Unranked Robert Morris (4-3-2 overall, 1-3-1 Atlantic Hockey) travels from Moon Township, Pennsylvania to Grand Forks this weekend to face #12 North Dakota (5-6-0, 2-2-0 NCHC); the two teams have squared off just twice in the entire history of history. Those games, played in January of 2011, went into the books as a UND sweep (8-0, 2-1).
If Robert Morris steals a game at Ralph Engelstad Arena this weekend, it will be a monumental upset. According to KRACH, RMU has played the 57th-toughest schedule in the country, one notch ahead of the University of Denver University in the rankings.
Last year, the Colonials posted the worst record (11-25-3) in the history of the program, which has competed at the Division I level since 2004-05. There is an excellent reason for last season’s dreadful results: RMU had to restart its hockey program after a two-year absence.
By contrast, North Dakota has played the 2nd-toughest schedule to this point of the season (behind only Boston College). Over the first eleven games, UND has faced #10 Providence (home win), #17 Minnesota State (road split), #13 Boston University (home split), #8 Cornell (two road losses), unranked Minnesota Duluth (a road sweep), and #1 Denver (two home losses).
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.
Non-conference games are crucial in the all-important Pairwise rankings, and this weekend is North Dakota’s next opportunity to build a resume. So far this season, UND has a record of 3-4-0 outside the NCHC, with only this weekend’s games and next week’s action against Bemidji State remaining on the schedule.
The hard reality is that a loss this weekend would be devastating to North Dakota’s NCAA tournament aspirations, and bench boss Brad Berry will be without a handful of players as he tries to secure two victories:
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 ten games.
Fellow blueliner Tanner Komzak, a sophomore, was injured in practice three weeks ago and had not suited up until he dressed and warmed up for Saturday’s finale against Denver. Komzak didn’t see any ice time last weekend but has had a full week of practice and should be good to go.
Two other players – freshman forward Cody Croal and freshman defenseman Andrew Strathmann – were injured in the opening game at Cornell on November 1st. Strathmann’s recovery has gone better than expected, and he may see game action before Christmas break. Croal returned to practice this week.
Without Zmolek, Komzak, and Strathmann, North Dakota’s defensive corps has consisted of two freshmen and three sophomores plus junior Dane Montgomery, whose position was changed from forward to defenseman on the team’s official roster earlier this month.
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 did not play last weekend against Denver. Berg leads the team in points per game (4-4-8 in seven games played).
Even though UND has played a much tougher schedule to this point in the season, the Fighting Hawks still far outpace the Colonials in two key puck possession statistics:
Robert Morris: 49th in Corsi (46.0%) and 48th in Fenwick (46.5%)
North Dakota: 24th in Corsi (51.6%) and 32nd in Fenwick (49.9)
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 11th-best team on draws (53.8%), while the Colonials clock in at 46.9% (51st).
For UND, senior Jake Schmaltz has been making a living on draws, winning 112 of 184 (60.9%). Graduate forward Louis Jamernik V (53 of 101, 52.5%) and CLASS foward Carter Wilkie (77 of 150, 51.3%) have both been more than capable. 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 Robert Morris, freshman forward Trent Wilson (83 of 148, 56.1%) has had the most success, while sophomore forward Cameron Garvey (82 of 179, 45.8%) has had the most volume. Freshman forward Patrick Johnson (47 of 90, 52.5%) has been a solid third option.
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 seven goals and ten assists in 31 games played this season, while Emery and Strathmann have each picked up an assist while playing heavy minutes for the Hawks (Emery 21:18, 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.
After this weekend’s series, UND (5-6-0) will play a home-and-home with Bemidji State (November 29th and 30th) before battling two NCHC foes (at Miami, vs. #11 St. Cloud State) to close out the first half of the season. A record of 6-2 (or better) over the final eight games of 2024 would put North Dakota in position to make a run to the NCAAs.
Robert Morris Team Profile
Head Coach: Derek Schooley (19th season at RMU, 290-303-73, .490)
National Rankings: NR/NR
Pairwise Ranking: 48th
KRACH: #51
This Season: 4-3-2 overall, 1-3-1 Atlantic Hockey (10th of 11 teams)
Last Season: 11-25-3 overall, 7-16-1-2 Atlantic Hockey (11th)
Team Offense: 3.44 goals scored/game (10th of 64 teams)
Team Defense: 3.00 goals allowed/game (37th of 64 teams)
Power Play: 21.7% (5 of 23) – 21st of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 83.9% (26 of 31) – 26th of 64 teams
Key Players: Sophomore F Walter Zacher (7-2-9), Freshman F Trent Wilson (3-4-7), Freshman F Michael Felsing (2-4-6), Sophomore F Tanner Klimpke (1-5-6), Graduate F Mitch Deelstra (2-4-6), Sophomore F Cameron Garvey (1-5-6), Sophomore D Michael Craig (3-7-10), Freshman D Dominic Elliott (1-4-5), Freshman G Croix Kochendorfer (4-2-1, 2.42 GAA, .917 SV%, 1 SO)
North Dakota Team Profile
Head Coach: Brad Berry (10th season at UND, 211-110-33, .643)
National Rankings: #12/#14
Pairwise Ranking: 23rd
KRACH: #14
This Season: 5-6-0 overall, 2-2-0-0 NCHC (3rd of 9 teams)
Last Season: 26-12-2 (NCAA tournament appearance), 14-4-1-5 NCHC (1st)
Team Offense: 3.36 goals scored/game – 15th of 64 teams
Team Defense: 3.09 goals allowed/game – 45th of 64 teams
Power Play: 28.6% (10 of 35) – 4th of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 74.4% (29 of 39) – 51st of 64 teams
Key Players: Graduate F Louis Jamernik V (4-5-9), Freshman F Sacha Boisvert (3-5-8), Junior F Owen McLaughlin (0-7-7), Junior F Dylan James (5-1-6), 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 (2-6-8), Freshman D E.J. Emery (0-1-1), Graduate G T.J. Semptimphelter (5-4-0, 2.97 GAA, .897 SV%)
By The Numbers
Last Meeting: January 8, 2011 (Grand Forks, ND). With just over four minutes remaining in the hockey game, North Dakota’s Matt Frattin potted his 20th goal of the season to break the scoreless tie. The home crowd was thankful for Danny Kristo‘s empty-netter three minutes later, as RMU would eventually get an extra-attacker goal (at the 19:40 mark) to pull within one. The last twenty seconds of the game passed without incident, and the sweep was secured. One night earlier, it was all Green and White, as six North Dakota players scored in the 8-0 victory.
Game News and Notes
Robert Morris plays its home games at Clearview Arena; the rink seats less than 1600 fans. There are 22 freshmen and sophomores on the Colonials’ roster; by comparison, North Dakota has fourteen. Despite all of the underclassmen, no Robet Morris player is under twenty years of age (six UND players are still teenagers). Current UND forward Carter Wilkie scored six goals and added six assists in six games against Robert Morris last season; at the time, Wilkie played for RIT. This weekend is the second of three weekends against NCHC teams for RMU. The Colonials swept Miami in a home-and-home in October (5-1, 4-1) and will head to Arizona State for the Desert Hockey Classic in January.
On A Personal Note
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The Prediction
I feel like RMU will make one game close, and my instinct tells me it will be a battle on Saturday night after a Friday rout. UND 6-1, 3-2.
Broadcast Information
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. 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!