Back in October of 2009, North Dakota opened up the season by hosting unranked Merrimack for a pair of games at Ralph Engelstad Arena. Before the opening game, UND raised the 2008-09 WCHA championship banner, the 14th league title in program history. The #6-ranked Fighting Sioux swept the Warriors 5-2 and 3-2 behind two goals from Brett Hextall and 31 saves from Brad Eidsness.
Up until now, those were the only two games ever played between the teams.
It is fair to say that tonight’s NCAA regional semifinal between #2 North Dakota (27-9-1) and #16 Merrimack (22-13-1) in the 2026 NCAA Midwest Regional (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) carries a bit more weight.
Merrimack College (North Andover, Massachusetts) has competed at the Division I level since 1984 and has three previous NCAA tournament appearances in the past forty seasons:
In 1988, Merrimack defeated Northeastern 10-8 in a two-game total goals series but lost 8-4 to eventual national champion Lake Superior State in the same format.
In 2011, the Warriors lost a 4-3 overtime thriller to Notre Dame in the first round; the Fighting Irish made the Frozen Four but lost to Minnesota Duluth, that season’s title winner.
In 2023, Merrimack lost 5-0 to Quinnpipac; QU won the national championship two weeks later.
The Warriors best postseason appearance came in 1978, when they went 21-9-2 and won the Division II title under head coach J. Thom Lawler; the rink at Merrimack College (capacity 2549) is now named after him.
Turning our attention to more recent history, current MC head coach Scott Borek has put together three winning seasons in his eight-year tenure at Merrimack, and this year’s campaign came a bit out of nowhere. After posting identical marks of 13-21-1 in each of the past two seasons, Borek’s squad brought a record of 17-15-2 into the Hockey East playoffs. The Warriors ran the gauntlet, collecting four consecutive wins over UMass-Lowell (5-3), Providence (3-2 OT), Massachusetts (2-0), and Connecticut (2-1) to claim the postseason title and the league’s autobid. (Providence and UConn are in this year’s NCAA tournament, while UMass would have earned a bid under the old Pairwise system.)
It is worth mentioning that while MC outshot UMass-Lowell (30-26) and UMass (29-24), the Warriors were outshot against Providence (30-36) and UConn (25-50). Yes, you read that right. MC sophomore goaltender Max Lundgren – who stands 6-5 and weights 230 pounds – made 49 stops in the Hockey East championship to propel his team to the NCAA tourney. Merrimack also blocked 29 shots in the sixty-minute hockey game.
North Dakota typically boasts better shot-blocking numbers than their opponent; in this case, however, Merrimack can make that claim. As a team, the Warriors have blocked 609 shots this season (16.0/game), 2nd-best in the country (Robert Morris, 678). UND has blocked 426 (11.5).
It is not entirely surprising that Merrimack has needed to block so many shots, as its puck possession numbers are not great. MC boasts a Corsi of 45.1% (53rd in the nation) and a Fenwick of 46.0% (50th). By comparison, North Dakota clocks in with identical Corsi and Fenrick numbers (both 57.1%, good for 3rd in the country).
Corsi measures the number of shot attempts for each team at even strength, while Fenwick measures the number of unblocked shot attempts for each side.
In a manner of speaking, North Dakota and Merrimack have swapped players over the past couple of seasons. UND fans may remember Michael Emerson, who was a 6th-round pick (190th overall) of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Emerson appeared in six games for the Fighting Hawks in the fall of 2023 before returning to his junior team, the Chicago Steel of the USHL. Emerson found his way to Merrimack beginning with the 2024-25 campaign; in 68 games as a Warrior, he has collected ten goals and 21 points.
Current North Dakota forward Tyler Young spent his first three seasons at Merrimack. His first two seasons were rather uneventful; in 26 games, he registered a single assist. Young took a jump last year, with six goals and ten points in 29 games.
UND and Merrimack have not faced any common opponents this season, although games against teams in the NCAA tournament can be a good measuring stick.
Merrimack has played nine games against the tourney field, going 4-5-0 with one overtime victory. It is worth noting that the Warriors were behind in the expected goals metric in each of those nine games but somehow won four of them…
Regular Season:
October 24th, 2025: Quinnipiac (actual score 4-1, expected goals 2.7-3.3)
November 15th, 2025: Providence (actual score 3-2, expected goals 2.1-3.5)
Postseason:
March 14th, 2026: Providence (actual score 3-2 OT, expected goals 2.8-3.2)
March 21st, 2026: UConn (actual score 2-1, expected goals 3.3-5.1)
North Dakota’s experience against the other fifteen teams in the tournament this season is limited to the nine games played against NCHC foes. UND went 4-4-0 in the regular season against Denver (5-0, 2-3), Minnesota Duluth (3-4 OT, 5-1, 2-3 OT, 4-1), and Western Michigan (5-3, 3-4 OT).
In the NCHC semifinals, North Dakota dropped a home game to Duluth by a final score of 5-1; the expected goals in that contest were 2.7-2.4 in favor of the Fighting Hawks.
In fact, the only one of the nine contests against the Pioneers, Broncos, or Bulldogs this season that did not show an expected goals advantage for North Dakota was on February 28th, 2026 at Western Michigan; that overtime loss went into the books as a 2.6-2.2 expected goals advantage for WMU one night after UND clinched the Penrose Cup.
A half-point per game or better is my benchmark for solid offensive production, and Scott Sandelin’s squad has seven players who have reached that threshold, including three – freshman
forward Parker LaLonde (13-24-37), freshman forward Justin Gill (16-19-35), and sophomore forward Trevor Hoskin (13-22-35) – averaging a point per game or better. Other solid offensive contributors include sophomore forward Caelan Fitzpatrick (13-16-29), sophomore forward Nick Pierre (13-12-25), sophomore forward Caden Cranston (7-15-22), and freshman forward Nolan Flamand (7-12-19).
North Dakota is expected to have ten players in the lineup this weekend who have met that same offensive threshold: senior forward Ellis Rickwood (8-26-34), senior forward Ben Strinden (15-18-33), freshman forward Will Zellers (18-12-30), sophomore forward Mac Swanson (11-16-27), freshman forward Cole Reschny (5-29-34), senior forward Dylan James (19-10-29), freshman forward Jack Kernan (9-10-19), junior defenseman Jake Livanavage (5-20-25), junior defenseman Abram Wiebe (5-22-27), and freshman defenseman Keaton Verhoeff (6-14-20).
Freshman forward Ollie Josephson (6-14-20) will miss Thursday’s regional semifinal with a lower-body injury he sustained against Duluth on March 14th; his status for the remainder of the NCAA tournament is in doubt.
Remarkably, North Dakota has ten players with twenty or more points this season, the most since 2014-15. If freshman Jack Kernan can add one more goal or assist to his line of 9-10-19, UND will have the most players with 20-plus points since 2003-04.
South Dakota will be unfamiliar territory for the Warriors roster, as only one current skater – Cottage Grove, Minnesota sophomore forward Nick Pierre – hails from the upper Midwest.
Merrimack Team Profile
Head Coach: Scott Borek (8th season at Merrimack, 110-143-14, .438)
National Rankings: #16/#6
NPI Ranking: 19th
KRACH Rating: 157.5 (18th)
Strength of Schedule: 26th of 63 teams
This Season: 21-15-2 overall, 10-11-1-2 Hockey East (8th of 11 teams)
Last Season: 13-12-1 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 8-14-2-0 Hockey East (8th)
2025-26 Season Statistics:
Team Offense: 3.18 goals scored/game – 19th of 63 teams
Team Defense: 2.82 goals allowed/game – 27th of 63 teams
Power Play: 26.0% (34 of 131) – 10th of 63 teams
Penalty Kill: 82.0% (114 of 139) – 21st of 63 teams
Key Players: Freshman F Parker LaLonde (13-24-37), Freshman F Justin Gill (16-19-35), Sophomore F Trevor Hoskin (13-22-35), Sophomore F Caelan Fitzpatrick (13-16-29), Sophomore F Nick Pierre (13-12-25), Junior D Seamus Powell (3-15-18), Junior D Austin Oravetz (1-11-12), Sophomore G Max Lundgren (21-15-2, 2.56 GAA, .920 SV%, 1 SO)
North Dakota Team Profile
Head Coach: Dane Jackson (1st season at North Dakota, 27-9-1, .743)
National Rankings: #2/#2
NPI Ranking: 2nd
KRACH Rating: 493.1 (2nd)
Strength of Schedule: 15th of 63 teams
This Season: 27-9-1 overall, 16-2-1-5 NCHC (1st)
Last Season: 21-15-2 overall (missed NCAA tournament), 11-8-4-1 NCHC (5th)
2025-26 Season Statistics:
Team Offense: 3.84 goals scored/game – 3rd of 63 teams
Team Defense: 2.38 goals allowed/game – 11th of 63 teams
Power Play: 27.1% (35 of 129) – 6th of 63 teams
Penalty Kill: 82.9% (92 of 111) – 15th of 63 teams
Key Players: Freshman F Cole Reschny (5-29-34), Senior F Ben Strinden (15-18-33), Freshman F Will Zellers (18-12-30), Senior F Dylan James (19-10-29), Sophomore F Mac Swanson (11-16-27), Senior F Ellis Rickwood (8-26-34), Junior D Jake Livanavage (5-20-25), Junior D Abram Wiebe (5-22-27), Freshman D Keaton Verhoeff (6-14-20), Freshman G Jan Spunar (18-4-1, 2.06 GAA, .909 SV%, 4 SO)
Game News and Notes
Merrimack head coach Scott Borek began his Division I head coaching career at Lake Superior State University (1995-2001); before becoming the bench boss at Merrimack, he also had assistant/associate head coaching stints at New Hampshire (2002-2015) and Providence College (2015-2018). North Dakota has outscored opponents 59-21 in third periods this season; while Merrimack has been outscored 47-39 in the final frame. On nine occasions, UND has scored at least three goals in the final twenty minutes of regulation. The Warriors are the only one of the four teams competing in the 2026 NCAA Midwest Regional to play last weekend; the other three – North Dakota, Providence, and Quinnipiac – lost earlier in their league playoffs. Since December 11th, no team in men’s NCAA Division I ice hockey has won more games than Merrimack (16-5-2); UND’s record over that stretch is 15-5-1. This weekend’s NCAA Midwest Regional is taking place at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center (10,678); I expect the majority of fans in attendance to be wearing green. The Warriors have not lost since February 21st at Maine.
The Prediction
Merrimack will need to play a smart, simple game, block a ton of shots, stay out of the penalty box, and get excellent goaltending to keep this one close. The Warriors are on a tear, and the whole team is buying in, but will it be enough to contain UND’s talented roster? On the North Dakota side, the first ten minutes will tell much of the story. How will the Fighting Hawks respond from the NCHC semifinal loss twelve days ago? For six months, I have said that there is something about this team, and I can’t imagine that the season ends today. It won’t be easy, though. UND 4-2 (ENG).
Bonus Prediction
In the early semifinal, I’ve got Quinnipiac advancing over Providence by a final score of 3-2 (OT), setting up a rematch of the 2016 national championship game.
Broadcast Information
Tonight’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and also available via webcast 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 7:30 p.m. Central Time.
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 thoughts, comments, and suggestions.