Month: January 2017

Colorado College has just eight league victories in the past three seasons (8-48-6-2), but head coach Mike Haviland has already equaled the win total from each of his first two seasons:

2016-17: 6-16-2 (.292)
2015-16: 6-29-1 (.181)
2014-15: 6-26-3 (.214)

The feeling among the Tiger faithful is that new blood behind the bench will eventually translate into new life on the ice, and CC fans have seen flashes of that over his first three seasons. Haviland is new to Division I hockey, but he was named the AHL coach of the year in 2006-07 (Norfolk Admirals) and served as an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks for four seasons (2008-12), winning a Stanley Cup in 2010. He was most recently head coach for the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

UND and Colorado College have met six times in each of the past two seasons, with North Dakota going 11-0-1 in those meetings (and winning the shootout after the tie to earn an extra league point), outscoring the Tigers 54-20 in the process.

The two teams have made a habit of meeting in the first round of the NCHC tournament, with North Dakota dispatching Colorado College each of the past three years. That scenario looks less likely this season, with UND hovering in the middle of the pack in the league standings (currently fifth) and the Tigers once again dwelling in the basement. If the season ended today, Colorado College would head to Minnesota-Duluth and North Dakota would travel to Omaha for its first road playoff series since 2002.

Interestingly, the Fighting Hawks have played better on the road (5-3-1) than at home (7-6-2) this season, including wins in six straight road games (sweeps at St. Cloud State and Omaha and road victories against Boston College and Union). North Dakota has won just two of its past ten games (2-6-2) at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

As I have suspected for some time, UND senior defenseman Gage Ausmus (2-6-8) has been dealing with some sort of injury. Ausmus, who left last Saturday’s contest against Duluth and did not return, has not been the same player he was last season and is not expected to play this weekend in Colorado Springs. North Dakota will also be without the services of freshman forward Tyson Jost (11-13-24), and thus will need to rely on a more balanced scoring attack to defeat the Tigers. I expect contributions from junior forward Austin Poganski (2-7-9 in eleven career games against CC) and sophomore forward Chris Wilkie (2-1-3 in four games against CC).

Colorado College Team Profile

Head Coach: Mike Haviland (3rd season at CC, 18-71-6, .221)

Pairwise Ranking: 34th of 60 teams
National Rankings: NR/NR
This Season: 6-16-2 overall, 2-10-2-0 NCHC (8th)
Last Season: 6-29-1 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 4-19-1-0 NCHC (8th)

Season Statistics:
Team Offense: 2.13 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 3.42 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 10.8% (14 of 130)
Penalty Kill: 79.3% (96 of 121)

Key players: Sophomore F Mason Bergh (12-5-17), Senior F Luc Gerdes (4-9-13), Freshman F Nick Halloran (5-4-9), Senior F Sam Rothstein (5-3-8), Junior D Teemu Kivihalme (2-6-8), Sophomore D Cole McCaskill (1-4-5), Freshman G Alex Laclerc (4-13-2, 3.28 GAA, .891 SV%, 1 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (2nd season at UND, 47-15-7, .732)

Pairwise Ranking: 11th of 60 teams
National Rankings: #12/#12
This Season: 13-9-3 overall, 6-7-1-1 NCHC (5th)
Last Season: 34-6-4 overall (NCAA champions), 19-4-1-1 NCHC (1st)

Season Statistics:
Team Offense: 3.32 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 2.48 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 20.4% (23 of 113)
Penalty Kill: 82.5% (94 of 114)

Key Players: Sophomore F Shane Gersich (17-14-31), Sophomore F Brock Boeser (11-11-22), Junior F Austin Poganski (8-11-19), Sophomore F Joel Janatuinen (6-8-14), Junior D Tucker Poolman (4-15-19), Sophomore D Christian Wolanin (3-11-14), Junior G Cam Johnson (13-8-3, 2.31 GAA, .907 SV%, 3 SO)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: March 12, 2016 (Grand Forks, ND). Mike Haviland chose to start a clearly-injured Jacob Nehama in net, and it did not go well for the Tigers. Nehama allowed four goals on fourteen shots in the first period before giving way to Derek Shatzer. Nick Schmaltz had three goals and three assists in the weekend sweep for UND, which won the first playoff game by a final score of 7-1. The Fighting Hawks went 5-0-1 against Colorado College during their most recent national championship season, outscoring the Tigers 29-10 in the six meetings.

Last Meeting in Colorado Springs: October 31, 2015. Matt Hrynkiw earned a shutout with a 29 save performance, and North Dakota received goals from Christian Wolanin and Shane Gersich in a 2-0 road victory. Tyler Marble made 40 saves in a losing effort. UND won Friday’s opener 5-2 behind two goals by Chris Wilkie.

Most Important Meeting: March 27, 1997. UND defeated Colorado College, 6-2, in the Frozen Four Semifinals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Two nights later, North Dakota downed Boston University, 6-4, to claim its sixth NCAA Championship. North Dakota and Colorado College also met in the 2001 East Regional (Worcester, Mass.), with UND prevailing, 4-1.

All-time Series: UND leads the all-time series, 154-80-11 (.651), although Colorado College holds a 57-52-4 (.522) advantage in Colorado Springs. North Dakota has 100 victories over the Tigers in Grand Forks (100-21-7, .809). The teams first met in 1948.

Last Ten: North Dakota has nine wins and a tie in the last ten meetings between the teams, outscoring CC 44-17 over that span. The last Tigers victory over UND was a 3-2 overtime win in the 2014 NCHC quarterfinals. 19 of the last 25 games have been decided by two goals or less.

Game News and Notes

In second periods this season, North Dakota has outscored opponents 30-13 while Colorado College has been outscored 31-13. UND is 9-0-1 when leading after twenty minutes of play but a dismal 4-9-2 when trailing or tied. These two coaching staffs coached against each other at the AHL and NHL levels prior to the NCHC. The Tigers have appeared in the NCAA tournament twice in the past ten seasons (2008, 2011).

Media Coverage

Saturday’s game will be telecast live on American Sports Network and carried by several ASN affiliates across the country, including WDAY’Z Xtra in Grand Forks. A high definition webcast of the games is also available to NCHC.tv subscribers. All UND men’s hockey games (home and away) can be heard on 96.1 FM and on stations across the UND Sports Network (as well as through the iHeart Radio app). Follow @UNDMHockey for real-time Twitter updates, or follow the action via live chat at UNDsports.com.

The Prediction

If North Dakota hopes to secure home ice for the playoffs and a 15th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, victories this weekend are critical. There is enough leadership and talent in the UND locker room for a sweep; it’s just a matter of getting it done on the ice. It won’t be easy, but mark the road warriors down for another sweep away from the Ralph. UND 4-1, 4-2.

In late October 2016, the Bulldogs (3-1-2 at the time and ranked #2 in the country) and the Fighting Hawks (5-0-0; then #1) squared off in Duluth. UMD hadn’t won a series against North Dakota since November 2008, but used timely special teams play and excellent goaltending to sweep UND by scores of 5-2 and 3-0.

After that weekend, North Dakota went two more weekends without a victory (0-2-2 against Minnesota and Denver). UND righted the ship with a sweep at St. Cloud State in mid-November and boasts a mark of 8-3-1 beginning with that weekend. Even with this recent run, UND (now ranked #8 in the country) finds themselves in third place in the league standings with twelve conference games remaining. The #4 Bulldogs are on top of the NCHC with a record of 9-4-1-1 (three points ahead of Denver and nine clear of UND) but have played two more league games than the other contenders. Even so, Brad Berry’s squad will need more than a split this weekend if it hopes to gain ground in the race for the Penrose Cup.

Duluth has stayed at or near the top of the Pairwise and national rankings due to their steady play in non-conference games (4-1-3, .688), and the fact that they have only suffered consecutive losses once this season (January 7th vs. Colorado College and January 13th vs. St. Cloud State). The Bulldogs have two non-conference games remaining, as they will take part in the North Star College Cup next weekend. The Bulldogs will square off against #7 Minnesota in the opener and face either Bemidji State or St. Cloud State next Saturday.

Two seasons ago, Boston University defeated both Minnesota-Duluth (3-2) and North Dakota (5-3) in the NCAA tournament on their way to the championship game. The Terriers fell 4-3 to the Providence Friars, one win short of a national title.

Scott Sandelin has brought his team within one game of the Frozen Four in each of the last two seasons but has yet to regain the national championship form his squad experienced in 2011. North Dakota has made the NCAA tournament in each of the past 14 seasons (the longest active streak in men’s Division I college hockey) and finally made it to the mountaintop in Tampa, claiming the program’s eighth national title.

Coming into this season, goaltending was a question mark for the Bulldogs. Kasimir Kaskisuo (19-15-5, 1.92 goals-against average, .923 save percentage, and five shutouts in 39 appearances last season) gave up his final two seasons of eligibility to sign with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Kaskisuo won 37 games for UMD in his brief college career. Freshman Hunter Miska has been everything Scott Sandelin could have asked for and then some, taking control of the crease in his nineteen games played (12-4-2, 2.20 GAA, .918 SV%, 3 SO).

According to KRACH, Minnesota-Duluth has played the toughest schedule in the country this season; North Dakota’s slate of games ranks 3rd (with Denver 2nd). In fact, seven NCHC schools boast the seven toughest schedules across college hockey, with Omaha’s ranked 15th.

Minnesota-Duluth Team Profile

Head Coach: Scott Sandelin (17th season at UMD, 300-282-79, .514)

Pairwise Ranking: 3rd of 60 teams
National Rankings: #4/#3
This Season: 13-5-4 overall, 9-4-1-1 NCHC (1st)
Last Season: 19-16-5 overall (NCAA Northeast Regional finalist), 11-10-3-1 NCHC (4th)

Season Statistics:
Team Offense: 3.14 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 2.18 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 18.0% (18 of 100)
Penalty Kill: 80.4% (86 of 107)

Key Players: Senior F Alex Iafallo (10-14-24), Sophomore F Adam Johnson (8-10-18), Freshman F Joey Anderson (6-12-18), Senior F Kyle Osterberg (10-7-17), Sophomore D Neal Pionk (5-13-18), Senior D Carson Soucy (3-10-13), Freshman G Hunter Miska (12-4-2, 2.20 GAA, .918 SV%, 3 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (2nd season at UND, 47-13-7, .754)

Pairwise Ranking: 7th of 60 teams
National Rankings: #8/#8
This Season: 13-7-3 overall, 6-5-1-1 NCHC (3rd)
Last Season: 34-6-4 overall (NCAA champions), 19-4-1-1 NCHC (1st of 8 teams)

Season Statistics:
Team Offense: 3.48 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 2.30 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 20.0% (21 of 105)
Penalty Kill: 82.7% (86 of 104)

Key Players: Sophomore F Shane Gersich (16-14-30), Freshman F Tyson Jost (10-13-23), Sophomore F Brock Boeser (11-11-22), Junior F Austin Poganski (8-11-19), Junior D Tucker Poolman (4-14-18), Sophomore D Christian Wolanin (3-11-14), Junior G Cam Johnson (13-7-3, 2.14 GAA, .913 SV%, 3 SO)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: October 29, 2016 (Duluth, MN). The Bulldogs scored three times in the second period – once on the power play and twice while shorthanded – and got a thirty save shutout from Hunter Miska in a 3-0 victory over #1 North Dakota. Duluth, which defeated the Fighting Hawks 5-2 in the opener, secured the home sweep by killing all seven UND power plays.

Last Meeting in Grand Forks: February 20, 2016. After sweeping the Bulldogs in Duluth by identical 3-0 scores in December, the games were much closer at Ralph Engelstad Arena. One night after Austin Poganski sent the home crowd into a frenzy with a penalty shot goal in overtime, Brock Boeser scored with 5:21 remaining in the third period to secure the 2-1 victory for UND. Cam Johnson made 59 saves in the weekend sweep.

Most Important Meeting: March 22, 1984 (Lake Placid, NY) Minnesota-Duluth and North Dakota met in the national semifinal game, with the Bulldogs defeating the Fighting Sioux 2-1 in overtime to advance to the championship. UND went on to defeat Michigan State 6-5 (OT) for third place, while Duluth fell to Bowling Green 5-4 in four overtimes, the longest championship game ever played.

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 and only 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, 144-80-9 (.637), including an 80-33-3 (.703) mark 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 6-4-0 (.600) in the last ten games between the teams, outscoring the Bulldogs 26-22 over that stretch. Duluth has won the last three meetings between these two storied programs.

Game News and Notes

UND sophomore Brock Boeser has three goals and three assists in seven career games against the Bulldogs. Minnesota-Duluth has only lost one game on the road this season (6-1-2). 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. Sandelin picked up career win #300 last Saturday night in a 4-3 overtime victory over St. Cloud State.

Media Coverage

Friday’s opener will be shown live on CBS Sports Network, with Saturday’s rematch available on FOX College Sports and Midco Sports Network. Saturday’s game will also be streamed live in high definition via NCHC.tv. All UND men’s hockey games (home and away) can be heard on 96.1 FM and on stations across the UND Sports Network (as well as through the iHeart Radio app). Follow @UNDMHockey for real-time Twitter updates, or follow the action via live chat at UNDsports.com

The Prediction

This weekend hinges on the play of UMD freshman netminder Hunter Miska. I see this playing out much the same way as it did for the Bulldogs in Denver last month: Miska was average on Friday night (four goals allowed on 31 shots in a 4-3 loss) and outstanding on Saturday (one goal allowed on 39 shots in a 3-1 victory). North Dakota just might have enough to earn a tie in the second game, but I don’t see it. UND 4-2, Duluth 3-2.

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!

Over the first three seasons of the NCHC, Miami has averaged a 5th-place finish (8th, 2nd, 5th), with a combined league record of 29-39-4-4 (.440).

This season is looking like more of the same for the RedHawks. Through ten games, Enrico Blasi’s squad sports a record of 3-4-3-1 (.433), good for fifth place in the eight-team league.

When the National Collegiate Hockey Conference was formed, Miami appeared positioned to be a dominant player. 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 and 2010. 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.

For comparison, North Dakota has finished 2nd, 1st, and 1st in the first three seasons of the new league and currently sits in third place (5-4-1-1, 17 points) with 14 league games remaining.

Last weekend marked the tenth weekend out of eleven that North Dakota faced off against a ranked opponent; UND went 14-5-1 (.725) against top-twenty teams a year ago but is just 9-5-2 (.625) in those situations so far this season. Here’s a closer look at the grind that the Fighting Hawks had to endure in the first half of the 2016-17 season:

vs. #18 Bemidji State (W 3-2, W 5-4)
at #2 Minnesota Duluth (L 2-5, L 0-3)
at #13 Minnesota (T 5-5, L 0-2)
vs. #2 Denver (T 1-1, L 2-3)
at #12 St. Cloud State (W 4-0, W 3-0)
vs. #3 Boston College (W 4-3)
vs. #18 Western Michigan (W 5-1, L 1-3)
at #10 Union (W 3-1)
at #20 Omaha (W 9-1, W 7-3)

Other ranked teams remaining on the second-half schedule include home series vs. #3 Minnesota-Duluth and a road series at #14 Western Michigan.

According to KRACH, North Dakota has played the third-toughest schedule in the country to date; Miami’s ranks 7th of 60 teams.

Last season, Miami lost to Minnesota-Duluth four straight times to end their season. The Bulldogs hosted the RedHawks on the final weekend of the regular season, sweeping Miami 5-0 and 3-1. In the first weekend of the league playoffs, Enrico Blasi’s squad performed admirably but UMD swept again (5-4, 3-1) to end Miami’s season.

The RedHawks come into this weekend as winners of four straight games after suffering a ten game winless streak (0-7-3) that stretched from October 29th through December 9th.

Miami Team Profile

Head Coach: Enrico Blasi (18th season at Miami, 373-256-65, .584)

Pairwise Ranking: 28th of 60 teams
National Rankings: NR/NR
This Season: 7-8-5 overall, 3-4-3-1 NCHC (t-5th)
Last Season: 15-18-3 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 9-13-2-2 NCHC (5th)

Season Statistics:
Team Offense: 2.60 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 2.75 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 17.8% (19 of 107)
Penalty Kill: 85.3% (87 of 102)

Key Players: Senior F Anthony Louis (11-14-25), Sophomore F Kiefer Sherwood (10-13-23), Sophomore F Josh Melnick (6-11-17), Freshman F Carson Meyer (5-12-17), Junior D Louie Belpedio (3-6-9), Sophomore D Grant Hutton (5-2-7), Freshman G Ryan Larkin (6-6-5, 2.48 GAA, .914 SV%, 1 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (2nd season at UND, 46-12-7, .762)

Pairwise Ranking: 7th of 60 teams
National Rankings: #7/#7
This Season: 12-6-3 overall, 5-4-1-1 NCHC (3rd)
Last Season: 34-6-4 overall (NCAA champions), 19-4-1-1 NCHC (1st of 8 teams)

Season Statistics:
Team Offense: 3.52 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 2.19 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 21.3% (20 of 94)
Penalty Kill: 81.9% (77 of 94)

Key Players: Sophomore F Shane Gersich (15-13-28), Freshman F Tyson Jost (10-12-22), Sophomore F Brock Boeser (10-11-21), Junior F Austin Poganski (7-10-17), Junior D Tucker Poolman (4-14-18), Sophomore D Christian Wolanin (2-10-12), Junior G Cam Johnson (12-6-3, 2.09 GAA, .916 SV%, 3 SO)

By The Numbers:

Last meeting: November 14, 2015 (Grand Forks, ND). North Dakota used some late-game heroics from Nick Schmaltz (an extra-attacker goal with 94 seconds remaining) to send the game to overtime, and Luke Johnson made the final 4-3 with his tally from a strange angle 83 seconds into the extra session. Matt Hrynkiw started both games of the series in net for UND, who won Friday’s opener 6-2. North Dakota outshot their fellow Hawks 68-35 on the weekend.

Most memorable meeting: March 6, 2015 (Oxford, OH). North Dakota went on the road and took care of business, securing a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the RedHawks and earning the Penrose Cup, UND’s 16th regular season conference title. UND scored early in each of the first two periods (Keaton Thompson at 2:43 of the first; Conner Gaarder at 1:56 of the second) and survived a furious Miami rally. Zane McIntyre made 43 of 44 saves, including 38 stops in the final two periods. Miami finished 2nd in the league in 2014-15 (six points behind North Dakota), their best finish by far over the first three seasons of the NCHC.

Last Ten: UND has picked up six wins in the past ten contests, outscoring Miami 35-29 over that stretch of games.

All-time Series: North Dakota leads the all-time series 9-4-1 (.679), including a 5-1-1 (.786) mark in games played in Grand Forks. Five of the fourteen all-time meetings between the schools came during the 2013-14 season, with UND picking up wins in three of those five games. The teams first played in 1999 (Badger Showdown, Milwaukee, WI).

Game News and Notes

North Dakota and Miami have two of the four largest groups of underclassmen in the country. UND’s 19 freshmen and sophomores have scored 147 points this season (59 goals, 88 assists), while Miami’s 20 underclassmen have a line of 33-62-95. With four more consecutive starts between the pipes, UND junior goaltender Cam Johnson would equal a record set by Jean-Phillippe Lamoureux, who started 55 straight games in net for North Dakota from 2006-08.

Media Coverage

Both games will be televised live on Midco Sports Network. A high definition webcast of both games will be available to NCHC.tv subscribers. All UND men’s hockey games (home and away) can be heard on 96.1 FM and on stations across the UND Sports Network (as well as through the iHeart Radio app). Follow @UNDMHockey for real-time Twitter updates, or follow the action via live chat at UNDsports.com.

The Prediction

North Dakota is relatively healthy and really rolling right now. Miami could steal a game if goaltender Ryan Larkin can shut down UND’s offense, but I think the home side prevails both nights. UND 4-2, 4-3.

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!

North Dakota finds itself looking up at Omaha in the NCHC standings as we begin league play in 2017, but only three points separate 3rd place from 6th place in the conference standings. With Minnesota-Duluth and Denver firmly entrenched as the top two teams over the first half of the season, UND and UNO will be battling St. Cloud State and Western Michigan for the final two home ice positions as we look ahead to the league playoffs.

This weekend will mark the ninth weekend out of ten that North Dakota will face off against a ranked opponent; UND went 14-5-1 (.725) against top-twenty teams a year ago but is just 7-5-2 (.556) in those situations so far this season. Here’s a closer look at the grind that the Fighting Hawks had to endure in the first half of the 2016-17 season:

vs. #18 Bemidji State (W 3-2, W 5-4)
at #2 Minnesota Duluth (L 2-5, L 0-3)
at #13 Minnesota (T 5-5, L 0-2)
vs. #2 Denver (T 1-1, L 2-3)
at #12 St. Cloud State (W 4-0, W 3-0)
vs. #3 Boston College (W 4-3)
vs. #18 Western Michigan (W 5-1, L 1-3)
at #10 Union (W 3-1)

Other ranked teams remaining on the second-half schedule include home series vs. #1 Minnesota-Duluth, #18 St. Cloud State and #20 Omaha and a road series at #16 Western Michigan.

According to KRACH, North Dakota has played the third-toughest schedule in the country to date; Omaha’s ranks 20th of 60 teams.

The Mavericks have played only six games against ranked opponents this season, going a combined 2-4 in series against Massachusetts-Lowell, Minnesota-Duluth, and St. Cloud State.

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.

Today’s Trivia Question: Since the NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey tournament expanded to 16 teams for the 2002-03 season, very few teams have missed the tourney one year after making a Frozen Four appearance. Omaha accomplished that feat in 2015-16, losing eight straight games to end their season. Who are the other teams who belong in this less-than-elite company?

Omaha Team Profile

Head Coach: Dean Blais (8th season at UNO, 140-122-28, .531)

Pairwise Ranking: 14th of 60 teams
National Rankings: #18/#17
This Season: 11-6-3 overall, 4-4-0-0 NCHC (5th)
Last Season: 18-17-1 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 8-15-1-0 NCHC (6th)

Team Offense: 3.65 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 2.85 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 26.7% (28 of 105)
Penalty Kill: 81.2% (78 of 96)

Key Players: Senior F Austin Ortega (14-13-27), Junior F Tyler Vesel (9-14-23), Junior F David Pope (6-13-19), Junior F Jake Randolph (4-13-17), Junior D Luc Snuggerud (6-12-18), Senior D Ian Brady (2-15-17), Sophomore G Evan Weninger (7-3-2, 2.52 GAA, .919 SV%, 1 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (2nd season at UND, 44-12-7, .754)

Pairwise Ranking: 8th of 60 teams
National Rankings: #7/#7
This Season: 10-6-3 overall, 3-4-1-1 NCHC (6th)
Last Season: 34-6-4 overall (NCAA champions), 19-4-1-1 NCHC (1st of 8 teams)

Season Statistics:
Team Offense: 3.05 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 2.21 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 17.1% (14 of 82)
Penalty Kill: 81.2% (69 of 85)

Key Players: Sophomore F Shane Gersich (14-11-25), Junior F Austin Poganski (7-9-16), Sophomore F Rhett Gardner (4-6-10), Junior D Tucker Poolman (4-11-15), Sophomore D Christian Wolanin (0-8-8), Junior G Cam Johnson (10-6-3, 2.10 GAA, .915 SV%, 3 SO)

By The Numbers:

Last meeting: February 27, 2016 (Omaha, Nebraska). North Dakota rode a strong second period to a 4-1 victory over the homestanding Mavericks, clinching at least a share of the NCHC regular season championship in the process. UND won Friday night’s opener by a score of 4-2 after the teams split a January series at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks.

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.

All-time: UND leads the all-time series 12-7-1 (.625), including a 7-3-0 (.700) record in games played in Omaha. Four of the last eight games have gone to overtime.

Game News and Notes

Dean Blais, who was the head coach at UND from 1994-2004, collected 262 victories at North Dakota and led the school to national titles in 1997 and 2000. Omaha has scored 28 goals on the power play and allowed 18; UND has scored 14 and allowed 16.

Media Coverage

Friday’s game will not be televised, but Saturday’s rematch will be televised nationally by American Sports Network and available locally in the Grand Forks viewing area on WDAY’Z Xtra. A high definition webcast of both games will be available to NCHC.tv subscribers. All UND men’s hockey games (home and away) can be heard on 96.1 FM and on stations across the UND Sports Network (as well as through the iHeart Radio app). Follow @UNDMHockey for real-time Twitter updates, or follow the action via live chat at UNDsports.com.

The Prediction

North Dakota will surely miss the presence of forwards Brock Boeser (7-9-16 in 13 games) and Tyson Jost (7-11-18 in 17 games), particularly late in both games. I expect two tight contests, with Saturday’s rematch the tighter affair. If the Fighting Hawks can stay out of the penalty box, they’ve got a shot at more than a split, but I don’t see it playing out that way. UNO 4-3, UND 3-1.

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!