cade Littler: 2022 Round 7 #219 overall to the Calgary Flames

The three freshman forwards listed above have combined for three goals and eight assists in nineteen games played this season, while Emery and Strathmann have each picked up an assist while playing heavy minutes for the Hawks (Emery 21:31, Strathmann 11:17). Strathmann was averaging nearly thirteen minutes a game before being injured early in last Friday’s game at Cornell.

Minnesota Duluth boasts five draft picks among its eleven-member freshman class:

Forward Max Plante: 2024 Round 2 #47 overall to the Detroit Red Wings

Plante spent the last two seasons as E.J. Emery’s teammate with the U.S. National Development Team in Ann Arbor.

Forward Jayson Shaugabay: 2023 Round 4 #115 overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning

Shaugabay, a Warroad native, won the 2023 Minnesota Mr. Hockey award.

Forward Zam Plante: 2022 Round 5 #150 overall to the Pittsburgh Penguins

Zam, who at twenty years of age is the older brother of Max, is finally healthy after dealing with a shoulder injury. Last season, he was a Fargo Force teammate of current UND freshman Mac Swanson.

Defenseman Adam Kleber: 2024 Round 2 #42 overall to the Buffalo Sabres

Kleber is listed at 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds.

Goaltender Adam Gajan: 2023 Round 2 #35 overall to the Chicago Blackhawks

Gajan competed in the 2023 and 2024 World Junior U-20 Championships for his native Slovakia and has been the UMD goaltender of record for all but one game this season (3-3-0, 3.19 GAA, .899 SV%).

Overall, Minnesota-Duluth’s recruiting class was ranked first in the nation by College Hockey News, while North Dakota’s crop of freshmen came in fourth. The two classes sandwiched in between belong to Boston College and Boston University. Incidentally, Western Michigan came in fifth, Denver was slotted in tenth, and Colorado College was picked eleventh.

It remains to be seen which North Dakota netminder gets the nod tonight. Graduate transfer T.J. Semptimphelter had earned the majority of the starts over the first few weekends of play, but he allowed three goals on four shots over the first thirteen minutes of Friday’s opener at Cornell and was pulled in favor of Hobie Hedquist. The sophomore shut the door the rest of the way, stopping all sixteen shots he faced. It was a different story in Saturday’s rematch, however, as Hedquist allowed four goals on 27 shots.

Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs

Head Coach: Scott Sandelin (25th season at UMD, 459-392-100, .535)

National Ranking: NR/NR

This Season: 3-4-0 overall, 0-0-0-0 NCHC
Last Season: 12-20-5 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 5-11-5-3 NCHC (7th of 8 teams)

2024-2025 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.00 goals scored/game – 24th of 62 teams
Team Defense: 3.43 goals allowed/game – 46th of 62 teams

Power Play: 20.7% (6 of 29) – 23rd of 62 teams
Penalty Kill: 78.9% (15 of 19) – 41st of 62 teams

Key players: Senior F Dominic James (6-4-10), Freshman F Jayson Shaugabay (4-1-5), Freshman F Zam Plante (1-3-4), Sophomore D Aaron Pionk (0-8-8), Senior D Owen Gallatin (1-5-6), Freshman G Adam Gajan (3-3-0, 3.19 GAA, .899 SV%)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (10th season at UND, 209-108-33, .644)

National Rankings: #10/#10

This Season: 3-4-0 overall, 0-0-0-0 NCHC
Last Season: 26-12-2 (NCAA tournament appearance), 14-4-1-5 NCHC (1st)

Team Offense: 3.14 goals scored/game – 22nd of 62 teams
Team Defense: 3.14 goals allowed/game – 40th of 62 teams

Power Play: 30.0% (6 of 20) – 5th of 62 teams
Penalty Kill: 82.6% (19 of 23) – 32nd of 62 teams

Key Players: Senior F Cameron Berg (3-3-6 in five games), Freshman F Sacha Boisvert (2-5-7), Junior F Owen McLaughlin (0-5-5), Junior F Dylan James (4-0-4), Sophomore F Jayden Perron (1-3-4), Graduate F Louis Jamernik V (3-3-6), Freshman F Mac Swanson (1-2-3), Sophomore D Jake Livanavage (1-2-3), Sophomore D Abram Wiebe (1-5-6), Freshman D E.J. Emery (0-1-1), Junior G Hobie Hedquist (0-2-0, 2.25 GAA, .913 SV%)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: February 24, 2024 (Grand Forks, ND). UND gave our daughter Ashley a terrific birthday present, completing the weekend sweep with a 4-2 victory. Sophomore forward Dylan James broke a 2-2 third-period tie with a pair of goals. In Friday’s opener, North Dakota crushed UMD 6-0 behind a goal and four assists from sophomore forward Jackson Blake.

Last Meeting in Duluth: November 11, 2023. North Dakota weathered an early first-period storm and went to the locker room leading 1-0 on Louis Jamernik V’s power play goal. A dominant middle frame saw UND outshoot the Bulldogs 18-5 and extend the lead to 2-0. That would be more than enough, as Ludvig Persson stopped all 30 shots he faced. One night earlier, the Fighting Hawks built a 3-0 lead in the opening twenty minutes but saw a UMD comeback bring the home team within one. North Dakota’s Cameron Berg iced the game with a power play tally with under forty seconds remaining. During the series, UND wore helmet stickers honoring former Duluth forward Adam Johnson, who died on October 28, 2023 when a skate blade cut his neck during a pro hockey game. The stickers featured the initials ‘AJ’ along with the number 47, which he was wearing for the Nottingham Panthers. Former UND forward Westin Michaud was Johnson’s teammate with the Panthers.

Most Important Meeting: March 27, 2021 (Fargo, ND). North Dakota was down 2-0 to Minnesota Duluth with just 101 seconds remaining in the third period of the 2021 NCAA Midwest Regional final at Scheels Arena in Fargo, North Dakota. The Bulldogs had built their lead with two goals just 80 seconds apart early in the final frame on a pair of fluky plays. A partially blocked shot off the stick of Jackson Cates fluttered past Fighting Hawks’ netminder Adam Scheel, and a broken stick at the blue line sent Cole Koepke in alone on a breakaway. UND scored two extra-attacker goals in the final two minutes of regulation to send the game long into the night. Minnesota Duluth outlasted North Dakota 3-2 in five overtimes to advance to the NCAA Frozen Four. The three goaltenders involved in the contest combined to make 114 saves.

The Meeting That Never Was: Both teams advanced to the 2011 NCAA Frozen Four at Xcel Energy Center (St. Paul, Minnesota). UND could not get past Michigan, falling 2-0 despite outshooting the Wolverines 40-20. In the other national semifinal, Minnesota-Duluth defeated Notre Dame 4-3 and rode that momentum to the title game. The Bulldogs took the Wolverines to overtime before senior forward Kyle Schmidt scored the game winner and earned UMD their first national championship. North Dakota won two of the three games against Duluth that season, outscoring Scott Sandelin’s team 11-5.

All-time Series: UND leads the all-time series, 157-89-11 (.632), including a 67-46-6 (.588) advantage in games played in Grand Forks. The teams first met in 1954, with North Dakota winning the first ten games between the schools by a combined score of 72-16. UMD’s first win over the Fighting Sioux (a 3-2 road victory on December 18th, 1959) did not sit well with the defending national champions. UND defeated Duluth 13-2 the following night.

Last Ten: North Dakota is 8-2-0 (.800) in the last ten games between the teams, outscoring the Bulldogs 31-18 over that stretch. Only four of the past ten UND-UMD games were played in Duluth (all victories for the Fighting Hawks).

Game News and Notes

North Dakota has struggled with slow starts over the past two games, giving up early leads to Boston University (1-0) and Cornell (3-1 and 2-0). Duluth has been outshot and outscored in first periods and second periods this season. With Cameron Berg out of the lineup last weekend, UND went 0-for-7 on the power play against Cornell. Both head coaches this weekend are alumni of the University of North Dakota; Brad Berry (1983-86) and Scott Sandelin (1982-86) both played for UND under John “Gino” Gasparini.

On A Personal Note

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The Prediction

I expect a fast, physical weekend of hockey out of this matchup, with plenty of talent on display. An early lead would be beneficial for UND, as they seem to play with much more purpose and poise when they aren’t chasing the game. Of course, goaltending is always a big factor, but even more so in this one, with a freshman netminder on one end and some uncertainty on the other. North Dakota’s grueling non-conference schedule will prove to be a benefit in this series, and I’ve got them finding a way to get two wins. UND 5-3, 4-2.

Broadcast Information

Both games this weekend will be available online at NCHC.tv, with Saturday’s contest also broadcast on Midco Sports Two. All UND men’s hockey games can be heard on stations across the Fighting Hawks Radio Network as well as through the iHeart Radio app. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. Central Time on Friday and 6:07 p.m. Central on Saturday.

Social Media

As always, thank you for reading. I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions.

Weekend Preview: UND at Cornell

#6 North Dakota (3-2-0) travels to Ithaca, New York this weekend to face #9 Cornell. The Big Red have yet to play a game this season, and it will be interesting to see whether Mike Schafer’s squad can pick up where they left off a year ago (22-7-6 in 2023-24).

Cornell was impressive in the NCAA tournament last season, besting Maine 3-1 before meeting up with eventual champion Denver in the regional final. Denver scored a power play goal with four seconds remaining in the second period to break a 1-1 tie and made that lead hold up despite a furious third period that saw the Big Red outshoot the Pios 9-3.

Cornell returns all but one player from last year’s squad, which was the best defensive team in the country in 2023-24 (1.86 goals allowed/game).

That one player – center Gabriel Seger – is a big loss for Mike Schafer’s crew. Seger put up a line of 14-30-44 in 35 games last season and was the team’s leading scorer.

Two other Cornell players – sophomore forward Luke Devlin and sophomore defenseman George Fegaras – are expected to be out of the lineup this weekend. In the 2022 NHL Draft, Devlin was a sixth-round pick (#182 overall) of the Pittsburgh Penguins, while Fegaras was a third-round draft pick (#83 overall) of the Dallas Stars.

Remarkably, Cornell has THIRTY players on its hockey roster, with a breakdown of eleven defensemen, sixteen forwards, and three goaltenders. By comparison, UND has a far-more-normal roster of 26 players (8-15-3).

North Dakota bench boss Brad Berry will be without four of those 26 players in this important non-conference series:

Junior defenseman Bennett Zmolek remains out of the lineup; Zmolek has missed the last four games.

Fellow blueliner Tanner Komzak, a sophomore, was injured in practice this week and also did not travel.

Junior goaltender Kaleb Johnson remained in Grand Forks this week; the team is still determining how long Johnson might be sidelined.

And perhaps most importantly, senior forward Cameron Berg, the team’s leading scorer (3-3-6), was injured late in Saturday’s loss to Boston University when he got tangled up with two other players in his own end. Berg was on the ice for the final fourteen seconds of the game and participated in portions of practice this week but is unable to return to the lineup.

All four players are dealing with lower-body injuries.

Without Zmolek and Komzak, North Dakota’s defensive corps consists of three freshmen and three sophomores. Junior forward Dane Montgomery is another option on the blue line for Brad Berry this weekend.

UND has played Cornell just ten times in school history, with three of those meetings in the NCAA tournament. Before the January 2022 series in Grand Forks (a 4-3, 3-1 Big Red sweep), the two teams last squared off in January 2010 in the first two UND games ever played in Ithaca, New York. Cornell won the opener 1-0 before North Dakota evened the series with a 3-1 victory.

This season, #6 North Dakota followed up a 5-2 victory over #12 Providence in its home opener with a road split at #16 Minnesota State (3-2, 0-3). Curiously, UND actually played better in Saturday’s loss than in Friday’s victory; in the finale, the Fighting Hawks were done in by 34 blocked shots and a 27-save shutout performance from Mavericks junior netminder Alex Tracy.

Last weekend, the Fighting Hawks put together a solid 120 minutes of hockey in a home split (7-2, 3-4) with #5 Boston University. If Brad Berry’s crew can put together efforts like that each and every weekend, this year’s version of the Green and White will win a LOT of hockey games.

One key area to watch this weekend is the face-off circle. The Fighting Hawks are the nation’s ninth-best team on draws (55.8%). Last season, Cornell clocked in at 54.2% (7th).

For UND, senior Jake Schmaltz has been making a living on draws, winning 56 of 80 (70.0%). Graduate forward Louis Jamernik V has been stellar as well (21 of 32; 65.6%). Brad Berry will miss Cameron Berg’s presence in the dot; Berg has won 37 of 69 faceoffs to this point of the season (53.6%).

If UND will miss the presence of Berg this weekend, Cornell will CERTAINLY miss center Gabriel Seger. Seger took by far the most draws for the Big Red last season, winning 488 of 830 (58.8%). Left to do the heavy lifting inside the circle are sophomore Ryan Walsh (251 of 492, 51.0% last season) and classmate Jonathan Castagna (220 of 403, 54.6%).

North Dakota has five drafted skaters among its eight first-year players, including a pair of highly-touted recruits:

Forward Sacha Boisvert: 2024 Round 1 #18 overall to the Chicago Blackhawks

Boisvert last played with the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL).

Defenseman E.J. Emery: 2024 Round 1 #30 overall to the New York Rangers

Emery spent the last two seasons with the U.S. National Development Team in Ann Arbor.

Other North Dakota freshmen who were drafted by NHL teams over the past three years include:

Defenseman Andrew Strathmann: 2023 Round 4 #98 overall to the Columbus Blue Jackets

Forward Mac Swanson: 2024 Round 7 #207 to the Pittsburgh Penguins

Forward Cade Littler: 2022 Round 7 #219 overall to the Calgary Flames

The three freshman forwards listed above have combined for two goals and five assists in thirteen games played this season, while Emery and Strathmann have each picked up an assist while playing heavy minutes for the Hawks (Emery 22:24, Strathmann 12:49).

For North Dakota, the goal is simple: take another step in the national tournament. There is reason for optimism in Grand Forks, with an experienced d-corps, plenty of returning grit and skill, and a crop of freshmen with a tremendous amount of upside.

Non-conference games are critical in determining the sixteen teams for the NCAA tournament, and this weekend is North Dakota’s next opportunity to bolster their resume. After these two road games against Cornell (a member of the ECAC) UND has four non-conference games remaining this season:

November 22-23: vs. Robert Morris (AHA)
November 29-30: at/vs. Bemidji State (CCHA)

So far this season, UND is 2-1 against Hockey East and 1-1 against the CCHA. A split or better this weekend would be an excellent result for North Dakota, as they would then have an overall non-conference record of 4-3 with four winnable games remaining

Incidentally, the twelve teams in the ECAC have combined to win seven NCAA titles, with only two of those (Yale in 2013 and Union in 2014) coming in the last 35 years. Before the league’s two recent national championships, the last conference member to claim college hockey’s biggest prize was Harvard in 1989. Cornell lays claim to two of those seven crowns, with title game victories in 1967 and 1970. The 1967 championship came after a 1-0 triumph over North Dakota in the semifinals.

The Fighting Hawks will not play a non-conference game over the final four months of the season, with only a January 4th exhibition game against Manitoba on the schedule.

UND opens the NCHC portion of the schedule at Minnesota Duluth next weekend (November 8th and 9th).

Cornell Team Profile

Head Coach: Mike Schafer (29th season at Cornell, 542-289-111, .634)

National Rankings: #9/#8

This Season: No games played
Last Season: 22-7-6 overall (NCAA Regional Finalist); 11-4-4-3 ECAC (2nd of 12)

2023-24 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.29 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 1.86 goals allowed/game

Power Play: 18.2% (22 of 121)
Penalty Kill: 79.0% (83 of 105)

Key Players (2023-24 Statistics): Junior F Dalton Bancroft (12-19-31), Senior F Kyle Penney (10-18-28), Sophomore F Jonathan Castagna (11-14-25), Sophomore F Ryan Walsh (12-10-22), Senior F Ondrej Psenicka (9-12-21), Sophomore D Ben Robertson (5-18-23), Senior D Tim Rego (2-8-10), Senior G Ian Shane (22-5-6, 1.69 GAA, .923 SV%, 3 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (10th season at UND, 209-106-33, .648)

National Rankings: #6/#7

This Season: 3-2-0 overall, 0-0-0 NCHC
Last Season: 26-12-2 (NCAA tournament appearance), 14-4-1-5 NCHC (1st)

Team Offense: 3.60 goals scored/game – 14th of 58 teams
Team Defense: 2.60 goals allowed/game – 21st of 58 teams

Power Play: 46.2% (6 of 13) – 1st of 58 teams
Penalty Kill: 75.0% (12 of 16) – 49th of 58 teams

Key Players: Junior F Owen McLaughlin (0-5-5), Junior F Dylan James (2-0-2), Sophomore F Jayden Perron (1-3-4), Graduate F Louis Jamernik V (2-3-5), Freshman F Sacha Boisvert (1-3-4), Freshman F Mac Swanson (1-1-2), Sophomore D Jake Livanavage (1-2-3), Sophomore D Abram Wiebe (1-4-5), Freshman D E.J. Emery (0-1-1), Freshman D Andrew Strathmann (0-1-1), Graduate G T.J. Semptimphelter (3-1-0. 2.53 GAA, .906 SV%)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: January 8, 2022 (Grand Forks, ND). Cornell erased an early Riese Gaber power play goal with two markers of their own and added an insurance goal midway through the final frame for a 3-1 road victory. UND outshot the Big Red 33-20 but could not put a second goal past CU netminder Ian Shane. One night earlier, the Fighting Hawks built a 3-1 lead over the first 46 minutes of the game but allowed THREE third-period goals in a span of under five minutes. Shane – who is a senior on this year’s Cornell squad – stopped 23 of 26 UND shots in the 4-3 victory.

Last Meeting in Ithaca: January 23, 2010. One night after dropping a 1-0 decision despite outshooting Cornell 28-15, North Dakota scored early (Brad Malone at 1:33 of the first period) late (Chris VandeVelde at 11:18 of the third period), and later (Jason Gregoire at 19:58 of the third period) to counteract an extra attacker goal by Cornell with ten seconds remaining. For the weekend, UND outshot the host team 54-31.

Most Important Meeting: The teams have met twice in the NCAA semifinals, with Cornell coming out on top 1-0 in 1967 and North Dakota returning the favor the following season, 3-1.

What Might Have Been: The Fighting Hawks (26-5-4) and Big Red (23-2-4) were poised for an epic showdown in the 2020 NCAA tournament before COVID took that possibility away from all of us. Cornell had outscored opponents 104-45 that season, while UND boasted a 135-68 advantage.

All-Time: The teams have each won five of the ten previous matchups, although UND has outscored Cornell 29-19. The Big Red lay claim to victories in four of the last five contests, outscoring North Dakota 12-8.

Game News and Notes

In his 28 previous seasons as the head coach at Cornell, Mike Schafer has won six regular-season titles and advanced to one Frozen Four (2003). His teams have only had losing records four times, and those teams were barely under .500 (15-16 in 1997-98, 12-15 in 1998-99, 15-16 in 2012-13, and 11-14 in 2014-15). The 2019-2020 version of the Big Red was 23-2-4 before the world shut down due to COVID-19.

The Prediction

I expect a methodical first period on Friday night, with both teams adjusting to the speed, skill, and game plan of the other. Keep an eye on which team works its way more crisply through the neutral zone; that will be a good early indicator of success. The biggest question mark for me is how quickly Mike Schafer can get his squad playing at the level and in the style that brought them so many victories last season. I like North Dakota’s chances in game one, with the Big Red rolling in the finale. UND 3-2, CU 3-1.

Broadcast Information

Both games this weekend will be available on ESPN+. All UND men’s hockey games can be heard on stations across the Fighting Hawks Radio Network as well as through the iHeart Radio app. Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m. Central Time each night.

Social Media

As always, thank you for reading. I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions.

Weekend Preview: UND vs. Boston University

Back in 2015, UND cruised through the NCAA West Regional at Scheels Arena (Fargo, North Dakota) with a pair of 4-1 victories (vs. Quinnipiac and St. Cloud State). The reward for that accomplishment? A Frozen Four semifinal matchup against Boston University at TD Garden (Boston, Massachusetts). Dave Hakstol, coaching his last college game, saw his team fall behind 2-0 and 4-1 before mounting a late third-period comeback that fell just short (BU’s Jack Eichel potted an empty-net goal with just under twenty seconds remaining to make the final score 5-3).

It was that unfinished business, coupled with a heartbreaking last-second loss to Minnesota in the 2014 national semifinals, that fueled North Dakota’s 2016 title run, the eighth in team history.

In the 2017 tournament, UND welcomed the Terriers to Fargo. Two early third-period goals by BU broke a 1-1 tie, and things were looking grim for the home team. Enter Ludvig Hoff and Christian Wolanin, who potted goals 200 seconds apart late in the final frame to send the game to overtime. The rally came after a nearly 15-minute delay to replace a pane of broken glass caused by a check from UND forward Mike Gornall, who crushed Kiefer Bellows into the second row.

North Dakota had an apparent winning goal by freshman Dixon Bowen disallowed at 3:48 of the first overtime. After a lengthy review, it was determined that the play was offside, even though the video evidence used to make that determination was shot through a potato.

The Terriers advanced to the regional final on a Charlie McAvoy tally 11:38 into the second overtime. The Fighting Hawks outshot Boston University 59-29 in the losing effort. UND went 0-for-6 with the man advantage. Jake Oettinger (now with the Dallas Stars) made 56 saves. North Dakota saw 51 shots blocked by the Terrier defense and hit two posts along the way.

Boston University has changed head coaches twice since that time. David Quinn was replaced following the 2017-18 season, and Albie O’Connell lasted just four seasons, going 58-49-16 (.537) and making just one NCAA tournament appearance (2021).

Jay Pandolfo took over two seasons ago, and found immediate success, leading the Terriers to a 29-11-0 (.725) record, Hockey East regular season and playoff titles, and a Frozen Four appearance in 2023. BU fell to Minnesota 6-2 in the semifinals, with two late empty-net goals making the game appear more lopsided than it was.

Last season, Boston University went 28-10-2 with another appearance in the Frozen Four. BU lost in the national semifinals in heartbreaking fashion, losing to eventual national champion Denver 2-1 in overtime.

And turning our attention to this season…

#7 North Dakota followed up a 5-2 victory over #13 Providence in its home opener with a road split at #18 Minnesota State (3-2, 0-3). Curiously, UND actually played better in Saturday’s loss than in Friday’s victory; in the finale, the Fighting Hawks were done in by 34 blocked shots and a 27-save shutout performance from Mavericks junior netminder Alex Tracy.
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#3 Boston University is undefeated in the 2024-25 campaign (3-0-0), with victories over Holy Cross, Union, and Connecticut. BU has outscored opponents 13-5 and has trailed for less than five minutes of game action to this point in the season. It is worth noting that none of the Terriers three opponents are in the top 30 vote-getters in the USCHO rankings.

One key area to watch this weekend is the face-off circle. The Fighting Hawks are the nation’s 10th-best team on draws (55.3%), while Boston University clocks in at 54.6% (15th).

For UND, senior Jake Schmaltz has been making a living on draws, winning 29 of 44 (65.9%). Graduate forward Louis Jamernik V has been stellar as well (15 of 21; 71.4%). Surprisingly, senior Cameron Berg has struggled to this point in the season, winning just 40.6% of his draws (13 of 32).

For the Terriers, graduate forward Matt Coponi has taken the most draws, winning 27 of 50 (54.0%), while junior Ryan Greene has had the most success (28 of 49, 57.1%). A pair of freshman centermen – Brandon Svoboda (17 of 32, 53.1%) and Kamil Bednarik 17 of 34, 50.0%) – have been solid options as well.

Svoboda and Benarik are two of seven freshmen on this year’s BU roster, one year after the Terriers boasted nine rookies in the lineup.

Despite losing forward Macklin Celebrini (32-32-64 in 38 games; 2024 Hobey Baker Award winner) to the pros after one season, this year’s Terrier team might be even more talented overall.

Four of the seven freshmen are drafted:

Forward Cole Eiserman: 2024 Round 1 #20 to the New York Islanders.

Defenseman Cole Hutson: 2024 Round 2 #43 overall to the Washington Capitals.

Forward Kamil Bednarik: 2024 Round 2 #61 overall to the New York Islanders.

Eiserman, Hutson, and Bednarik all played for the U.S. National Development Team in Ann Arbor in each of the past two seasons.

Forward Brandon Svoboda: 2023 Round 3 #71 overall to the San Jose Sharks

Svoboda played for the Fargo Force last season.

Through three games this season, those four drafted players have accounted for six goals and three assists, led by Cole Eiserman, who has scored four goals on 13 shots. Three of his goals have come on the power play.

North Dakota has five drafted skaters among its eight first-year players, including a pair of highly-touted recruits:

Forward Sacha Boisvert: 2024 Round 1 #18 overall to the Chicago Blackhawks

Boisvert last played with the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL).

Defenseman E.J. Emery: 2024 Round 1 #30 overall to the New York Rangers

Emery spent the last two seasons with the USNDT in Ann Arbor, where he was a teammate of current Boston University players Cole Eiserman, Cole Hutson, and Kamil Bednarik.

Other North Dakota freshmen who were drafted by NHL teams over the past three years include:

Defenseman Andrew Strathmann: 2023 Round 4 #98 overall to the Columbus Blue Jackets

Forward Mac Swanson: 2024 Round 7 #207 to the Pittsburgh Penguins

Forward Cade Littler: 2022 Round 7 #219 overall to the Calgary Flames

Non-conference games are critical in determining the sixteen teams for the NCAA tournament, and this weekend is North Dakota’s next opportunity to bolster their resume. After these two home games against Boston University (a member of Hockey East) UND has six non-conference games remaining this season:

November 1-2: at #8 Cornell (ECAC)
November 22-23: vs. Robert Morris (AHA)
November 29-30: at/vs. Bemidji State (CCHA)

So far this season, UND is 1-0 against Hockey East and 1-1 against the CCHA. A split or better this weekend would be an excellent result for North Dakota, as they would then have a winning record against the second-strongest conference in the country.

The Fighting Hawks will not play a non-conference game over the final four months of the season, with only a January 4th exhibition game against Manitoba on the schedule.

Boston University Team Profile

Head Coach: Jay Pandolfo (3rd season at BU, 60-21-2, .735)

National Rankings: #3/#3

This Season: 3-0-0 overall, 1-0-0-0 Hockey East (1st)
Last Season: 28-10-2 overall (NCAA Frozen Four semifinalist), 17-3-2-2 Hockey East (2nd)

2024-2025 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 4.33 goals scored/game – 8th of 63 teams
Team Defense: 1.67 goals allowed/game – 9th of 63 teams

Power Play: 30.8% (4 of 13) – 7th of 58 teams
Penalty Kill: 91.7% (11 of 12) – 15th of 58 teams

Key Players: Sophomore F Shane Lachance (1-4-5), Freshman F Cole Eiserman (4-0-0), Junior F Ryan Greene (2-2-4), Junior F Quinn Hutson (0-4-4), Sophomore F Jack Harvey (1-2-3), Freshman F Alex Zetterberg (2-1-3), Sophomore D Tom Willander (1-2-3), Freshman D Cole Hutson (1-1-2), Senior G Caron Mathieu (3-0-0, 1.67 GAA, .947 SV%)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (10th season at UND, 208-105-33, .649)

National Rankings: #7/#7

This Season: 2-1-0 overall, 0-0-0 NCHC
Last Season: 26-12-2 (NCAA tournament appearance), 14-4-1-5 NCHC (1st)

Team Offense: 2.67 goals scored/game – 29th of 58 teams
Team Defense: 2.33 goals allowed/game – 20th of 58 teams

Power Play: 42.9% (3 of 7) – 7th of 58 teams
Penalty Kill: 83.3% (5 of 6) – 32nd of 58 teams

Key Players: Junior F Owen McLaughlin (0-2-2), Senior F Cameron Berg (2-2-4), Junior F Dylan James (2-0-2), Sophomore F Jayden Perron (1-0-1), Graduate F Louis Jamernik V (1-1-2), Freshman F Sacha Boisvert (1-3-4), Freshman F Mac Swanson (0-0-0), Sophomore D Jake Livanavage (0-1-1), Sophomore D Abram Wiebe (0-2-2), Freshman D E.J. Emery (0-1-1), Freshman D Andrew Strathmann (0-1-1), Graduate G T.J. Semptimphelter (2-0-0. 2.00 GAA, .918 SV%)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: November 4, 2023 (Boston, MA). The two teams battled to a 4-4 draw in regulation time, with UND forward Jackson Blake potting the game-winner twenty seconds into overtime. BU had drawn even with less than three minutes remaining in the third period. One night earlier, Boston University emerged victorious by a final score of 3-2. This writer watched both of those games on Kaanapali Beach in Maui.

Last Meeting in Grand Forks: November 3, 2012. The visiting Terriers handled the home team 4-2 in this one by outscoring North Dakota 3-0 in the third period. All three of those tallies came in the final six minutes of the hockey game. UND won the opener by the same score behind a hat trick from Conner Gaarder.

Last Meeting in North Dakota: March 24, 2017 (Fargo). In the first round of the NCAA tournament, UND welcomed the Terriers into a hostile environment at Scheels Arena. Two early third-period goals by BU broke a 1-1 tie, and things were looking grim for the “home” team. Enter Ludvig Hoff and Christian Wolanin, who potted goals 200 seconds apart late in the final frame to send the game to overtime. North Dakota had an apparent winning goal by freshman Dixon Bowen disallowed at 3:48 of the first overtime. After a lengthy review, it was determined that the play was offside, even though the video evidence used to make that determination was shot through a potato. The Terriers advanced to the regional final on a Charlie McAvoy tally 11:38 into the second overtime. The Fighting Hawks outshot Boston University 59-29 in the losing effort. UND went 0-for-6 with the man advantage. Jake Oettinger (now with the Dallas Stars) made 56 saves. North Dakota saw 51 shots blocked by the Terrier defense and hit two posts along the way.

Most Important Meeting: March 29, 1997 (Milwaukee, WI). North Dakota scored five goals in the second period and went on to defeat Boston University 6-4 for the 1997 NCAA championship (the program’s 6th). David Hoogsteen scored two goals for the Fighting Sioux, including a back-breaking tally with six seconds remaining in the middle frame.

All-time record: North Dakota leads the all-time series, 13-12-2 (.519), including a 6-1-1 (.813) mark in games played in Grand Forks. When the newly-formed Hockey East began play in 1984-1985, it created a five-year interlocking schedule with the WCHA. During that time, Boston University and North Dakota met 7 times, with John “Gino” Gasparini’s Fighting Sioux squad going 6-1-0 against Jack Parker’s Terriers. The teams first met in 1981.

Last Ten: Boston University has had the better of it lately, going 6-3-1 (.650) over the last ten games between the teams and outscoring UND 33-28 over that stretch.

Game News and Notes

The Terriers play their home games on a hybrid sheet of ice at Agannis Arena; the playing surface is 90 feet wide, five feet wider than NHL rinks but not as wide as the Olympic ice sheets (100 feet wide). Eight Boston University players hail from the state of Massaschusetts; five UND players are from North Dakota.

Broadcast Information

Both games this weekend will be broadcast live on Midco Sports and available online via NCHC.tv. All UND men’s hockey games, home and away, can be heard on stations across the UND Sports Home of Economy Radio Network as well as through the iHeart Radio app. Game times are 7:07 p.m. on Friday and 6:07 p.m. on Saturday.

The Prediction

Boston University doesn’t appear to have a weakness, although they haven’t faced the same level of competition as North Dakota has to this point in the season. It is also interesting to me that BU has not really been tested this year, trailing for less than five minutes of game action through their first three games. After being shut out last Saturday night at Minnesota State (despite having the better of the play), UND will be hungry for a goal in the opening period. If that happens, watch out, because the floodgates could open. I’ve got a home victory in the opener, with the talented Terriers proving to be too much to handle in Saturday’s finale. UND 5-3, BU 5-2.

As always, thank you for reading. I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions.

Weekend Preview: North Dakota at Minnesota State

In the last season of the WCHA as we knew it (2012-13), Minnesota, St. Cloud State, and North Dakota finished as the top three teams in the conference standings. There was a three-way tie for fourth, with the final three home-ice spots in the twelve-team league taken by Denver, Wisconsin, and…

Minnesota State.

Twelve seasons ago, the Mavericks were on the rise. That year (Mike Hastings’ first behind the bench), Minnesota State went 24-14-3 overall and advanced to the national tournament for the first time since 2003 and just the second time since the Mavericks went Division I in 1996.

Following that historic season, Minnesota State found most of its conference rivals bolting for the Big Ten (Minnesota, Wisconsin) or the newly-formed NCHC (Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota, Omaha, and St. Cloud State).

When Mike Hastings was the coach at Minnesota State, the Mavericks took full advantage of its new collection of league foes, winning the regular-season conference title (WCHA/CCHA) eight times in nine seasons and finishing third in 2016-17. Furthermore, the Mavs went to the Frozen Four in 2021 and played in the national championship game in 2022.

After leading the Mavericks to eleven consecutive twenty-win seasons (including a combined record of 152-34-6 record over his final five campaigns), Mike Hastings left Mankato for Madison, taking many of his players and recruits with him.

Left to pick up the purple pieces is second-year bench boss Luke Strand, whose Mavericks struggled to an overall record of 18-15-4 and a fourth-place finish (10-9-3-2) in the CCHA last year. Those results were not enough to Minnesota State a berth in the NCAA tournament a year ago.

As a side note, Mike Hastings found immediate success in Madtown, helping the Badgers to an overall record of 26-12-0 and the program’s second NCAA tourney bid in the last ten seasons. Hastings’ 26 victories were the most for Bucky since the 2009-10 squad went 28-11-4 under Mike Eaves and finished as the national runner-up.

This season, #20 Minnesota State has already played two full weekends of hockey, with an encouraging road split at #10 Michigan (5-2, 1-4) and a disappointing home split versus Merrimack (0-1, 4-1). In Saturday’s road loss to the Wolverines, the Mavericks only trailed by a single goal with sixteen minutes to play; Michigan scored two empty-net goals in the final 41 seconds of the game to make the result appear lopsided.

After laying an exhibition egg at home in a 4-1 loss to Augustana, #5 North Dakota played well in all phases during last Saturday’s U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Ralph Engelstad Arena, dispatching #14 Providence by a final score of 5-2.

As was the case for UND last weekend, non-conference games are critical in determining the six teams for the NCAA tournament, and this weekend is North Dakota’s next opportunity to bolster their resume. After these two road games at Mankato, UND has eight non-conference games remaining this season:

October 25-26: vs. #3 Boston University (Hockey East)
November 1-2: at #8 Cornell (ECAC)
November 22-23: vs. Robert Morris (AHA)
November 29-30: at/vs. Bemidji State (CCHA)

The Fighting Hawks will not play a non-conference game over the final four months of the season, with only a January 4th exhibition game against Manitoba on the schedule.

Minnesota State Team Profile

Head Coach: Luke Strand (2nd season at Minnesota State, 20-17-4, .537)

National Ranking: #20
This Season: 2-2-0 overall, 0-0-0 CCHA
Last Season: 18-5-4 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 10-9-3-2 CCHA (4th)

Team Offense: 2.50 goals scored/game – 38th of 58 teams
Team Defense: 2.00 goals allowed/game – 14th of 58 teams

Power Play: 8.3% (1 of 12) – 40th of 58 teams
Penalty Kill: 88.9% (8 of 9) – 23rd of 58 teams

Key Players: Senior F Brian Carrabes (2-1-3), Junior F Luigi Benincasa (2-0-0), Sophomore F Brett Moravec (1-1-2), Junior F Luc Wilson (0-2-2), Senior F Rhett Pitlick (2-0-2), Junior F Adam Eisele (1-0-1), Freshman D Luke Ashton (1-2-3), Senior D Jordan Power (0-2-2), Sophomore D Evan Murr (0-1-1), Junior G Alex Tracy (2-2-0, 1.52 GAA, .933 SV%)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (10th season at UND, 207-104-33, .650)

National Ranking: #5
This Season: 1-0-0 overall, 0-0-0 NCHC
Last Season: 26-12-2 (NCAA tournament appearance), 14-4-1-5 NCHC (1st)

Team Offense: 5.00 goals scored/game – 3rd of 58 teams
Team Defense: 2.00 goals allowed/game – 14th of 58 teams

Power Play: 50.0% (1 of 2) – 1st of 58 teams
Penalty Kill: 66.7% (2 of 3) – 53rd of 58 teams

Key Players: Junior F Owen McLaughlin (0-1-1), Senior F Cameron Berg (1-1-2), Junior F Dylan James (2-0-2), Sophomore F Jayden Perron (1-0-1), Graduate F Louis Jamernik V (0-0-0), Freshman F Sacha Boisvert (1-1-2), Freshman F Mac Swanson (0-0-0), Sophomore D Jake Livanavage (0-0-0), Sophomore D Abram Wiebe (0-2-2), Freshman D E.J. Emery (0-1-1), Freshman D Andrew Strathmann (0-1-1), Graduate G T.J. Semptimphelter (1-0-0. 2.00 GAA, .917 SV%)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: October 28, 2023 (Grand Forks, ND). Minnesota State built a 2-1 lead over the first twenty minutes of the hockey game, and then the teams went scoreless for over thirty minutes of game action. North Dakota’s Hunter Johannes potted the equalizer with just over eight minutes in regulation, and the game went into the books as a 2-2 tie. One night earlier, the Fighting Hawks blitzed the Mavericks 6-2 behind a four-goal first period. Jackson Blake scored two of UND’s six goals on Friday night. Graduate forward Sam Morton scored two of MSUM’s four goals on the weekend; Morton had 24 goals for the Mavericks in his final collegiate season.

Last Meeting in Mankato: October 19, 2019. Marc Michaelis was the hero for the homestanding Mavericks, with the game-tying goal early in the middle frame and an assist on the third-period game-winner. North Dakota could manage only a first-period goal from Shane Pinto in the 2-1 road loss. In Friday’s opener, the teams skated to a wild 4-4 tie that left both teams unbeaten on the young season. On the weekend, Minnesota State won 83 of 132 faceoffs (62.9%).

All-time Series: UND leads the all-time series, 40-13-9 (.718), including a 15-6-5 (.673) record in games played in Mankato.

Last ten: North Dakota has a 5-3-2 (.600) record over the most recent stretch of games, outscoring the Mavericks 33-27 over those ten contests.

Game News and Notes

North Dakota is scoring on an incredible 16.1% of shots on goal, good for sixth in the country; Minnesota State clocks in at 10.1% (31st). UND has lost just six games in Mankato in program history (15-6-5). Next weekend, the Mavericks will host #12 Omaha, while the Fighting Hawks will welcome #3 Boston University to Grand Forks.

Broadcast Information

Both games this weekend will be available online via CCHA.TV. All UND men’s hockey games, home and away, can be heard on stations across the UND Sports Home of Economy Radio Network as well as through the iHeart Radio app. Game times are 7:07 p.m. on Friday and 6:07 p.m. on Saturday.

The Prediction

Both teams are still finding their identity and hoping to build some momentum before conference play begins in early November. On the road, North Dakota will have to rely on their scoring depth to break though against the Mavericks. It’s too early in the year to call a sweep, but I’ve got a good feeling about this year’s version of the Green and White. UND 4-2, 3-3 tie.

As always, thank you for reading. I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions. Here’s to hockey!

U.S. Hockey Hall Of Fame Game Preview: North Dakota vs. Providence

Ralph Engelstad Arena (Grand Forks, ND) will be buzzing Saturday night, as #6 North Dakota hosts #13 Providence in an early test for both schools.

The “Face Off Classic” has been used since 1974 (men’s hockey) and 2008 (women’s hockey) to showcase and raise money for the U.S. Hockey Hall Of Fame in Evelyth, Minnesota.

North Dakota has participated in 13 Hall Of Fame Games over the past five decades, with mixed success…

In the early years of the Face Off Classic, games were played at the Eveleth Hippodrome. UND went 1-2 in those games.

Duluth has hosted the Green and White twice in the Hall Of Fame Game, with the visitors winning both contests.

UND has lost just one Hall Of Fame Game in Grand Forks, the October 5, 2001 tilt against Minnesota that opened the new Ralph Engelstad Arena. Since that game, North Dakota has won four straight Face Off Classics by a combined score of 17-5.

The other three Hall Of Fame Games in North Dakota hockey history were the three “destination games”: two in Las Vegas (2018 and 2022) and one in Nashville (2021). UND won the 2018 tilt (3-1 over Minnesota) but lost the other two.

Providence has never appeared in the U.S. Hockey Hall Of Fame Game.

Here is the complete list of UND’s Face Off Classic results:

2022 (Las Vegas): Arizona State 3 North Dakota 2
2021 (Nashville): Penn State 6 North Dakota 4
2019 (Grand Forks): North Dakota 3 Michigan Tech 1
2018 (Las Vegas): North Dakota 3 Minnesota 1
2016 (Grand Forks): North Dakota 5 RPI 2
2014 (Grand Forks): North Dakota 3 Air Force 2 (OT)
2010 (Duluth): North Dakota 5 Minnesota Duluth 0
2007 (Grand Forks): North Dakota 6 Michigan State 0
2003 (Duluth): North Dakota 3 Minnesota Duluth 2
2001 (Grand Forks): Minnesota 7 North Dakota 5
1992 (Eveleth): Minnesota Duluth 4 North Dakota 3
1988 (Eveleth): North Dakota 2 Minnesota Duluth 2
1978 (Eveleth): Minnesota 5 North Dakota 3

Turning our attention to this weekend, non-conference games are critical in determining the 16 teams for the NCAA tournament, and the Hall Of Fame Game is North Dakota’s first opportunity to bolster their resume. After tonight’s action against Providence (Hockey East), UND has ten non-conference games remaining this season:

October 18-19: at Minnesota State (CCHA)
October 25-26: vs. Boston University (Hockey East)

November 1-2: at Cornell (ECAC)
November 22-23: vs. Robert Morris (AHA)
November 29-30: at/vs. Bemidji State (CCHA)

The Fighting Hawks will not play a non-conference game over the final four months of the season, with only a January 4th exhibition game against Manitoba on the schedule.

Providence Team Profile

Head Coach: Nate Leaman (14th season at Providence, 259-163-62, .599)
Last Season: 18-13-4 (missed NCAA tournament), 8-8-6-2 Hockey East (4th)

Key Returning Players: Graduate F Nick Poisson (9-15-24), Sophomore F Tanner Adams (6-15-21), Sophomore F Hudson Malinoski (9-9-18), Senior D Guillaume Richard (3-15-18), Junior D Austen May (4-9-13), Junior G Philip Svedeback (18-13-4, 2.32 GAA, .900 SV%, 4 SO)

Potential Impact Additions: Graduate F Logan Will (transfer from Colorado College), Graduate F Ryan O’Reilly (transfer from Arizona State), Freshman F Trevor Connelly, Freshman F John Mustard, Freshman F Logan Sawyer, Graduate D Connor Kelley (transfer from Minnesota Duluth), Graduate D Carl Fish (transfer from Minnesota), Freshman D Tomas Machu (not yet cleared by the NCAA)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (10th season at UND, 206-104-33, .649)
Last Season: 26-12-2 (NCAA tournament appearance), 14-4-1-5 NCHC (1st)

Key Returning Players: Junior F Owen McLaughlin (13-26-39), Senior F Cameron Berg (20-17-37), Junior F Dylan James (9-10-19), Senior F Jackson Kunz (9-10-19), Sophomore F Jayden Perron (11-7-18), Graduate F Louis Jamernik V (8-9-17), Sophomore D Jake Livanavage, Sophomore D Abram Wiebe (1-9-10), Sophomore G Hobie Hedquist (5-1-0, 2.51 GAA, .905 SV%)

Potential Impact Additions: Freshman F Sacha Boisvert, Freshman F Mac Swanson, Freshman F Cade Littler, Freshman D E.J. Emery, Freshman D Andrew Strathmann, Graduate G T.J. Semptimphelter (transfer from Arizona State)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: October 25, 2014 (Grand Forks, ND). After UND throttled Providence 6-1 in Friday’s opener, the visitors pulled their goaltender late in Saturday’s finale and got the equalizer, knotting the score at two goals apiece. The game would go into the books as a tie, a result which proved to be enough to get the Friars into the NCAA tournament. Providence would go on a four-game run all the way to the national title, their first (and only) in program history. One season later, North Dakota won the program’s eighth national championship.

All-time: UND leads the all-time series with a record of 9-5-1 (.633), including a record of 6-2-1 (.722) in games played in Grand Forks. Prior to the October 2014 series mentioned above, the two teams had not met in 25 years.

Game News and Notes

Saturday’s game will be the first official game of the 2024-2025 season for both teams. After a six-year stretch of making the national tournament (2014-2019), the Friars have not been to the NCAAs. Providence won the national championship in 2015 and appeared in the Frozen Four in 2019. North Dakota dropped an exhibition contest to Augustana last weekend by a score of 4-1, while Providence defeated Union 4-1 in exhibition action.

The Prediction

Despite what we saw in last Saturday’s exhibition game, I have a feeling that this is a one-goal game either way. The edge goes to North Dakota playing in front of their fans, but keep a close eye on the special teams battle, as whichever side prevails there should win the game. UND 4-3.

Thank you for reading, and, as always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

NCAA Midwest Regional Preview: UND vs. Michigan

#5 North Dakota (26-11-2) is set to battle #10 Michigan (21-14-3) in the opening round of the NCAA tournament at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri on Friday night.

UND has to be relieved to be playing someone from a different conference after they ended NCHC play with five losses in their last eleven league games (two at #15 Colorado College, two at #11 Omaha, and last Friday’s loss to Omaha in the league semifinals at Xcel Energy Center).

On the season, the Green and White went a combined 1-8-0 against the Tigers and Mavericks and 25-3-2 against everyone else.

Those other three losses were to #2 Boston University, #3 Denver, and #7 Minnesota.

UND avenged their only two non-conference losses of the season by defeating the Golden Gophers 2-1 on a Saturday night in Grand Forks and the BU Terriers 5-4 in overtime on a Saturday night at Agganis Arena.

North Dakota fared even better against the Denver Pioneers. After splitting the series at altitude back in December (7-5, 2-3 OT), UND swept the Pios on home ice in January (5-2, 4-2).

All this to say that Brad Berry’s squad has put together quite an impressive resume coming into the national tourney. And, as luck would have it, Colorado College did not make the NCAA tournament (the Tigers were the first team out according to the Pairwise), and Omaha is on the other side of the bracket, meaning that the two teams could not tangle until the national championship game.

There is some goaltending intrigue heading into Friday’s matchup for the Green and White. Two weekends ago, North Dakota swept last-place Miami at home (5-1, 7-1) in the league quarterfinals, but graduate netminder Ludvig Persson (21-10-2, 2.47 GAA, .906 SV%, 5 SO) was not between the pipes. That distinction belonged to freshman Hobie Hedquist, who secured both playoff victories with 23 saves on Friday and 28 saves on Saturday.

Coming into Friday’s NCHC semifinal in St. Paul, both goalies had practiced, but Hedquist got the nod. And there was reason for optimism. After all, when Persson was out of the lineup, the freshman had stepped in and performed admirably, winning all five of his starts while posting a goals-against average of 2.05 and a save percentage of .919.

It was a different story in the league playoffs.

Hedquist made just 29 of 34 saves and could not seem to make the timely stop, allowing two goals in the third period while UND was attempting to mount a comeback. The backbreaker came with just over nine minutes remaning in the hockey game, as Omaha’s Zach Urdahl scored his second of the night just 68 seconds after North Dakota had cut the deficit to 4-3. Urdahl would add an empty-netter for his hat trick at the 15:16 mark of the final frame to make the scoreboard read 6-3 at the final buzzer.

Turning our attention to this weekend’s NCAA regional action, UND finds itself in the Midwest Regional along with three teams from the state of Michigan: #4 Michigan State, #10 Michigan, and #14 Western Michigan. The winners of Michigan State/Western Michigan (4:00 p.m. Central Time on ESPNU) and North Dakota/Michigan (7:30 p.m. Central Time on ESPNU) will play on Sunday (5:30 p.m. Central Time on ESPN2) with a trip to the 2024 Frozen Four in St. Paul on the line.

The Midwest bracket lines up with the Providence regional, which contains top overall seed Boston College as well as #9 Wisconsin, #8 Quinnipiac, and #20 Michigan Tech.

Of course, UND fans are hoping that their favorite team can advance to the Frozen Four for the 23rd time in program history, but it won’t be an easy task. First up on the docket is a Michigan team that finished fourth in the B1G this season but proved they could score with anybody. The Wolverines went just 4-9-1 against the big three in their conference (#4 Michigan State, #7 Minnesota, and #9 Wisconsin) but scored 49 goals in those fourteen games (3.50 goals scored/game). The problem was that they gave up 53 goals in those same games (3.79 goals allowed/game).

The only other team in the NCAA tournament field that Michigan faced this season was Massachusetts (the last team in the tournament according to the Pairwise). The Wolverines squared off against UMass in Amherst back in October, winning the opener 7-2 before dropping the rematch 3-6.

In terms of common opponents, this year’s Michigan squad traveled to St. Cloud in November and managed a 2-0 Friday night victory and a tie on Saturday (3-3). Those results are very similar to what North Dakota did to the Huskies in January (a 5-3 win and a 3-3 tie).

Michigan’s 160 goals this season trail only Denver (194) and Boston College (168) as the top offensive team in the country. North Dakota ranks 7th with 148 goals scored.

The Wolverines are even more lethal with the man advantage. No team in college hockey is even close to the 35.3% success rate of the Michigan power play. UND clocks in 9th at 25.7 percent.

But that potent power play can be concerning for head coach Brandon Naurato, now in his second season behind the Michigan bench. The Wolverines have scored 49 power play goals this season, over 30 percent of their offensive production. What will happen in the playoffs, when fewer penalties are called?

That almost came back to bite the Maize and Blue in the B1G semifinals against Minnesota. Each team was only awarded one power play, and neither capitalized. Michigan escaped with a 2-1 victory.

In the B1G championship game, the Wolverines went 1-for-3 with the man advantage but fell in overtime.

Over the two postseason games, less than 17 percent of Michigan’s offensive output came on the power play. And this weekend’s games figure to offer a similarly low number of man advantage situations, which would favor North Dakota, a team with a more-than-capable power play but with better scoring depth than most teams in the country.

On the defensive side of the ledger, the Wolverines have struggled at times this season. Their 116 goals allowed this season (3.05 allowed per game) is second-worst among NCAA tournament teams (Denver is worst at 117 goals allowed, but they have scored 194 goals this season).

North Dakota has done a much better job keeping the puck out of their net, with only 101 goals allowed (2.59 allowed/game) compared to 148 goals scored (3.79).

This will be Michigan’s fifth straight tournament appearance, and the Wolverines have made the last two Frozen Fours, losing to eventual champion Denver 3-2 in overtime in 2022 and eventual champion Quinnipiac 5-2 last season. Michigan has nine national titles (seven by 1964); they last hoisted the ultimate trophy in 1998, a title drought stretching 25 seasons and counting.

More to the point, in the past 63 years, the Wolverines have three championships. During that same span (1957-2023), UND has won eight national titles, most recently in 2016. During that 2016 title run, North Dakota dispatched Michigan 5-2 to advance to the Frozen Four in Tampa, Florida.

Despite their combined 76 tournament appearances (Michigan 41, North Dakota 35), the two teams have only met five times in the NCAA playoffs. In 1998 and 2011, Michigan ended two of the most promising seasons in North Dakota men’s hockey history. The Wolverines hosted UND at the NCAA Midwest Regional at Yost Ice Arena (their home rink) on March 28, 1998 and took down a 30-7-1 Fighting Sioux team by the score of 4-3, ending North Dakota’s promising season one game short of the Frozen Four. The 2011 Matt Frattin-led UND squad outshot Michigan 40-20 but couldn’t light the lamp and fell 2-0 in front of a lively partisan crowd in St. Paul.

In addition to the above-mentioned 2016 regional final, UND also bested the Wolverines 8-5 in a 2007 opening-round matchup at Pepsi Center in Denver. One night later, North Dakota beat Minnesota 3-2 in overtime on Chris Porter‘s wraparound to advance to the Frozen Four, evening the score after Blake Wheeler scored in overtime in the WCHA Final Five Championship one week earlier in front of the largest crowd in league playoff history (19,463).

In 2006, UND also ended Michigan’s season, this time on home ice. Minutes after Holy Cross shocked the college world with an overtime victory over the Golden Gophers at Ralph Engelstad Arena, the North Dakota fans were ready to cheer for the Green and White, and the home team did not disappoint. That Dave Hakstol squad throttled Michigan 5-1 to advance to the second of four consecutive Frozen Fours in Hakstol’s first four years behind the North Dakota bench.

Fast forward to 2024, and UND returns to the national tournament after a one-year absence. The Fighting Hawks went just 18-15-6 last season after a remarkable three-year run that saw Brad Berry’s squad win a combined 72 games.

How has North Dakota gone from missing the tournament to title contender in just one season?

After last year, head coach Brad Berry and his staff brought in fourteen fresh faces, tied for the second-most in team history. More strikingly, all eight defensemen are new to the UND men’s hockey program, including four freshmen.

Coincidentally, the breakdown of first-year players and transfers into the North Dakota system was identical:

Freshmen:

Four defensemen (Nate Benoit, Tanner Komzak, Jake Livanavage, Abram Wiebe)

Two forwards (Michael Emerson, Jayden Perron)

One goaltender (Hobie Hedquist)

Transfers:

Four defensemen (Logan Britt, Keaton Pehrson, Garrett Pyke, Bennett Zmolek)

Two forwards (Cameron Berg, Hunter Johannes)

One goaltender (Ludvig Perrson)

Update: freshman forward Michael Emerson left the UND program at semester break; Emerson appeared in six games during the first half of the season.

These thirteen newcomers join eleven returning forwards and second-year netminder Kaleb Johnson to form UND’s 25-player roster. The Fighting Hawks returned 70 goals up front, led by senior Riese Gaber (20 goals last season) and sophomore Jackson Blake (16). With the addition of Berg (10 goals last season at Omaha), Johannes (13 at Lindenwood), and Chicago Steel (USHL) teammates Emerson (30) and Perron (24), North Dakota easily surpassed the 102 goals scored all of last season by its forward group.

Over the first 39 games of the 2023-2024 season, UND forwards have scored 132 goals. It is also encouraging that twelve North Dakota forwards have multiple goals this season, led by Blake (21), Berg (20), Gaber (18), McLaughlin (13), Perron (11), and Johannes (11 in 30 games). Those first five forwards have combined for 44 goals over the past ten weekends of game action.

Prior to UND’s early February series at Miami, Fighting Hawks defensemen had only scored seven goals all season. And then, Logan Britt happened.

The grad transfer from Sacred Heart scored three goals on the weekend and was named the NCHC Defenseman of the Week. Freshman Jake Livanavage added his third goal of the season to bring the d-corps total to eleven. Livanavage was recently named the NCHC Defenseman of the Week (January 29th), the NCHC Rookie of the Month (January), a finalist for the NCHC Rookie of the Year, and a candidate for the Tim Taylor Award (National Rookie of the Year).

Just over a month ago at CC, freshman defenseman Abram Wiebe notched his first career collegiate goal, while fellow blueliners Garrett Pyke and Jake Livanavage added assists. Then, North Dakota’s d-corps chipped in with seven assists in a weekend sweep of Duluth. One week later, UND defensemen notched four more assists (including three from Wiebe) in a home sweep of the Western Michigan Broncos.

Three weekends ago in Omaha, Livanavage picked up two assists while Britt added a goal with an assist from d-partner Wiebe. In an opening round shellacking of Miami, UND defensemen notched two goals and added six assists. And last Friday night at the X, Livanavage picked up his fifth goal of the season, while Logan Britt added yet another assist.

The six regular blueliners for North Dakota (Pyke, Livanavage, Britt, Wiebe, Zmolek, and Pehrson) have now collected a total of 91 points (16 goals and 75 assists) in 222 games played (0.41 points/game). As mentioned above, the offensive output from the blue line has been increasing lately, with Livanavage in particular chipping in more regularly (four goals and 22 assists in his last 27 games).

By comparison, the six Michigan defensemen expected in the lineup this weekend have scored 15 goals and added 88 assists for 103 points in 219 games played for an average of 0.47 points/game).

A half-point per game or better is my benchmark for solid offensive production, and Brandon Naurato’s squad has eight players who meet that threshold, including six averaging a point per game or better: sophomore forward Rutger McGroarty (16-36-52), sophomore forward Gavin Brindley (24-27-51), junior forward Dylan Duke (22-22-44), sophomore forward T.J. Hughes (18-26-44), sophomore forward Frank Nazar III (16-23-39), and sophomore defenseman Seamus Casey (7-38-45). Other offensive contributors include freshman forward Garrett Schifsky (16-14-30) and freshman forward Nick Moldenhauer (8-13-21).

By that same measure, North Dakota has eight players at a half point or better, including two – sophomore forward Jackson Blake (21-38-59) and sophomore forward Owen McLaughlin (13-25-38) – averaging a point per game or better. Other offensive contributors include Cameron Berg (20-17-37), senior forward Riese Gaber (18-16-34), graduate forward Hunter Johannes (11-7-18 in 30 games), junior forward Jackson Kunz (8-10-18), senior defenseman Garrett Pyke (3-22-25), and freshman defenseman Jake Livanavage (5-24-29).

Jackson Blake is making a strong push for college hockey’s Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Blake has collected 37 points (ten goals and 27 assists) since the calendar year turned to 2024 (21 games).

Here is a quick peek at how North Dakota and Michigan stack up:

Goals per game: Michigan 4.21 (3rd of 64 teams); UND 3.79 (8th)

Goals allowed per game: Michigan 3.05 (38th); UND 2.59 (18th)

Shooting percentage: Michigan 12.0% (6th); UND 12.3% (3rd)

Save percentage: Michigan .899 (33rd); UND .902 (26th)

Shots on goal/game: Michigan 35.0 (6th); UND 30.9 (19th)

Shots on goal allowed/game: Michigan 30.3 (38th); UND 26.4 (11th)

Power play efficiency: Michigan 35.3% (1st); UND 25.7% (9th)

Penalty kill efficiency: Michigan 78.5% (40th); UND 81.6% (22nd)

Faceoff win percentage: Michigan 52.6% (13th); UND 51.1% (28th)

Corsi: Michigan 53.8% (14th); UND 52.5% (18th)

Fenwick: Michigan 54.5% (11th); UND 54.2% (12th)

It bears mentioning that Michigan’s strength of schedule ranks fifth in all of college hockey this season, while North Dakota’sd ranks eighth.

A huge key to UND’s defensive turnaround this season has been the play of senior netminder Ludvig Persson. The transfer from Miami has played all but five games between the pipes for the Fighting Hawks, posting a record of 21-10-2 with a goals-against average of 2.47, a save percentage of .906, and five shutouts.

Last year, UND’s team save percentage was .886, the fifth-worst mark among 62 teams. To put the difference in perspective, North Dakota allowed 110 goals on 962 shots last season. If we apply Perrson’s and Hedquist’s combined save percentage from this year (.906) to that shot total, the Fighting Hawks would have allowed a total of only 91 goals, a difference of 91 goals over the 39-game season.

And what difference does one goal make? UND found itself in a Pairwise predicament last season due to three tough losses:

Arizona State 3, North Dakota 2 (October 29th, 2022)

Miami 4, North Dakota 3 (November 19th, 2022)

Minnesota Duluth 2, North Dakota 1 (January 21st, 2023)

All three of those games were tied in the third period.

Michigan’s top netminder – Jake Barczewski – boasts similar numbers to Persson. The graduate student has a record of 18-13-3, a goals-against average of 2.83, a save percentage of .907, and two shutouts.

Barczewski – who grew up in O’Fallon, less than 20 miles from Friday’s regional site – spent his first four collegiate seasons at Canisius and is having the second-worst statistical season of his career. Only his freshman campaign – 8-10-6 with a 2.92 GAA and a .905 SV% – was worse.

Michigan Team Profile

Head Coach: Brandon Naurato (2nd season at Michigan, 47-26-6, .633)

National Rankings: #10/#10
Pairwise Ranking: 10th
KRACH Rating: 322.4 (10th)

This Season: 21-14-3 overall, 10-10-2-2 B1G (4th)
Last Season: 26-12-3 overall, 9-7-3-5 B1G (2nd)

Team Offense: 4.21 goals scored/game – 3rd of 64 teams
Team Defense: 3.05 goals allowed/game – 38th of 64 teams

Power Play: 35.3% (49 of 139) – 1st of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 78.5% (102 of 130) – 40th of 64 teams

Key Players: Sophomore F Rutger McGroarty (16-36-52), Sophomore F Gavin Brindley (24-27-51), Junior F Dylan Duke (22-22-44), Sophomore F T.J. Hughes (18-26-44), Sophomore F Frank Nazar III (16-23-39), Sophomore D Seamus Casey (7-38-45), Graduate D Marshall Warren (3-14-17), Graduate G Jake Barczewski (18-13-3, 2.83 GAA, .907 SV%, 2 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (9th season at UND, 206-103-33, .651)

National Rankings: #5/#5
Pairwise Ranking: 6th
KRACH Rating: 483.9 (5th)

This Season: 26-11-2 overall, 14-4-1-5 NCHC (1st of 8 teams, Penrose Cup Champions)
Last Season: 18-15-5 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 7-10-5-2 NCHC (t-5th of 8 teams)

2023-2024 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.79 goals scored/game – 8th of 64 teams
Team Defense: 2.59 goals allowed/game – 18th of 64 teams

Power Play: 25.7% (35 of 136) – 9th of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 81.6% (84 of 103) – 22nd of 64 teams

Key Players: Sophomore F Jackson Blake (21-38-59), Senior F Riese Gaber (18-16-34), Sophomore F Owen McLaughlin (13-25-38), Junior F Cameron Berg (20-17-37), Senior F Louis Jamernik V (8-9-17), sophomore F Dylan James (9-10-19), Senior D Garrett Pyke (3-22-25), Freshman D Jake Livanavage (5-24-29), Senior G Ludvig Persson (21-10-2, 2.47 GAA, .906 SV%, 5 SO)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: March 26, 2016 (Cincinnati, Ohio). UND blitzed Michigan with 24 first period shots on goal, but the score was tied at 0-0 until late in the first frame, when Drake Caggiula got North Dakota started. The teams would trade goals from there, and the game was knotted at two goals apiece midway through the third period. In under 75 seconds, however, the Green and White would score twice, and when Paul LaDue added an empty-netter, the Fighting Hawks were on to Tampa.

Last Ten Games: North Dakota holds a record of 6-3-1 (.650) in the last ten meetings between the schools. The teams have not been a part of the same conference since Michigan left for the CCHA in 1981.

All-time Series: Michigan leads the series 46-41-4 (.527). UND has won three of the five NCAA tournament games between the schools. The teams first met on January 9, 1948, a 6-5 UND victory that put North Dakota hockey on the map. The Wolverines would win the next ten meetings between the schools by a combined score of 89-32.

Game News and Notes

This season, North Dakota is 22-6-1 (.776) when scoring first; Michigan, 17-10-2 (.621). UND has outscored opponents 50-28 in the first period of play this season, while the Wolverines have a 56-27 conbined scoring advantage over the opening twenty minutes of game action. As a team, North Dakota has blocked 541 shots this season (blocks/game), led by Bennett Zmolek (89), Garrett Pyke (56), and Logan Britt (54). Michigan is the country’s 13th-most penalized team (12.8 penalty minutes/game); UND is 7th-best at just 7.7 penalty minutes per game.

The Prediction

North Dakota is just itching to play someone outside the NCHC, and unfortunately for the Wolverines, they are the target. In most years, I’m worried about how officials from a different league will officiate the game, as past versions of the Green and White have often relied on their physicality and have been – literally – penalized for it. Not so with this group, who can defend, skate, and score with skill. Brad Berry’s crew is also older, taller, and heavier, and those traits – along with last line change – will make the difference in a game in which both sides are hoping to survive the first ten minutes. Goaltending will be a factor in this one, and I’m giving the slight edge to the Fighting Hawks if Persson gets the start. If it’s the freshman, all bets are off. UND 4-3.

Bonus Prediction

In the first game, I expect a good showing from Western Michigan, but I’m not sure it’s enough to solve Trey Augustine, who has allowed two goals or fewer in six of his last nine starts while making a total of 350 saves (over 38 saves per game). I think that the Spartans have just enough to get past the Broncos, who have won just seven of their past eighteen games. MSU 4, WMU 2.

Broadcast Information

Both regional semifinals will be broadcast live on ESPNU, with the Michigan State/Western Michigan game scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Central Time and the North Dakota/Michigan nightcap set for 7:30 p.m. Central Time. All UND men’s hockey games can be heard on stations across the UND Sports Home of Economy Radio Network as well as through the iHeart Radio app.

Social Media

As always, thank you for reading. I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions. Follow me on Twitter (@DBergerHockey) for more information and insight. Here’s to hockey!

2024 NCHC Frozen Faceoff Preview: UND vs. Omaha

#4 North Dakota (26-10-2) is set to battle #11 Omaha (22-11-4) in the semifinals of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff at Xcel Energy Center this afternoon.

Two weeks ago, UND traveled down I-29 to face the Mavericks on the last weekend of the regular season. The homestanding Mavs were clearly the hungrier team in Friday’s opener, as North Dakota was fresh off a Penrose Cup-clinching performance at home just six days earlier. The Fighting Hawks trailed 3-2 headed into the final twenty minutes of game one, and, despite a 14-4 advantage in shots on goal in the third period, could not find the equalizer.

In the rematch, little-used netminder Seth Eisele made 38 saves for Omaha in a 4-1 victory. Ludvig Perrsson was good but not great for UND (21 saves, three goals allowed).

There is some goaltending intrigue heading into today’s matchup for the Green and White. Last weekend, North Dakota swept last-place Miami at home (5-1, 7-1) in the league quarterfinals, but Persson was not between the pipes. That distinction belonged to freshman Hobie Hedquist, who secured both playoff victories with 23 saves on Friday and 28 saves on Saturday.

Both goalies have practiced this week, but UND head coach Brad Berry is keeping his cards close to the vest, refusing to disclose his netminder until he is obligated to turn in his lineup 90 minutes before puck drop.

Which team has more to play for at the X? If North Dakota advances to Saturday’s championship game (to face either Denver or St. Cloud State), it would almost assuredly earn one of the NCAA tournament’s four #1-seeds. Omaha seems locked in as a #3-seed (Pairwise 9-12) regardless of today’s result and will be placed in the Sioux Falls Regional as that venue’s host school.

A North Dakota win today would all but guarantee UND a spot in Sioux Falls as well. A loss would find the Fighting Hawks flying to one of the other three regional sites (Maryland Heights, MO; Providence, RI; Springfield, MA).

Omaha advanced to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff for the first time in program history by virtue of a quarterfinal series victory at Colorado College last weekend (3-4 OT, 3-1, 2-1).

It is worth noting that next season (2024-25) will be the last season of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff. Back in December, the league announced plans to move the entire conference post-season tournament back to campus sites beginning in 2025-26. The 2026 NCHC Tournament (and beyond) will be played over three weeks and feature the addition of a 9th league foe, the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Here is the future format:

A play-in game (#8 vs. #9) will be held on the Wednesday following the conclusion of the regular season at the site of the #1-seed. The winner of that single-elimination game will move on to face the Penrose Cup champions in a best-of-three quarterfinal beginning two days later, one of four such series across the league. The two semifinal matchups will be played on the following Saturday in the home arenas of the two highest-remaining seeds, with the 2026 NCHC Playoff Championship decided one week later on the campus of the higher seed.

UND finds itself near the top of the national rankings (USCHO #4, USA Hockey #4) and in the all-important Pairwise rankings (3rd) this season thanks in large part to its impressive non-conference victories…

North Dakota blanked #9 Wisconsin 2-0 at Ralph Engelstad Arena back on October 14th.

UND was also able to avenge its only two non-conference losses of the season (vs. #8 Minnesota, at #2 Boston University) with wins the following night.

UND hosted the Mavs for the last two games of the 2022-2023 regular season, sweeping the series 5-4 and 2-1. The following weekend, the Fighting Hawks traveled down I-29 for a first-round playoff series against Mike Gabinet’s crew. North Dakota lost the opener 2-1 before storming back and taking the best-of-three series with 3-1 and 5-2 victories.

That road series was just the second time that UND was on the road for the league quarterfinals since 2002. The Fighting Hawks also found themselves away from home back in 2019, dropping two straight at Denver (0-2, 2-4) despite outshooting the Pios 32-17 in game one and 42-18 in the rematch.

2002 and 2019 are also – not coincidentally – the only two times that North Dakota failed to make it to the WCHA Final Five/NCHC Frozen Faceoff since 1996. UND hosted the first round of the league playoffs 22 times between 1997 and 2022 and advanced all 22 times (there was no NCHC tournament in 2020, and the format was modified for the 2020-2021 season).

In the eleven-year history of the league, Omaha has finished 3rd, 3rd, 6th, 6th, 5th, 7th, 6th, 4th, 6th, 3rd, and 5th for an average finish of 4.91, sixth among the eight league teams. North Dakota leads the conference with an average finish of 2.55 (2nd, 1st, 1st, 4th, 4th, 5th, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 1st).

Coming into its series against Colorado College a month ago, the Fighting Hawks had taken care of business in NCHC action, earning points in its first sixteen league games (10-0-1-5). That streak came to an end in the Springs, as UND dropped two games to the Tigers, bringing their season mark against CC to 0-2-0-2 (two regulation losses; two 3-on-3 overtime losses). Over the next two weekends, North Dakota completed home sweeps over Minnesota Duluth (6-0, 4-2) and Western Michigan (5-3, 3-0) to earn the program’s fourth Penrose Cup (NCHC regular season championship trophy) in the past five seasons.

The other NCHC team that UND struggled with this season? Omaha…

vs. Denver: 7-5 win, 2-3 OT loss, 5-2 win, 4-2 win (10 of 12 league points)

vs. Miami: 6-4 win, 5-1 win, 5-4 OT win, 4-1 win (11 of 12 league points)

vs. Minnesota Duluth: 4-2 win, 2-0 win, 6-0 win, 4-2 win (12 of 12 league points)

vs. Omaha: 4-5 OT loss, 3-1 win, 2-3 loss, 1-4 loss (4 of 12 league points)

vs. St. Cloud State: 5-3 win, 3-3 tie/shootout loss (4 of 6 league points)

vs. Western Michigan: 5-3 win, 3-0 win (6 of 6 league points)

In the eleven seasons of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, only UND, Denver, and St. Cloud State have won the Penrose Cup.

According to KRACH, North Dakota has faced the nation’s eighth-toughest schedule to this point of the season, while the Mavericks’ schedule weighs in as the 14th-most difficult. Despite its tough slate of games, the Green and White have the fourth-best winning percentage in the country (.719).

The NCHC has been the premier hockey conference since its inception, and particularly over the past nine seasons. The eight teams in the league have gone 483-242-82 (.649) in non-conference action since the start of the 2014-15 season and sent twelve teams to the Frozen Four (UND and Omaha in 2015, UND and Denver in 2016, Denver and Duluth in 2017, Duluth in 2018, Denver and Duluth in 2019, Duluth and St. Cloud State in 2021, and Denver in 2022) over that eight-year stretch (there was no national tournament in 2020). Conference members North Dakota (2016), Denver (2017, 2022), and Minnesota Duluth (2018, 2019) have won five of the last seven national titles.

And turning our attention to this season…

Back in January, UND took four of six league points in a home series against Omaha, falling 5-4 in overtime on Friday night before rebounding for a 3-1 regulation win in Saturday’s rematch. The disappointing thing about the series opener is that North Dakota led 3-1 after the first period. The Mavericks won the middle frame decisively, however, outscoring the homestanding Hawks 3-1. Both teams scored twice with the man advantage. Omaha scored just 34 seconds into the 3-on-3 overtime session to grab the extra league point.

Saturday’s finale was a bit more of a defensive struggle, with Omaha tying the game at one goal apiece just 49 seconds into the third period. UND’s Dylan James scored the game-winner three minutes later, and former Maverick Cameron Berg iced the game with an empty-net goal in the final thirty seconds. North Dakota outshot Omaha 30-23 on Saturday night and 69-47 on the weekend.

Overall, #4-ranked North Dakota has gone 26-10-2 against Army (one game), #9 Wisconsin (one game), #8 Minnesota, Minnesota State, #2 Boston University, Minnesota Duluth (four games), Miami (six games), Bemidji State, #3 Denver (four games), #12 Colorado College (four games), Alaska, #11 Omaha (four games), and #17 St. Cloud State, with a record of 19-4-1 at home and 7-6-1 on the road. Prior to last month in Colorado Springs (February 16th and 17th), UND had not lost in regulation since November 3rd.

As the #1 seed in the conference tournament, North Dakota will be designated the home team at the X this weekend and will enjoy last line change. This has proven beneficial to Brad Berry’s squad time and time again this year.

How has North Dakota made such a dramatic turnaround in just one season?

After missing the national tournament last year, head coach Brad Berry and his staff brought in fourteen fresh faces, tied for the second-most in team history. More strikingly, all eight defensemen are new to the UND men’s hockey program, including four freshmen.

Coincidentally, the breakdown of first-year players and transfers into the North Dakota system was identical:

Freshmen:

Four defensemen (Nate Benoit, Tanner Komzak, Jake Livanavage, Abram Wiebe)

Two forwards (Michael Emerson, Jayden Perron)

One goaltender (Hobie Hedquist)

Transfers:

Four defensemen (Logan Britt, Keaton Pehrson, Garrett Pyke, Bennett Zmolek)

Two forwards (Cameron Berg, Hunter Johannes)

One goaltender (Ludvig Perrson)

Update: freshman forward Michael Emerson left the UND program at semester break; Emerson appeared in six games during the first half of the season.

Over the first 38 games of the 2023-2024 season, UND forwards have scored 130 goals. It is also encouraging that twelve North Dakota forwards have multiple goals this season, led by Blake (21), Berg (20), Gaber (18), McLaughlin (13), Perron (11), and Johannes (10 in 29 games). Those first five forwards have combined for 44 goals over the past nine weekends of game action.

This weekend, Cameron Berg will square off against his old teammates.

Berg spent two seasons at Omaha, appearing in 74 games and collecting 18 goals and 29 assists. This year at UND, the center who grew up in West Fargo has 20 goals and 16 assists in 38 games, including 29 points in his last 28 games. Berg scored a goal against his former team back on January 13th and again on March 8th.

Prior to UND’s early February series at Miami, Fighting Hawks defensemen had only scored seven goals all season. And then, Logan Britt happened.

One month ago at CC, freshman defenseman Abram Wiebe notched his first career collegiate goal, while fellow blueliners Garrett Pyke and Jake Livanavage added assists. Four weeks ago, North Dakota’s d-corps chipped in with seven assists in a weekend sweep of Duluth. One week later, UND defensemen notched four more assists (including three from Wiebe) in a home sweep of the Western Michigan Broncos.

Two weekends ago in Omaha, Livanavage picked up two assists while Britt added a goal with an assist from d-partner Wiebe.

And in last weekend’s shellacking of Miami, UND defensemen notched two goals and added six assists.

The six regular blueliners for North Dakota (Pyke, Livanavage, Britt, Wiebe, Zmolek, and Pehrson) have now collected a total of 89 points (15 goals and 74 assists) in 216 games played (0.41 points/game). As mentioned above, the offensive output from the blue line has been increasing lately, with Livanavage in particular chipping in more regularly (three goals and 22 assists in his last 26 games).

By comparison, the six Omaha defensemen expected in the lineup this weekend have scored 24 goals and added 60 assists for 84 points in 219 games played for an average of 0.38 points/game).

A half-point per game or better is my benchmark for solid offensive production, and Mike Gabinet’s squad has just six players who meet that threshold: junior forward Tyler Mueller (10-15-25), junior forward Zach Urdahl (10-11-21 in 31 games), graduate forward Jack Randl (13-12-25), freshman forward Tanner Ludtke (11-17-28), senior forward Matt Miller (6-12-18), and sophomore defenseman Griffin Ludtke (4-20-24).

By that same measure, North Dakota has eight players at a half point or better, including two – sophomore forward Jackson Blake (21-36-57) and sophomore forward Owen McLaughlin (13-24-37) – averaging a point per game or better. Other offensive contributors include Cameron Berg (20-16-36), senior forward Riese Gaber (18-16-34), graduate forward Hunter Johannes (10-7-17 in 29 games), sophomore forward Dylan James (9-10-19), senior defenseman Garrett Pyke (3-22-25), and freshman defenseman Jake Livanavage (4-24-28).

Jackson Blake is making a strong push for college hockey’s Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Blake has collected 35 points (ten goals and 25 assists) since the calendar year turned to 2024 (twenty games).

Here is a quick peek at home North Dakota and Omaha stack up:

Goals per game: Omaha 2.92 (31st of 64 teams); UND 3.82 (8th)

Goals allowed per game: Omaha 2.76 (25th); UND 2.50 (10th)

Shooting percentage: Omaha 10.5% (18th); UND 12.4% (3rd)

Save percentage: Omaha .910 (15th); UND .905 (22nd)

Shots on goal/game: Omaha 27.9 (47th); UND 30.7 (22nd)

Shots on goal allowed/game: Omaha 30.6 (42nd); UND 26.2 (11th)

Power play efficiency: Omaha 17.8% (44th); UND 25.8% (8th)

Penalty kill efficiency: Omaha 77.8% (44th); UND 82.4% (19th)

Faceoff win percentage: Omaha 53.7% (9th); UND 51.3% (24th)

Corsi: Omaha 49.9% (35th); UND 52.3% (20th)

Fenwick: Omaha 48.5% (42nd); UND 54.1% (14th)

When Persson has been out of the lineup, freshman Hobie Hedquist has stepped in and performed admirably, winning all five of his starts while posting a goals-against average of 2.05 and a save percentage of .919.

Last year, UND’s team save percentage was .886, the fifth-worst mark among 62 teams. To put the difference in perspective, North Dakota allowed 110 goals on 962 shots last season. If we apply Perrson’s and Hedquist’s combined save percentage from this year (.907) to that shot total, the Fighting Hawks would have allowed a total of only 89 goals, a difference of 21 goals over the 39-game season.

And what difference does one goal make? UND found itself in a Pairwise predicament last season due to three tough losses:

Arizona State 3, North Dakota 2 (October 29th, 2022)

Miami 4, North Dakota 3 (November 19th, 2022)

Minnesota Duluth 2, North Dakota 1 (January 21st, 2023)

All three of those games were tied in the third period.

Omaha’s top netminder – sophomore Simon Latkoczy boasts similar numbers to Persson. Latkoczy has a record of 18-10-3, a goals-against average of 2.62, a save percentage of .913, and two shutouts.

With dismal specialty teams play and average defensive numbers, how has Omaha managed an overall record of 22-11-4? It boils down to two things:

1. Omaha has had the puck the majority of the time in most games. With stellar faceoff numbers and puck possession stats, the Mavs have been able to overcome their other deficiencies.

2. The Mavericks have won the close games. UNO is 16-2 in one-goal games (for comparison, UND is 4-5). Omaha has only three comfortable wins all season: an 8-1 shellacking of Niagara to open the season, a 5-2 victory at Augustana on November 25th, and a 5-1 win over Duluth on February 2nd. The Mavs also blanked CC 3-0 on February 23rd, but that was a one-goal game with fourteen minutes remaining.

In its eleven losses, the Mavs have been outscored 52-20.

After suffering three straight losses in mid-January, Omaha is 11-2-2 in its last fifteen games.

In the span of two weekends, Omaha has gone from a 22% chance of making the NCAA tournament to a stone cold lock. The Mavericks helped their cause by sweeping North Dakota and taking two of three games at Colorado College.

In team history, the Mavericks have made the national tournament four times (2006, 2011, 2015, 2021), with a Frozen Four appearance under head coach Dean Blais in 2015.

Omaha Team Profile

Head Coach: Mike Gabinet (7th season at UNO, 116-112-18, .508)

National Rankings: #11/#11
Pairwise Ranking: 11th
KRACH Rating: 280.7 (12th)

This Season: 22-11-4 overall, 8-8-8-0 NCHC (5th)
Last Season: 19-15-3 overall, 11-7-3-3 NCHC (3rd)

Team Offense: 2.92 goals scored/game – 31st of 64 teams
Team Defense: 2.76 goals allowed/game – 25th of 64 teams

Power Play: 17.8% (24 of 135) – 44th of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 77.8% (91 of 117) – 34th of 64 teams

Key Players: Junior F Tyler Mueller (10-15-25), Junior F Zach Urdahl (10-11-21 in 31 games), Graduate F Jack Randl (13-12-25), Freshman F Tanner Ludtke (11-17-28), Senior F Matt Miller (6-12-18), Sophomore D Joaquim Lemay (4-12-16), Sophomore D Griffin Ludtke (4-20-24), Sophomore G Simon Latkoczy (18-10-3, 2.62 GAA, .913 SV%, 2 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (9th season at UND, 206-102-33, .652)

National Rankings: #4/#4
Pairwise Ranking: 3rd
KRACH Rating: 520.5 (3rd)

This Season: 26-10-2 overall, 14-4-1-5 NCHC (1st of 8 teams, Penrose Cup Champions)
Last Season: 18-15-5 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 7-10-5-2 NCHC (t-5th of 8 teams)

2023-2024 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.82 goals scored/game – 8th of 64 teams
Team Defense: 2.50 goals allowed/game – 10th of 64 teams

Power Play: 25.8% (34 of 132) – 8th of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 82.4% (84 of 102) – 19th of 64 teams

Key Players: Sophomore F Jackson Blake (21-36-57), Senior F Riese Gaber (18-16-34), Sophomore F Owen McLaughlin (13-24-37), Junior F Cameron Berg (20-16-36), Senior F Louis Jamernik V (8-9-17), sophomore F Dylan James (9-10-19), Senior D Garrett Pyke (3-22-25), Freshman D Jake Livanavage (4-24-28), Senior G Ludvig Persson (21-10-2, 2.47 GAA, .906 SV%, 5 SO)

By The Numbers:

Last Meeting: March 9, 2024 (Omaha, NE). Two weeks ago, UND traveled down I-29 to face the Mavericks on the last weekend of the regular season. Little-used netminder Seth Eisele made 38 saves for Omaha in a 4-1 Saturday night victory, while Ludvig Perrsson was good but not great for UND (21 saves, three goals allowed). The homestanding Mavs were clearly the hungrier team in Friday’s opener, as North Dakota was fresh off a Penrose Cup-clinching performance at home just six days earlier. The Fighting Hawks trailed 3-2 headed into the final twenty minutes of game one, and, despite a 14-4 advantage in shots on goal in the third period, could not find the equalizer.

Most memorable meeting: The game that UND fans will long remember is the outdoor game played at TD Ameritrade Park (Omaha, Nebraska) on February 9th, 2013. One day after winning a tight 2-1 contest indoors, North Dakota throttled UNO 5-2 on a sunny, melty afternoon. Mavericks netminder John Faulkner was pulled after allowing three goals on five shots in just ten minutes of game action. In my opinion, this hockey weekend solidified the notion that for UND hockey, it’s always a home game.

Last ten: North Dakota has won five of the last ten contests between the schools, going 5-4-1 (.550) and outscoring the Mavericks 29-26 over that stretch. Six of the last ten games in this series were played in Omaha.

All-time: UND leads the all-time series 36-21-2 (.627), including a record of 31-18-2 (.627) against the Mavericks since both teams joined the NCHC. The teams first met on November 19, 2010 but have never played a game at a neutral site (until today).

Game News and Notes

In 2015, both North Dakota and Omaha advanced to the Frozen Four but neither team made the championship game. UND fell to Boston University 5-3, while the Mavericks were upended 4-1 by eventual national champion Providence. North Dakota’s Brad Berry is 27-15-1 (.640) in his head coaching career against Omaha. UND’s Riese Gaber has 18 points against Omaha in his collegiate career (7-11-18 in nineteen games), while netminder Ludvig Persson has squared off against the Mavs eleven times, posting a record of 4-7-0, a goals-against average of 2.99, and a save percentage of .902. In 28 of the past 32 contests in this series, the winning team is the one which scores the first goal. This season, North Dakota is 22-5-1 (.804) when scoring first; Omaha, 16-8-0 (.667). UND has outscored opponents 49-27 in the first period of play this season. As a team, North Dakota has blocked 533 shots this season (14.0 blocks/game), led by Bennett Zmolek (89), Garrett Pyke (55), and Abram Wiebe (52).

The Prediction

North Dakota is playing to avoid a flight next weekend, while Omaha is playing to… play at Xcel Energy Center for the first time? UND has so many advantages in this one – a virtual home crowd, last line change, the experience of playing in this tournament before, and more game-changing talent. Like so many games in this league, it’s a race to three goals, and I like North Dakota’s chances. UND 3-2.

Bonus Prediction

In the nightcap, I expect a good showing from St. Cloud State. The Huskies must win the 2024 NCHC Frozen Faceoff to secure a bid to the national tournament, and that will provide the extra motivation. Denver is missing some key players up front and does not have the goaltending that the Pios faithful are used to. SCSU 4, DU 2.

Broadcast Information

All three games this weekend will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network, with UND’s game set foir 4:07 p.m. CT and the second game scheduled for 7:07 p.m. All UND men’s hockey games can be heard on stations across the UND Sports Home of Economy Radio Network as well as through the iHeart Radio app.

Social Media

As always, thank you for reading. I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions. Follow me on Twitter (@DBergerHockey) for more information and insight. Here’s to hockey!

NCHC Playoff Preview: North Dakota vs. Miami

#5 North Dakota (24-10-2 overall, 14-4-1-5 NCHC) hosts unranked Miami (7-24-3 overall, 1-19-0-4 NCHC) in the first round of the NCHC tournament. The winner of this best-of-three series will move on to the semifinals, which will be played next Friday, March 22nd at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota and also feature the winners of the other three playoff matchups:

#7 Minnesota Duluth at #2 Denver
#6 Western Michigan at #3 Colorado College
#5 Omaha at #4 St. Cloud State

It is also worth noting that next season (2024-25) will be the last season of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff. Back in December, the league announced plans to move the entire conference post-season tournament back to campus sites beginning in 2025-26. The 2026 NCHC Tournament (and beyond) will be played over three weeks and feature the addition of a 9th league foe, the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Here is the future format:

UND finds itself near the top of the national rankings (USCHO #5, USA Hockey #5) and in the all-important Pairwise rankings (3rd) this season thanks in large part to its impressive non-conference victories…

North Dakota blanked #9 Wisconsin 2-0 at Ralph Engelstad Arena back on October 14th.

UND was also able to avenge its only two non-conference losses of the season (vs. #6 Minnesota, at #2 Boston University) with wins the following night.

Remarkably, when North Dakota traveled to face to RedHawks back in January of 2023 (last season), the two teams were both at the bottom of the league standings. This time around, UND and Miami are at opposite ends of the spectrum: the Fighting Hawks are Penrose Cup champions, while the RedHawks won just ONE conference game all season (a 4-3 home victory over Western Michigan on January 13th, their last win of this campaign). Let me say that again: over the past seven weekends of hockey (one series each against every league foe), MU has not won a game (0-13-1, with a shootout loss at Denver the only bright spot). Over those fourteen games, Miami was outscored 58-26, an average margin of defeat of 4.14 – 1.86.

The problem with this year’s Miami squad is that it lacks everything. You name it, it lacks it. Take a quick look at some of these numbers, along with a comparison to the North Dakota side of the ledger:

Goals per game: MU 2.24 (60th of 64 teams); UND 3.69 (8th)

Goals allowed per game: MU 3.62 (56th); UND 2.58 (17th)

Shooting percentage: MU 8.2% (58th); UND 12.1% (5th)

Save percentage: MU .884 (59th); UND .901 (30th)

Shots on goal/game: MU 27.1 (54th); UND 30.6 (21st)

Shots on goal allowed/game: MU 31.2 (44th); UND 26.2 (11th)

Power play efficiency: MU 13.8% (57th); UND 25.4% (11th)

Penalty kill efficiency: MU 78.2% (43rd); UND 81.4% (23rd)

Faceoff win percentage: MU 46.6% (54th); UND 51.2% (26th)

Corsi: MU 47.0% (50th); UND 52.2% (21st)

Fenwick: MU 46.5% (53rd); UND 53.9% (14th)

Also, amazingly, North Dakota has put up these stellar numbers despite playing the 5th-most difficult schedule in all of college hockey (according to KRACH). Miami’s schedule ranks 26th.

So, all of this points to a UND sweep in blowout fashion, correct?

Not quite.

As I wrote earlier this week, in the NCHC playoffs, it’s difficult to sweep. The league playoffs take on a different level of compete, particularly on Saturday nights, when one team is playing to avoid a season-ending loss. And that would be true in this case. Miami – at 47th in the Pairwise – would need to win two games this weekend AND two games next weekend in St. Paul to continue playing.

North Dakota, currently 3rd in the Pairwise, is certainly headed to the NCAA tournament regardless of this weekend’s results. UND is motivated to win and advance, however, as a #1 seed in one of the four regionals is still an achievable goal. CHN’s Pairwise Probability Matrix currently gives the Fighting Hawks a combined 79% chance of accomplishing that task. Even with two losses, North Dakota would likely earn one of the top five spots in the tourney bracket.

Before we dig into this weekend’s matchup, let’s take a quick look back at the past few games between the two teams…

Back in November, UND hosted Miami and throttled the visitors by scores of 6-4 and 5-1. On Friday night, the Fighting Hawks outshot their red counterparts 42-13 and allowed two late goals to make the final result appear closer than it actually was. MU played a better overall game on Saturday and matched North Dakota in the shot department (22 apiece), but four first-period goals were too much for Miami to overcome.

When UND traveled to Miami last month in Ludvig Persson’s homecoming, the homestanding RedHawks took Friday’s game to overtime before falling 84 seconds in on yet another Jackson Blake overtime tally. Persson, who struggled to feel comfortable in his return to Goggin Ice Center (four goals allowed on 31 shots), assisted on the game winner in overtime On Saturday, North Dakota took control in a 4-1 victory despite allowing 34 shots on goal.

The aggregate score in those four regular-season meetings? 20-10.

The scoreboard doesn’t tell the whole story, though. UND needed to mount a third-period comeback in order to get the game to overtime on Friday night. And in the rematch, Miami played well enough to win but could not solve Persson. Furthermore, MU was without two first-line forwards (Matthew Barbolini and Raimonds Vitolins.

Last season’s trip to Oxford (January 2023) saw North Dakota blitz the homestanding RedHawks 4-1 and 8-0. UND went 4-for-8 with the man advantage on Saturday night and also scored a shorthanded goal.

Back in November of 2022, the Fighting Hawks won Friday’s home opener vs. Miami in runaway fashion, boatracing the RedHawks by building a 5-0 lead over the first 31 minutes of the hockey game. In Saturdays’ rematch, UND spotted the visitors a 3-0 lead before making a late push, outshooting MU 27-6 over the final two periods but falling just short in a 4-3 loss. That RedHawks victory was the only blemish in North Dakota’s 9-1 head-to-head mark over the past ten games.

The Fighting Hawks traveled to Oxford, Ohio in November 2021 and earned a road sweep with 4-1 and 5-4 victories. UND outshot Miami 68-31 in the two-game series.

Almost one year earlier (December 2nd, 2020), the two teams met in Omaha in the first pod game for either side. North Dakota blanked Miami 2-0 and put 39 shots on goal.

And in the rematch on December 20th – the final game of the Omaha pod – the RedHawks managed to score twice but allowed six North Dakota goals on 39 shots.

Miami put a total of 42 shots on frame over the course of those six periods of hockey.

After those two December tilts, the teams were not scheduled to face each other in the second half of the 2021-2022 season. As fate would have it, however, top-seeded UND (18-5-1) drew last-place Miami (5-17-2) in the first round of the modified NCHC Frozen Faceoff. There was little drama in the contest, as the Fighting Hawks scored three goals in the first six minutes of the hockey game and cruised to a 6-2 victory, outshooting MU 46-28.

In the past thirteen games, North Dakota has outscored Miami 65-25 (5.0 – 1.9 per contest) while holding a 451-277 advantage in shots on goal (34.7 – 21.3).

Over the past three seasons, the RedHawks relied on goaltender Ludvig Persson to keep games close, as Miami only averaged 2.22 goals per game. Unfortunately, MU allowed 3.91 goals per game over those three campaigns and only won twenty total games (20-69-8, .247).

And now Ludvig Persson is wearing the green and white of North Dakota (more on that below).

Ten full seasons have come and gone since the college hockey landscape changed forever. With Minnesota and Wisconsin departing the Western Collegiate Hockey Association for the Big Ten after the 2012-13 season, several other conference schools and two members of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (Miami and Western Michigan) created the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and left Alaska Anchorage, Bemidji State, Michigan Tech, and Minnesota State behind in a watered-down WCHA. And now, the WCHA is no more, and the CCHA reformed beginning with the 2021-2022 campaign.

The NCHC has been the premier hockey conference since its inception, and particularly over the past nine seasons. The eight teams in the league have gone 434-223-72 (.645) in non-conference action since the start of the 2014-15 season and sent twelve teams to the Frozen Four (UND and Omaha in 2015, UND and Denver in 2016, Denver and Duluth in 2017, Duluth in 2018, Denver and Duluth in 2019, Duluth and St. Cloud State in 2021, and Denver in 2022) over that seven-year stretch (there was no national tournament in 2020). Conference members North Dakota (2016), Denver (2017, 2022), and Minnesota Duluth (2018, 2019) have won five of the last seven national titles.

Over the first eleven completed regular seasons of the NCHC, Miami has averaged a seventh-place finish among the eight conference teams (8th, 2nd, 5th, 7th, 8th, 8th, 7th, 8th, 8th, 8th, and 8th), with a combined league record of 63-168-33 (.301).

By comparison, North Dakota has finished 2nd, 1st, 1st, 4th, 4th, 5th, 1st, 1st, 1st, 5th, and 1st, for an average finish just under second place, with a combined league record of 154-81-29 (.638). No other league member has collected as many conference wins as UND.

When the National Collegiate Hockey Conference was formed, Miami appeared positioned to be a dominant program. Prior to the 2013-14 season (their inaugural campaign in the NCHC), the RedHawks had made eight consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, with consecutive Frozen Four bids in 2009 (2nd) and 2010 (3rd). Since joining the NCHC, Miami has just one NCAA tournament appearance (2015), and that ended quickly with a first-round loss to eventual national champion Providence.

Long-tenured head coach Enrico Blasi was fired after posting a fourth consecutive losing season in 2018-2019. Over that stretch of time, the RedHawks were 47-81-19 (.384). There is reason for optimism in Oxford, however, with new bench boss Chris Bergeron taking over the program after leading Bowling Green to six consecutive winning seasons, five consecutive years with twenty or more victories, and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2018-2019.

And turning our attention to this season…

Coming into its series against Colorado College a month ago, the Fighting Hawks had taken care of business in NCHC action, earning points in its first sixteen league games (10-0-1-5). That streak came to an end in the Springs, as UND dropped two games to the Tigers, bringing their season mark against CC to 0-2-0-2 (two regulation losses; two 3-on-3 overtime losses). Prior to last weekend, North Dakota completed home sweeps over Minnesota Duluth (6-0, 4-2) and Western Michigan (5-3, 3-0) to earn the program’s fourth Penrose Cup (NCHC regular season championship trophy) in the past five seasons.

Last weekend on the road at Omaha, the Mavericks were clearly the better team out of the gate on Friday night. UND put together a fine third period but could not put a third goal past UNO goaltender Simon Latkoczy. North Dakota outshot Omaha 14-4 over the final twenty minutes of the hockey game but fell 3-2. In Saturday’s rematch, Latkoczy was a late scratch, and little known Seth Eisele – a graduate student from Lake Elmo, Minnesota – stopped 38 of 39 shots in a 4-1 Maverick win.

#2-ranked North Dakota has gone 24-10-2 against Army (one game), #9 Wisconsin (one game), #6 Minnesota, Minnesota State, #2 Boston University, Minnesota Duluth, Miami, Bemidji State, #3 Denver (four games), #10 Colorado College (four games), Alaska, #12 Omaha (four games), and #18 St. Cloud State, with a record of 17-4-1 at home and 7-6-1 on the road.

How has North Dakota made such a dramatic turnaround in just one season?

Coincidentally, the breakdown of first-year players and transfers into the North Dakota system is identical:

Freshmen:

Four defensemen (Nate Benoit, Tanner Komzak, Jake Livanavage, Abram Wiebe)

Two forwards (Michael Emerson, Jayden Perron)

One goaltender (Hobie Hedquist)

Transfers:

Four defensemen (Logan Britt, Keaton Pehrson, Garrett Pyke, Bennett Zmolek)

Two forwards (Cameron Berg, Hunter Johannes)

One goaltender (Ludvig Perrson)

Update: freshman forward Michael Emerson left the UND program at semester break; Emerson appeared in six games during the first half of the season.

These thirteen newcomers join eleven returning forwards and second-year netminder Kaleb Johnson to form UND’s 25-player roster. The Fighting Hawks returned 70 goals up front, led by senior Riese Gaber (20 goals last season) and sophomore Jackson Blake (16). With the addition of Berg (10 goals last season at Omaha), Johannes (13 at Lindenwood), and Chicago Steel (USHL) teammates Emerson (30) and Perron (24), North Dakota should easily surpass the 102 goals scored all of last season by its forward group.

Over the first 36 games of the 2023-2024 season, UND forwards have scored 120 goals. It is also encouraging that twelve North Dakota forwards have multiple goals this season, led by Berg (20), Blake (19), Gaber (16), McLaughlin (12), Perron (11, and Johannes (9 in 27 games). Those first five forwards have combined for 41 goals over the past nine weekends of game action.

Prior to UND’s early February series at Miami, Fighting Hawks defensemen had only scored seven goals all season. And then, Logan Britt happened.

Four weekends ago at CC, freshman defenseman Abram Wiebe notched his first career collegiate goal, while fellow blueliners Garrett Pyke and Jake Livanavage added assists. Three weeks ago, North Dakota’s d-corps chipped in with seven assists in a weekend sweep of Duluth. One week later, UND defensemen notched four more assists (including three from Wiebe) in a home sweep of the Western Michigan Broncos.

And last weekend at Omaha, Livanavage picked up two assists while Britt added a goal with an assist from d-partner Wiebe.

The six regular blueliners for North Dakota (Pyke, Livanavage, Britt, Wiebe, Zmolek, and Pehrson) have now collected a total of 81 points (13 goals and 68 assists) in 204 games played (0.40 points/game). As mentioned above, the offensive output from the blue line has been increasing lately, with Livanavage in particular chipping in more regularly (two goals and twenty assists in his last 24 games).

Bennett Zmolek was held out of the series finale two weeks ago with a lower body injury and has not returned to game action; he was seen on the ice for the post-game celebration using crutches. Zmolek leads the team with 83 blocked shots (2.86 blocks per game).

By comparison, the six blueliners expected in the lineup for Miami this weekend have produced a total of 13 goals and 32 assists for 45 points in 191 games (0.24 points/game).

A half-point per game or better is my benchmark for solid offensive production, and Chris Bergeron’s squad has just five lineup regulars who meet that threshold: senior forward Matthew Barbolini (11-14-25), sophomore forward John Waldron (9-13-22), senior forward PJ Fletcher (11-12-23), junior forward Raimonds Vitolins (6-11-17 in 26 games), and graduate forward Albin Nilsson (4-5-9 in 16 games, all since January 12th).

By that same measure, North Dakota has seven players at a half point or better, including one – sophomore forward Jackson Blake (19-33-52) – averaging nearly a point and a half (1.44). Other offensive contributors include sophomore forward Owen McLaughlin (12-22-34), Cameron Berg (20-15-35), senior forward Riese Gaber (16-15-31), graduate forward Hunter Johannes (9-7-16 in 27 games), senior defenseman Garrett Pyke (3-21-24), and freshman defenseman Jake Livanavage (3-22-25).

Jackson Blake is making a strong push for college hockey’s Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Blake picked up seven points three weekends ago against Minnesota Duluth and added two points (including a highlight-reel goal) against Western Michigan a week later to reach the 50-point plateau in just 34 games. A two-assist weekend at Omaha last weekend has Blake sitting at 52 points headed into the playoffs; he has collected 30 points (eight goals and 22 assists) since the calendar year turned to 2024 (eighteen games).

A huge key to UND’s defensive turnaround this season has been the play of senior netminder Ludvig Persson. The transfer from Miami has played all but three games between the pipes for the Fighting Hawks, posting a record of 21-10-2 with a goals-against average of 2.47, a save percentage of .906, and five shutouts.

Persson was ill two months ago, and freshman Hobie Hedquist stepped in for him, winning both games while posting a goals-against average of 3.01 and a save percentage of .870).

Persson returned to practice on a Wednesday and got the start on Friday, but he struggled, allowing five goals on 24 shots. Hedquist stepped in on Saturday, making 22 of 23 saves and earning his third victory of the season. Persson started both games in St. Cloud last and he shined, stopping 66 of 72 shots which came his way for a combined save percentage of .917. Persson wasn’t tested much in UND’s home sweep of Denver; he allowed two goals each night while making 17 saves on Friday night and 22 saves in the rematch. In a road sweep at Miami, Persson stopped 60 of 65 shots (.923). Over the last two home weekends, Perrson went 4-0 with a save percentage of .957 and two shutouts.

Last year, UND’s team save percentage was .886, the fifth-worst mark among 62 teams. To put the difference in perspective, North Dakota allowed 110 goals on 962 shots last season. If we apply Persson’s save percentage from this year to that shot total, the Fighting Hawks would have allowed a total of only 91 goals, a difference of 19 goals over the 39-game season.

And what difference does one goal make? UND found itself in a Pairwise predicament last season due to three tough losses:

Arizona State 3, North Dakota 2 (October 29th, 2022)

Miami 4, North Dakota 3 (November 19th, 2022)

Minnesota Duluth 2, North Dakota 1 (January 21st, 2023)

All three of those games were tied in the third period.

Miami had been relying on graduate goaltender Logan Neaton (6-10-2, 3.06 GAA, .901 SV%, 1 SO) in the early part of the season, but he has only started two games since January 13th due to injury. Neaton is the lone NHL draft pick on the RedHawks roster (Winnipeg Jets Round 5 #144 overall in 2019). Neaton transferred from UMass-Lowell in the fall of 2021 and appeared in sixteen games over the past two seasons with Miami.

In his place, Chris Bergeron turned to freshman netminder Bruno Bruveris (stats), who has started twelve of the past fourteen games in net. On the season, Bruveris is 1-12-1 with a goals-against average of 4.15, a save percentage of .866, and one shutout (a 21-save performance in a 2-0 victory over Niagara back in December).

North Dakota fans hoping for UND tournament games in Sioux Falls, South Dakota can root for one of two things to happen regarding the Omaha Mavericks (this year’s tournament host in Sioux Falls):

1. A good NCHC tournament run from Omaha (currently 12th in the Pairwise) would certainly lock them into the Pairwise 9th-12th band (#3 seeds). This would allow both the Mavericks and North Dakota to be seeded in the same regional (the committee avoids first-round matchups between teams from the same conference).

Or…

2. Two losses this weekend to Colorado College could easily drop Omaha down to 14th in the Pairwise (or further), leaving them right on the dreaded Pairwise cutoff line.

Miami – at 47th in the Pairwise – would need to win two games this weekend AND two games next weekend in St. Paul to continue playing.

Miami Team Profile

Head Coach: Chris Bergeron (5th season at Miami, 35-114-16, .261)

National Rankings: NR/NR
Pairwise Ranking: 47th
KRACH Rating: 52.9 (44th)

This Season: 7-24-3 overall, 1-19-0-4 NCHC (8th)
Last Season: 8-24-4 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 3-16-0-5 NCHC (8th)

2023-2024 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 2.24 goals scored/game – 60th of 64 teams
Team Defense: 3.62 goals allowed/game – 56th of 64 teams

Power Play: 13.8% (16 of 116) – 57th of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 78.2% (93 of 119) – 43rd of 64 teams

Key players: Senior F Matthew Barbolini (11-14-25), Senior F PJ Fletcher (11-12-23), Sophomore F John Waldron (9-13-22), Sophomore F William Hallen (3-7-10), Junior F Raimonds Vitolins (6-11-17 in 26 games), Graduate D Jack Clement (1-7-8), Sophomore D Axel Kumlin (2-8-10), Graduate G Logan Neaton (6-12-2, 2.96 GAA, .903 SV%, 1 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (9th season at UND, 204-102-33, .650)

National Rankings: #5/#5
Pairwise Ranking: 3rd
KRACH Rating: 505.3 (3rd)

This Season: 24-10-2 overall, 14-4-1-5 NCHC (1st of 8 teams, Penrose Cup Champions)
Last Season: 18-15-5 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 7-10-5-2 NCHC (t-5th of 8 teams)

2023-2024 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.69 goals scored/game – 8th of 64 teams
Team Defense: 2.58 goals allowed/game – 17th of 64 teams

Power Play: 25.4% (32 of 126) – 11th of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 81.4% (79 of 97) – 23rd of 64 teams

Key Players: Sophomore F Jackson Blake (19-33-52), Senior F Riese Gaber (16-15-31), Sophomore F Owen McLaughlin (12-22-34), Junior F Cameron Berg (20-15-35), Senior F Louis Jamernik V (8-9-17), sophomore F Dylan James (8-9-17), Senior D Garrett Pyke (3-21-24), Freshman D Jake Livanavage (3-22-25), Senior G Ludvig Persson (21-10-2, 2.47 GAA, .906 SV%, 5 SO)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: February 3, 2024 (Oxford, Ohio). North Dakota cruised to a 4-1 win over the homestanding RedHawks to earn five of six league points on the weekend. UND defenseman Logan Britt scored twice in the victory to notch a three-goal weekend and nab NCHC Defenseman of the Week honors, Britt had two goals on the season coming into the road series at MU. In the opener, Miami took Friday’s game to overtime before falling 84 seconds in on yet another Jackson Blake overtime tally. UND netminder Ludvig Persson, who struggled to feel comfortable in his return to Goggin Ice Center (four goals allowed on 31 shots), assisted on the game winner in overtime.

Last Meeting in Grand Forks: November 18, 2023 (Grand Forks, ND). Miami matched North Dakota in the shot department (22 apiece), but four first-period goals were too much for Miami to overcome in a 5-1 victory for UND. One night earlier, the Fighting Hawks outshot their red counterparts 42-13 in a 6-4 win. Two late MU goals made the final result appear closer than it actually was.

Most Important Meeting: March 6, 2015 (Oxford, OH). North Dakota claimed the Penrose Cup with a 2-1 road victory over Miami. UND fell flat the following night, losing 6-3 in the final game of the regular season.

Last Ten: UND has picked up nine wins (9-1–0, .900) in the past ten contests between the teams, outscoring Miami 51-21 over that stretch of games.

All-time Series: North Dakota leads the all-time series 29-8-4 (.756), including a sparkling 13-3-2 (.778) record in games played in Grand Forks. Brad Berry is 22-4-3 (.810) in his coaching career against Miami. The teams first played in 1999 (Badger Showdown, Milwaukee, WI).

Game News and Notes

In thirteen career games against Miami, junior forward Riese Gaber has scored thirteen goals and added nine assists. MU has not made the national tournament since 2015, their second season in the NCHC. As a team, North Dakota has blocked 495 shots this season (13.8 blocks/game), led by Bennett Zmolek (83 in just 29 games), Garrett Pyke (51), and Abram Wiebe (50). Miami head coach Chris Bergeron has lost more games in his five seasons at Miami (35-114-16, .261) than North Dakota bench boss Brad Berry has in his nine seasons at UND (204-102-33, .650). UND’s Saturday night road victory over the RedHawks last month gave Berry his 200th head coaching win, a mark achieved by fewer than 100 coaches in NCAA Division I men’s college hockey history. North Dakota boasts three Hobey Baker nominees – Jackson Blake, Riese Gaber, and Ludvig Persson; Miami has one – Matthew Barbolini. MU has been outscored 45-22 in second periods this season. UND has posted a record of 17-4-1 in 22 home games this season, losing only once in regulation at Ralph Engelstad Arena (a 4-0 loss to Minnesota back in October). Green Hawks are preferable to RedHawks.

The Prediction

The Fighting Hawks are deeper, more talented, have better goaltending, and are playing in front of their home crowd. If Brad Berry’s squad can contain Miami’s top line of Barbolini, Vitolins, and Fletcher, it will be a long weekend for the RedHawks. As I’ve said so many times, fans should expect a tighter contest on Saturday night, but North Dakota will get things done in two games and advance to St. Paul. UND 6-2, 4-3.

Broadcast Information

All games this weekend (Friday at 7:07 p.m., Saturday at 6:07 p.m., and Sunday at 6.07 p.m. if necessary will be broadcast on Midco Sports Network and also available via webcast at NCHC.tv. All UND men’s hockey games can be heard on stations across the UND Sports Home of Economy Radio Network as well as through the iHeart Radio app.

As always, thank you for reading. I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions. Follow me on Twitter (@DBergerHockey) for more information and insight. Here’s to hockey!

The First-Round League Playoff Series: Why Is It So Difficult To Sweep?

On Friday night at Ralph Engelstad Arena, #5 North Dakota (24-10-2 overall, 14-4-1-5 NCHC) will host unranked Miami (7-24-3 overall, 1-19-0-4 NCHC) to open the first round of the NCHC playoffs.

Over the past 22 seasons, UND has only been on the road twice for the first round of the conference tournament, with mixed results…

Back in 2019, the Fighting Hawks drew Denver on the road in the NCHC quarterfinals and fell in two games (0-2, 2-4).

Last season, North Dakota traveled to Omaha and dropped the first game to the Mavericks by a score of 2-1. Brad Berry’s squad fought back and won two straight (3-1, 5-2) to advance to St. Paul.

There was no tournament in 2020 (UND was set to host Colorado College), and the format was modified for the 2021 postseason.

In the other seventeen seasons since 2022, North Dakota hosted a first-round playoff series and fared extremely well on home ice, advancing to the second weekend of the conference tournament in each instance.

North Dakota has put the home fans at ease by winning Friday’s opener in each of the past thirteen series. Over the past seventeen series, Saturday’s games have been more difficult, as seen by the following breakdown:

Average goals scored/goals allowed in first-round home playoff games (2003-2022):

Friday: 4.76 goals scored/1.47 goals allowed (fifteen wins, two losses)
Saturday: 3.35 goals scored/2.29 goals allowed (thirteen wins, four losses)
Sunday: 3.67 goals scored/1.17 goals allowed (six wins, zero losses)

The way this has played out in the past is that North Dakota has typically hosted a team from the bottom third of the league (Michigan Tech five times, Colorado College four times, MSU-Mankato twice, and once each for Bemidji State, Denver, Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, Omaha, and St. Cloud State). Friday’s openers have been blowouts, with UND winning fifteen of its last seventeen openers by an average of four goals (5.20 – 1.20).

So why is it that six of the past seventeen home series have gone to a third and decisive game?

The main reason that the Green and White have played much closer games on Saturday night (twelve one-goal games) is that in every case, North Dakota was playing to extend its own season and/or end another team’s season. Elimination games bring out the best in both teams, and the results are tightly contested matches. Remarkably, UND played host to five overtime playoff contests from 2003-2008 but only three (a Game Two overtime loss to Colorado College in 2014, a 6-5 overtime victory against St. Cloud State in 2017, and a 4-3 overtime win over Omaha in 2018) since that time.

And not coincidentally, the last three times North Dakota was on the road for the first round, they demonstrated similar results…

2002: Playing at eventual national champion Minnesota in the opening round of the WCHA playoffs, UND took the Gophers to overtime on Saturday night (losing 4-3) after getting destroyed 7-2 in Friday’s opener.

2019: North Dakota traveled to Denver and dropped the opener 2-0. In the rematch, UND outshot the Pioneers 42-18 but fell by a final score of 4-2 (including an empty-net goal).

2023: One week after sweeping Omaha in Grand Forks (5-4 OT, 2-1) to end the regular season, North Dakota traveled to face UNO at Baxter Arena. The Mavericks took the opener 2-1, but the Fighting Hawks evened the series with a 3-1 victory in Game Two. In Sunday’s finale, UND outshot Omaha 36-14 and won 5-2.

The boys from Grand Forks have only given up seven total goals in six Sunday home playoff games. Two recent Game Threes went into the books as blowouts (4-1 vs. Minnesota [2010] and 6-0 vs. Michigan Tech [2013]), but the 2014 rubber match against the Tigers went right down to the wire. CC scored an extra-attacker goal with 90 seconds remaining but could not find the equalizer and fell by a score of 4-3.

North Dakota’s most recent championship season (2016) featured two blowout wins (7-1, 5-1) vs. Colorado College in the first round of the NCHC tournament. The only other playoff series in the current stretch that did not feature at least one close game was in 2005. North Dakota destroyed Minnesota-Duluth 8-2 and 6-1, with Rory McMahon (2 goals, 5 assists) and Rastislav Spirko (3 goals, 3 assists) leading the way for the Fighting Sioux. Colby Genoway added three goals and two assists, and netminder Jordan Parise turned away 34 of 37 Bulldog shots to earn two victories and the series sweep.

Here are the complete results for the last 40 home conference playoff games:

Year	Opponent	Game One	Game Two	Game Three
2022	Colorado College	2-1	2-1
2018	Omaha	4-0	4-3 (OT)
2017	St. Cloud State	5-2	6-5 (OT)
2016	Colorado College	7-1	5-1
2015	Colorado College	5-1	3-2
2014	Colorado College	4-2	2-3 (OT)	4-3
2013	Michigan Tech	5-3	1-2	6-0
2012	Bemidji State	4-1	4-3
2011	Michigan Tech	8-0	3-1
2010	Minnesota	6-0	2-4	4-1
2009	Michigan Tech	5-1	4-3
2008	Michigan Tech	4-0	2-3 (OT)	2-1
2007	Mankato State	5-2	2-1
2006	Mankato State	2-3 (OT)	4-1	3-0
2005	Minnesota-Duluth	8-2	6-1
2004	Michigan Tech	6-2	4-3 (OT)
2003	Denver	1-4	3-2 (OT)	3-2 (OT)

So how will this weekend’s series between North Dakota and last-place Miami play out? Will the teams be playing a decisive third game on Sunday evening? Please click here for a full series preview and prediction.

As always, thank you for reading. I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions. Follow me on Twitter (@DBergerHockey) for more information and insight. Here’s to hockey!