#14 North Dakota (12-8-1 overall, 5-3-2-0 NCHC) hosts #4 Western Michigan (13-4-1 overall, 5-0-1-2 NCHC) in the first meeting between the two teams this season. UND will make a return trip to Kalamazoo for games on February 28th and March 1st in a series that may well determine the 2025 Penrose Cup champions.
The Broncos and Fighting Hawks are two of three teams tied for first place (19 points each) in the league standings, although WMU has played two fewer conference games than UND and Arizona State. Denver and Omaha sit two points back with 17 points.
Two seasons ago, UND managed to take five of six league points on the road (2-2 tie/shootout win; 3-0 win), but the Broncos swept the Fighting Hawks at Ralph Engelstad Arena (4-0, 7-6) to take the season series.
Last year, in the only series between the teams, North Dakota swept Western Michigan at home (5-3, 3-0) to capture the program’s sixth Penrose Cup. In the eleven completed seasons of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, only UND, Denver, and St. Cloud State have hoisted the Penrose.
Fourth-year head coach Pat Ferschweiler (WMU ’93) recently earned a contract extension that will keep him behind the Broncos’ bench through April 2030. Ferschweiler, who had previously been the WMU associate head coach under Andy Murray, also spent four seasons as an assistant coach for the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings.
In his rookie campaign three seasons ago, Ferschweiler went 26-12-1 and brought his team within one game of the Frozen Four, falling to Minnesota in the regional final. In September of 2022, the Western Michigan bench boss was extended through the 2025-26 season. Two seasons ago, he led the Broncos to a 2nd-place finish in the NCHC, an overall record of 23-15-1, and another NCAA tournament appearance. Last season, Ferschweiler once again led his team to the NCAA tourney with an overall mark of 21-16-1.
This year might turn out to be Ferschweiler’s best behind the bench.
After losing seven of his top nine point producers – forwards Luke Grainger (14-34-48 last season), Dylan Wendt (23-21-44), Sam Colangelo (24-19-43), Chad Hillebrand (7-19-26), and Ethan Phillips (9-14-23) and defensemen Zak Galambos (9-12-21) and Carter Berger (4-16-20) – Ferschweiler has his team scoring at almost the same rate this season (3.33 goals scored per game in 2024-25; 3.58 in 2023-24).
And the scary part is that this year’s version of the Broncos is much better defensively than any we’ve seen in the Ferschweiler era:
2024-25: 1.89 goals allowed/game
2023-24: 2.55 goals allowed/game
2022-23: 2.62 goals allowed/game
2021-22: 2.59 goals allowed/game
Western Michigan has the luxury of starting either graduate netminder Cameron Rowe (10-1-0, 1.82 goals-against average, .931 save percentage,) or freshman Hampton Slukynsky (3-3-1, 1.84 GAA, .941 SV%) between the pipes.
Rowe played two seasons at Wisconsin before transferring to WMU, winning just two of his ten starts in his final season with the Badgers with a 4.30 GAA and a save percentage of just .861.
Slukynsky was slated to attend Northern Michigan University before head coach Ryan Potulny departed the program to become the head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL). Slukynsky got out of his NLI and chose to attend WMU along with his brother Grant Slukysnky, who entered the portal after playing one season (6-3-9 in 34 games) under Potulny.
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 547-286-87 (.642) 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.
In the Division I era (since 1975), the Broncos have had sixteen twenty-win seasons, with nine of those coming between 1984 and 1996 under head coach Bill Wilkinson. At 13-4-1, Pat Ferschweiler will almost certainly lead his team to twenty victories for the fourth consecutive year.
In the first round of last season’s NCAA tournament, Western Michigan led Michigan State 4-2 heading into the third period. The Spartans pulled within one with eleven minutes remaining and scored an extra-attacker goal with just 55 ticks on the clock. MSU scored less than nine minutes into the first overtime period to complete the comeback.
Turning our attention to this weekend’s matchup, a half-point per game or better is my benchmark for solid offensive production, and the Broncos boast TEN lineup regulars who meet that threshold: sophomore forward Grant Slukysnky (4-11-15), graduate forward Tim Washe (8-7-15), sophomore forward Alex Bump (5-10-15), sophomore forward Owen Michaels (9-5-14), senior forward Liam Valente (7-7-14), freshman forward Zach Nehring (5-7-12), freshman forward Iiro Hakkarainen (3-7-10), senior forward Matteo Costantini (4-4-8), junior forward Ethan Wolthers (2-2-4 in eight games played), and junior defenseman Samuel Sjolund (0-11-11).
Matteo Costantini spent his first two seasons at North Dakota (10-14-24 in 60 games played) before transferring to Western Michigan. After amassing 21 points in a brilliant freshman campaign, the fifth-round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres only managed three points in a disappointing sophomore season. Costantini was not in the UND lineup for the final six games of 2022-2023.
Liam Valente spent his last two seasons at Providence, scoring seven goals and adding thirteen assists in 59 games played.
North Dakota bench boss Brad Berry has a healthier lineup than he’s had virtually all season. Senior forward Cameron Berg (5-5-10 in nine games) returned to the lineup last weekend at Arizona State after missing ten straight games.Berg’s return leaves just senior defenseman Bennett Zmolek and junior goaltender Kaleb Johnson on the sidelines. Zmolek is out for the season, while Johnson is out long-term.
North Dakota also boasts impressive scoring depth, with ten players at a half-point per game or better. The aforementioned Cameron Berg leads the way in scoring average with his ten points in nine games. Other consistent contributors include freshman forward Sacha Boisvert (9-9-18), graduate forward Louis Jamernik V (4-5-9 in fifteen games), junior forward Owen McLaughlin (1-12-13), sophomore forward Jayden Perron (7-6-13), freshman forward Mac Swanson (2-9-11), junior forward Dylan James (6-6-12), senior forward Jake Schmaltz (4-7-11), sophomore defenseman Jake Livanavage (2-14-16), and sophomore defenseman Abram Wiebe (4-12-16).
Western Michigan has a decided edge in the specialty teams department, with a plus-7 to this point in the season. The Broncos have scored eleven power play goals and allowed just four while scoring one shorthanded goal and giving up one. North Dakota has scored and allowed seventeen power play goals and is even in the shorthanded tallies ledger (3-3).
The other underlying metrics seem to be a toss-up or slightly in favor of Western Michigan.
The Fighting Hawks are scoring on 10.4% of their shots on goal, good for 18th in the country; the Broncos clock in at 10.1% (22nd).
For the first time in recent memory, UND will square off against a team with better faceoff statistics. Western Michigan has won 55.9% of draws this season (2nd-best in the nation), while North Dakota is just behind at 54.7% (3rd). On the plus side, UND recently saw Cameron Berg return to the lineup; the senior center had won 60 of his 100 faceoffs before being injured and followed that up by winning slightly less than half (14 of 29) in his first weekend back.
Puck possession statistics are a mixed bag as well:
Corsi: North Dakota 54.0 (15th); Western Michigan 52.8 (20th)
Fenwick: North Dakota 53.5 (27th); Western Michigan 54.1 (14th)
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.
If North Dakota has an area to clean up, it is the penalty kill. UND has allowed seventeen power play goals through the first 21 games of this season and has a success rate of just 76.4% when shorthanded; that mark ranks in the bottom quarter in the country (49th of 64 teams). Last season, the Fighting Hawks allowed just nineteen power play goals all season (40 games).
This is a pivotal series, with both league points and Pairwise positioning at play. After this weekend, UND will be off next weekend before competing in six consecutive league series to end the regular season, alternating away and home along the way, with the much more difficult matchups away from Ralph Engelstad Arena:
at St. Cloud State (Pairwise 17)
vs. Colorado College (PWR 34)
at Denver (PWR 6)
vs. Minnesota Duluth (PWR 33)
at Western Michigan (PWR 7)
vs. Omaha (PWR 42)
UND is not scheduled to face league foes Arizona State (PWR 14) or Miami (PWR 61) again this season.
Western Michigan Broncos
Head Coach: Pat Ferschweiler (4th season at WMU, 83-47-4, .634)
National Rankings: #4/#5
Pairwise Ranking: 7th
KRACH Ranking: 460.0 (6th)
This Season: 13-4-1 overall, 5-0-1-2 NCHC (1st of 9 teams)
Last Season: 21-16-1 overall (NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinalist), 10-8-1-5 NCHC (6th of 9 teams)
2024-2025 Season Statistics:
Team Offense: 3.33 goals scored/game – 8th of 64 teams
Team Defense: 1.89 goals allowed/game – 3rd of 64 teams
Power Play: 23.4% (11 of 47) – 17th of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 91.5% (43 of 47) – 2nd of 64 teams
Key Players: Sophomore Forward Grant Slukysnky (4-11-15), Graduate F Tim Washe (8-7-15), Sophomore F Alex Bump (5-10-15), Sophomore F Owen Michaels (9-5-14), Senior F Liam Valente (7-7-14), Freshman F Zach Nehring (5-7-12), Junior D Samuel Sjolund (0-11-11), Freshman D Joona Vaisanen (1-7-8), Graduate G Cameron Rowe (10-1-1, 1.82 GAA, .931 SV%)
North Dakota Team Profile
Head Coach: Brad Berry (10th season at UND, 218-112-34, .646)
National Rankings: #14/#16
Pairwise Ranking: 20th
KRACH: 175.8 (19th)
This Season: 12-8-1 overall, 5-3-2-0 NCHC (t-2nd of 9 teams)
Last Season: 26-12-2 (NCAA tournament appearance), 14-4-1-5 NCHC (1st)
Team Offense: 3.14 goals scored/game – 20th of 64 teams
Team Defense: 2.76 goals allowed/game – 34th of 64 teams
Power Play: 25.8% (17 of 66) – 8th of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 76.4% (55 of 72) – 49th of 64 teams
Key Players: Freshman F Sacha Boisvert (8-9-17), Junior F Owen McLaughlin (1-12-13), Junior F Dylan James (5-5-10), Sophomore F Jayden Perron (6-6-12), Freshman F Mac Swanson (2-9-11), Senior F Jake Schmaltz (3-6-9), Senior F Cameron Berg (4-4-8 in seven games), Sophomore D Jake Livanavage (2-12-14), Sophomore D Abram Wiebe (4-10-14), Junior D Caleb MacDonald (2-3-5), Graduate G T.J. Semptimphelter (10-5-1, 2.56 GAA, .903 SV%, 1 SO)
By The Numbers
Last Meeting: March 1, 2024 (Grand Forks, ND). North Dakota’s Ludvig Persson posted a 35-save shutout as the Fighting Hawks won 3-0 to secure the program’s sixth Penrose Cup. One night earlier, UND won 5-3 by surviving a furious third-period comeback that saw the Broncos outshoot their hosts 11-2. For the weekend, Western Michigan was swept despite a 72-44 combined advantage in shots on goal. In the two-game series, North Dakota’s Owen McLaughlin and Louis Jamernik V scored two goals apiece while Jackson Blake and Abram Wiebe each produced three points.
Most Important Meeting: March 24, 2012 (St. Paul, MN). North Dakota upended Western Michigan 3-1 in the NCAA West Regional semifinal. Brock Nelson had two points, including an empty net goal with 25 seconds remaining that sent UND to the regional finals against Minnesota. Aaron Dell made 24 saves for the Green and White. The Broncos, who have played at the Division I level since 1975-76, have nine NCAA tournament appearances.
A Trip Down Memory Lane: Saturday, March 22, 2014 (Minneapolis, MN). North Dakota faced a must-win situation in the 3rd place game at the inaugural NCHC Frozen Faceoff, and did not disappoint the partisan crowd. The Green and White rolled to a 5-0 victory behind two first-period goals from Conner Gaarder. UND netminder Zane Gothberg made 25 saves for the shutout, and Dave Hakstol’s crew played the waiting game for several more hours before discovering that they had indeed made the NCAA tournament for the twelfth consecutive season.
All-Time Series: In the short history between the schools, UND has won 30 of the 43 games (30-12-1, .709), including fourteen of the twenty games played in Grand Forks. Before the 2016-17 season in which Western Michigan won three of the four meetings, WMU’s lone victory over North Dakota was a 2-1 road win on March 8th, 2014. The teams first met in 1997.
Last Ten: North Dakota has a slight 5-4-1 (.550) advantage in the last ten meetings between the two teams, although only three of those ten games were played in Kalamazoo. Before the Broncos’ home sweep of North Dakota in January 2022, UND had swept the previous six with a scoring margin of 28-10.
Game News and Notes
Western Michigan moved up to the Division I ranks beginning with the 1975-76 season and has advanced to the NCAA tournament nine times. The Broncos have made the NCAA tourney four times (2017, 2022, 2023, 2024) in their first eleven seasons in the NCHC after advancing to the national tournament twice (2011, 2012) in the last three seasons in the now-defunct CCHA.
The Prediction
It will be interesting to see how much of an impact last Saturday’s comeback and overtime victory at Arizona State will make in the UND locker room. Equally interesting is the fact that UND played more than six periods of hockey last weekend, while the Broncos were off. It’s the classic rest vs. rust debate, and I give the early edge on Friday night to the Fighting Hawks. As the weekend progresses, however, fatigue may set in, particularly if Brad Berry shortens up the bench in a tight game. North Dakota hockey fans should be hopeful for a split, but it might be worse than that for the Green and White. UND 3-2, WMU 4-1.
Broadcast Information
Game times are set for 7:07 p.m. Central Time on Friday and 6:07 p.m. Central Time on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast live 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 X-Twitter (@DBergerHockey) for more information and insight. Here’s to hockey!