Weekend Preview: UND vs. Bemidji State

#14 North Dakota (7-6-0, 2-2-0 NCHC) and unranked Bemidji State (6-6-1, 4-3-1 CCHA) will play a home-and-home series this weekend, with Friday’s opener at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minnesota and the rematch at Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks on Saturday night.

Over the past eight seasons, UND and BSU have had a schedule agreement which alternates between a series in Grand Forks and the arrangement we have before us this year.

Bemidji State has played the 16th-toughest schedule in the country, with marquee matchups against #9 St. Cloud State (two losses), #17 Minnesota State (split), and #3 Minnesota (split).

By contrast, North Dakota has played the eighth-toughest schedule to this point of the season. Over the first thirteen games, UND has faced #10 Providence (home win), #17 Minnesota State (road split), #13 Boston University (home split), #11 Cornell (two road losses), unranked Minnesota Duluth (a road sweep), #2 Denver (two home losses), and unranked Robert Morris (home sweep).

Eleven 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 former Central Collegiate Hockey Association 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 Bemidji State, Michigan Tech, and Minnesota State find themselves as three of nine programs in the latest version of the CCHA along with Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Northern Michigan, St. Thomas (fourth season at the Division I level), and Augustana (second season at the Division I level).

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 536-275-85 (.646) 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.

Bemidji State had a very successful 2020-2021 season, going 16-5-3 overall, making the NCAA tourney, and shocking #4-overall Wisconsin 6-3 before being blanked 4-0 by eventual national champion Massachusetts. UMass also shut out St. Cloud State 5-0 in the title game and outscored their opponents 17-3 in their four tournament games.

The Beavers went 22-10-5 in 2020 and would have made the NCAA tournament. Tom Serratore’s head coaching mark of 38-20-8 (.636) from 2019-2021 was by far the best two-year for BSU since they made the jump from the CHA in 2010.

Since then, however, it has not been smooth sailing. The Beavers have played .500 hockey (59-59-8) since their most recent tournament run, with a third-place league finish in 2022 and a fifth-place finish two seasons ago. Last season, BSU won the regular season title but lost to Michigan Tech in the CCHA tournament championship and failed to make the NCAA tournament.

Through eight conference games this year, BSU sits in sixth place in the CCHA (by points percentage).

Non-conference games are crucial in the all-important Pairwise rankings, and this weekend is North Dakota’s last opportunity to build a resume. So far this season, UND has a record of 5-4-0 outside the NCHC.

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 twelve games.

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 last week.

Forward Louis Jamernik V – the team’s captain – was injured last weekend and skated without contact in practice this week. His return to the lineup is questionable.

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 two weeks ago and has missed the last four games. 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 Beavers in two key puck possession statistics:

Bemidji State: 45th in Corsi (47.1%) and 38th in Fenwick (48.1%)
North Dakota: 24th in Corsi (51.9%) and 29th in Fenwick (50.8)

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 7th-best team on draws (55.5%), while the Beavers clock in at 49.0% (39th).

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 nine goals and eleven assists in 37 games played this season, while Emery and Strathmann have each picked up an assist while playing heavy minutes for the Hawks (Emery 21:20, 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.

During last season’s November series in Grand Forks, UND spotted Bemidji State the first two goals. North Dakota then rattled off the next eight, downing the Beavers 3-2 in overtime before blanking the visitors 5-0 on night two.

After this weekend’s series, UND (7-6-0) will battle two NCHC foes (at Miami, vs. #9 St. Cloud State) to close out the first half of the season. A record of 4-2 (or better) over the final six games of 2024 would put North Dakota in position to make a run to the NCAAs.

Bemidji State Team Profile

Head Coach: Tom Serratore (24th season at BSU, 394-366-100, .516)

National Rankings: NR/NR
Pairwise Ranking: 27th
KRACH Rating: 137.2 (24th)

This Season: 6-6-1 overall, 3-3-2-0 CCHA (6th)
Last Season: 20-16-12 overall, 13-6-4-1 CCHA (1st)

Team Offense: 2.38 goals scored/game – 39th of 64 teams
Team Defense: 2.54 goals allowed/game – 22nd of 64 teams

Power Play: 22.6% (7 of 31) – 19th of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 80.0% (24 of 30) – 29th of 64 teams

Key Players: Graduate F Eric Martin (3-6-9), Junior F Kirklan Irey (5-4-9), Senior F Jere Vaisanen (4-4-8), Senior F Reilly Funk (4-3-7), Graduate F Carter Randklev (4-2-6), Freshman D Isa Parekh (2-3-5), Junior D Vince Corcoran (1-3-4), Senior G Mattias Sholl (5-6-1, 2.35 GAA, .915 SV%, 2 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (10th season at UND, 213-110-33, .645)

National Rankings: #14/#15
Pairwise Ranking: 19th
KRACH: 228.6 (17th)

This Season: 7-6-0 overall, 2-2-0-0 NCHC (5th of 9 teams)
Last Season: 26-12-2 (NCAA tournament appearance), 14-4-1-5 NCHC (1st)

Team Offense: 3.23 goals scored/game – 17th of 64 teams
Team Defense: 2.85 goals allowed/game – 28th of 64 teams

Power Play: 29.3% (12 of 41) – 4th of 64 teams
Penalty Kill: 76.1% (35 of 46) – 51st of 64 teams

Key Players: Graduate F Louis Jamernik V (4-5-9), Freshman F Sacha Boisvert (5-6-11), Junior F Owen McLaughlin (0-7-7), Junior F Dylan James (5-2-7), Sophomore F Jayden Perron (3-4-7), Freshman F Mac Swanson (2-4-6), Senior F Jake Schmaltz (1-6-7), Sophomore D Jake Livanavage (1-9-10), Sophomore D Abram Wiebe (2-6-8), Freshman D E.J. Emery (0-1-1), Graduate G T.J. Semptimphelter (6-4-0, 2.96 GAA, .898 SV%)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: November 25, 2023 (Grand Forks, ND). It was all North Dakota in this one, as five Fighting Hawks lit the lamp in the 5-0 shutout. One night earlier, Bemidji State scored two first-period goals before seeing that lead evaporate late in regulation. UND’s Jackson Blake sent the home fans happy with a goal fifty seconds into the 3-on-3 overtime session.

Last Meeting in Bemidji: November 25, 2022. The Beavers held a 3-1 lead early in the second period but couldn’t make it hold up. North Dakota’s Jackson Blake and Judd Caulfield scored in the middle frame to knot the game at three goals apiece, and that’s the way it would end. UND outshot Bemidji State 31-21.

Most Important Meeting: October 15, 2010 (Bemidji, MN). In the first game played at the BREC, North Dakota spotted BSU the opening goal less than two minutes into the contest and then steamrolled the Beavers 5-2. The Fighting Sioux outshot their fellow Green-and-Whiters 38-14.

Last Ten: North Dakota is 6-2-2 (.700) in the last ten meetings between the teams, outscoring the Beavers 30-19 over that stretch of games. Seven of the last ten tilts have been decided by a goal or less, with UND having slightly the better of it in the close games (3-2-2).

All-time Series: UND leads the all-time series, 37-5-7 (.827), including a record of 26-3-4 (.848) in games played in Grand Forks. Three of BSU’s five wins over North Dakota have come in the past ten years (October 2014, October 2018, and October 2021). Bemidji’s other victories over UND came in 1970 and 2011.

Game News and Notes

UND head coach Brad Berry is 9-2-3 (.750) in his career against Bemidji State. BSU has competed at the Division I level since the 1999-00 season and has made the NCAA tournament five times (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2021), with a Frozen Four appearance in 2009. Current Beaver forwards Carter Randklev and Jaksen Panzer were former North Dakota commits. Fourteen of the past twenty games between these two teams have been decided by one goal or less.

Broadcast Information

Friday’s opener will be available via webcast at CCHA.TV and also available on Midco Sports Plus. Saturday’s rematch will be broadcast live on Midco Sports Network and also available via webcast at NCHC.tv. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. Central Time on Friday and 6:07 p.m. Central Time on Saturday. 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.

On A Personal Note

I have participated in Movember for the past twelve years and have proudly raised over $35,000 to help change the face of men’s health. Will you join me and support the cause? Please visit my Movember fundraising page to learn more and to donate. Thank you!

The Prediction

If UND was at full strength, this would be an easier call. Bemidji State always seems to bring their best effort against UND, and this weekend will be no exception. I expect UND’s power play to stay hot this weekend, with multiple man-advantage goals possible each night. In the last seven series against the Beavers, North Dakota has only truly been held in check offensively over one weekend (two total goals scored in October 2018). In the other six series, the Fighting Hawks have managed 10, 7, 7, 6, 7, and 8 total goals. A hiccup is possible, but I’m calling another sweep. UND 5-3, 4-2.

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!

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