On Saturday night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, #2 North Dakota (28-9-1, NCHC regular season champions) will square off against #11 Quinnipiac (27-9-3, ECAC regular season champions) with the winner advancing to the 2026 NCAA Frozen Four in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In 27 years at the Division I level, Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold has only had ONE losing season (16-18-4 in 2017-2018). The Bobcats have made the last seven national tournaments and eleven of the past thirteen, appearing in the championship game in 2013 (losing 4-0 to Yale) and again against UND in 2016. That 5-1 title game loss against North Dakota was just the fourth loss of the season for QU (32-4-7).
Rand Pecknold’s group finally made it to the top of the mountain with a national title in 2023. Coincidentally, that squad played at Ralph Engelstad Arena in October 2022, with the Bobcats securing a 5-5 tie and a 6-2 victory.
Last season, QU lost to UConn 4-1 in their opening round NCAA tournament game.
Two seasons ago, Rand Pecknold’s group played two thrilling games on regional weekend, topping the Badgers 3-2 in overtime before falling 5-4 to Boston College just three minutes into the extra session.
In 2022, Quinnipiac went 32-7-3 and defeated St. Cloud State 5-4 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. The Bobcats would fall one game short of the Frozen Four, dropping a 7-4 decision to the Michigan Wolverines.
In the 2021 NCAA West Regional in Loveland, Colorado, QU held a 3-1 lead over Minnesota State with just over five minutes remaining in regulation before the Mavericks brought the game to within one. An extra-attacker goal with 62 seconds remaining sent the game to an extra frame, and Ryan Sandelin won the game for the Mavs just over halfway through the first overtime session.
UND and QU met one other time in the national tournament (at the 2015 West Regional in Fargo, ND). North Dakota downed the Bobcats 4-1 in that tilt, one of the very few times that Quinnipiac has played in the Central Time Zone in the past fifteen years.
Aside from their two tournament clashes and the aforementioned October 2022 series, North Dakota and Quinnipiac have faced each other on two other occasions in program history:
An October 2021 series at People’s United Center (Hamden, Connecticut) went down as a split (QU 5-2, UND 3-1) despite the Bobcats outshooting the Fighting Hawks 64-35 on the weekend.
And fifteen years earlier, an October 2006 series in Grand Forks went in the books as a UND sweep. Sioux forwards Ryan Duncan, T.J. Oshie and Jonathan Toews figured heavily in those results.
It would not be surprising to see another regular-season matchup betwen these two teams in the future. Current UND athletic director Bill Chaves worked at Quinnpiac when Pecknold first became head coach.
Before this recent stretch of tournament appearances, the only Quinnipiac showing on the national scene came in 2001-02, when the team (competing in the MAAC and known for the last time as the ‘Braves’) suffered a 6-1 loss to Cornell in the regional semifinal.
The NCHC has been the premier hockey conference since its inception, and particularly over the past ten seasons. The nine teams in the league have gone 606-310-81 (.648) in non-conference action since the start of the 2014-15 season and sent fifteen 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, Denver in 2022 and 2024, and Denver and Western Michigan in 2025 over that nine-year stretch (there was no national tournament in 2020). Conference members North Dakota (2016), Denver (2017, 2022, 2024), Minnesota Duluth (2018, 2019), and Western Michigan (2025) have won seven of the last nine national titles.
More specifically, NCHC teams went 8-5-0 against the ECAC this season, although no NCHC team faced Quinnipiac. In terms of common opponents:
Quinnipiac lost 4-1 at Merrimack on October 24th, 2025, while North Dakota defeated Merrimack 3-0 two days ago (March 26th, 2026).
North Dakota split at Clarkson (2-5, 1-0) on October 24th and 25th, 2025; Quinnipiac went 1-2-1 against Clarkson over the course of the season (including two home playoff losses (0-3, 3-4) two weeks ago).
Turning our attention to tonight’s game…
A half-point per game or better is my benchmark for solid offensive production, and Rand Pecknold’s squad will have eleven players in the lineup who have reached that threshold, including three – freshman forward Ethan Wyttenbach (25-34-59), freshman forward Antonin Verreault (16-24-40), and sophomore forward Chris Pelosi (18-16-34) – averaging a full point per game or better. Other solid offensive contributors include junior forward Mason Marcellus (8-26-34), freshman forward Markus Vidicek (20-15-35), sophomore forward Aaron Schwartz (8-21-29), junior forward Andon Cerbone (9-13-22), sophomore forward Tyler Borgula (4-10-14), graduate defenseman William Gibson (5-23-28), sophomore defenseman Braden Blace (5-15-20), and sophomore defenseman Elliott Groenewold (7-13-20).
Hobey Baker finalist Ethan Wyttenbach is back at home this weekend (in a manner of speaking). Wyttenbach put up a line of 24-27-51 in 44 games with the Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) last season.
QU forward Jeremy Wilmer had a strong start to his junior campaign, with six goals and thirteen points in his first fifteen games. Wilmer has been out of the lineup since November 26th; he spent his first two seasons at Boston University.
Graduate blueliner William Gibson has been an important contributor on the back end for the Bobcats; Gibson spent two seasons at Alaska-Anchorage and last year at Renssalaer.
North Dakota is expected to have ten players in the lineup tonight who have met that same offensive threshold: senior forward Ellis Rickwood (8-27-35), senior forward Ben Strinden (15-18-33), freshman forward Will Zellers (18-14-32), sophomore forward Mac Swanson (11-16-27), freshman forward Cole Reschny (5-29-34), senior forward Dylan James (20-10-30), 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).
UND freshman forward Ollie Josephson (6-14-20) missed 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.
Quinnipiac junior netminder Matej Marinov (Nitra, Slovakia) has only lost four times this season (17-4-2), but he has not played since allowing five goals on 22 shots in a defeat at Dartmouth on February 29th.
In his place is sophomore goaltender Dylan Silverstein (Calabasas, California), who started the regular season finale and each of the past three playoff games for the Bobcats. SIlverstein dropped two home playoff games against Clarkson two weeks ago, allowing one goal on 33 shots in a 3-0 defeat (two empty net goals) and following that stellar performance up with a dreadful one in Game Two, allowing four goals on eighteen shots in a 4-3 loss.
Despite that playoff performance, Silverstein got the nod on Thursday afternoon against Providence and he responded, making 23 saves on 25 shots and earning the 5-2 win and a spot in the regional final.
It will be interesting to see how tonight’s game plays out, as there is only one puck and both teams have dominated possession all season long. Quinnpiac is the top team in the country in Corsi at 59.0%, while North Dakota is third (56.7%). The Fenwick numbers are similar, with QU at 59.4% (1st) and UND at 56.8% (4th).
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.
More to the point, Quinnipiac leads the nation in shots-on-goal advantage, while North Dakota ranks 4th. QU is also first in faceoff percentage (57.2%); UND is fourth (54.2%). In the regional semifinals, the Bobcats won 46 of 73 draws (63.0%) against Providence; the Fighting Hawks won 31 of 54 faceoffs against Merrimack (57.4%).
Quinnipiac Team Profile
Head Coach: Rand Pecknold (32nd season at QU, 693-368-110, .639)
National Rankings: #11/#10
NPI Ranking: 10th
KRACH Rating: 200.9 (11th)
Strength of Schedule: 35th of 63 teams
This Season: 27-9-3 overall, 15-4-2-1 ECAC (1st of 12 teams)
Last Season: 24-12-2 overall (NCAA Midwest Regional semifinalist), 14-2-2-4 ECAC (1st)
2025-26 Season Statistics:
Team Offense: 4.15 goals scored/game (2nd of 63 teams)
Team Defense: 2.31 goals allowed/game (7th of 63 teams)
Power Play: 32 of 148 (20th of 63 teams)
Penalty Kill: 100 of 117 (9th of 63 teams)
Key Players: Freshman F Ethan Wyttenbach (25-34-59), Freshman F Markus Vidicek (20-15-35), Sophomore F Chris Pelosi (18-16-34), Freshman F Antonin Verreault (16-24-40), Junior F Mason Marcellus (8-26-34), Graduate D William Gilson (5-23-28), Sophomore D Elliott Groenewold (7-13-20), Freshman D Graham Sward (5-11-16), Junior G Matej Marinov (17-4-2, 2.32 GAA, .899 SV%, 2 SO), Sophomore G Dylan Silverstein (10-5-1, 1.93 GAA, .916 SV%, 2 SO)
North Dakota Team Profile
Head Coach: Dane Jackson (1st season at North Dakota, 28-9-1, .750)
National Rankings: #2/#2
NPI Ranking: 2nd
KRACH Rating: 493.1 (2nd)
Strength of Schedule: 15th of 63 teams
This Season: 28-9-1 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: 3.82 goals scored/game – 3rd of 63 teams
Team Defense: 2.32 goals allowed/game – 8th of 63 teams
Power Play: 27.3% (36 of 132) – 5th of 63 teams
Penalty Kill: 83.0% (93 of 112) – 14th of 63 teams
Key Players: Freshman F Cole Reschny (5-29-34), Senior F Ben Strinden (15-18-33), Freshman F Will Zellers (18-14-32), Senior F Dylan James (20-10-30), Sophomore F Mac Swanson (11-16-27), Senior F Ellis Rickwood (8-27-35), 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 (19-4-1, 1.98 GAA, .914 SV%, 5 SO)
By The Numbers
Last Meeting: October 15, 2022 (Grand Forks, ND). One night after the two teams skated to a 5-5 tie, it was all Bobcats in the rematch. North Dakota held a tenuous 2-1 lead after twenty minutes, but QU erupted for three goals in four minutes late in period two. The Bobcats would add two more in the final frame to leave Ralph Engelstad Arena with a 6-2 victory.UND netminder Jakob Hellsten made just sixteen saves.
Most Important Meeting: April 9, 2016 (Tampa, FL). Two nights after UND’s late-game heroics against Denver, the Fighting Hawks outlasted the Bobcats 5-1 to claim the program’s eighth national championship. Shane Gersich and Brock Boeser scored first-period goals for North Dakota before Quinnipiac got on the board with a 5-on-3 tally late in the opening frame. After a tight, scoreless second period, Drake Caggiula scored twice in the first four minutes of the third to open up the contest. Autin Poganski potted his tenth of the year midway through the final frame, and the last nine minutes felt like one long, slow coronation for the Green and White.
Eleven Years Ago: March 27, 2015 (Fargo, ND). North Dakota blocked 28 shots in front of a partisan crowd at Scheels Arena and downed the Bobcats 4-1 to advance to the NCAA West Regional Final, where they would play St. Cloud State. Tucker Poolman, Bryn Chyzyk, Drake Caggiula, and Luke Johnson all scored for UND, who received 29 saves from 2015 Mike Richter Award winner Zane McIntyre. Quinnipiac went 1-for-8 with the man advantage, scoring only an extra-attacker power play goal with less than two minutes remaining.
Twenty Years Ago: October 7, 2006 (Grand Forks, ND). A late Quinnipiac power play goal got the Bobcats within a goal, but the damage had been done by then. T.J. Oshie assisted on all three Jonathan Toews goals (remarkably, the only hat trick of his Fighting Sioux career) and Ryan Duncan had a three point night (1 g, 2 a) in a 4-2 North Dakota victory. UND blew out the Bobcats 6-1 in Friday’s opener despite only one goal from the Oshie-Toews-Duncan (D.O.T.) line.
All-time Series: The two teams have only squared off eight times, with UND going 5-2-1 in those games while outscoring the Bobcats 31-22.
Game News and Notes
Quinnipiac has competed at the Division I level since the 1999-2000 season; that was the year UND won its seventh national championship. QU has jumped on teams all season long, outscoring opponents 54-19 in first periods and following that up with a 55-22 advantage in period two. North Dakota has done most of its damage in the third period, outscoring opponents 61-21. On nine occasions, UND has scored at least three goals in the final twenty minutes of regulation. Despite only having four players running out of collegiate eligibility after this season, Quinnipiac has fifteen 2026 recruits listed on College Hockey News. In comparison, North Dakota has nine recruits listed for its five seniors/grad students (Gibson Homer, Dylan James, Ben Strinden, Tyler Young, and Bennett Zmolek). UND and QU boast the top two highest-scoring freshman classes in the country; Quinnpiac’s top three scorers (Ethan Wyttenbach, Antonin Verreault, and Markus Vidicek) are freshmen, while Cole Reschny ranks 2nd for North Dakota and Will Zellers ranks 4th. The Bobcats play their home games at M&T Bank Arena (capacity 3,286).
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 6:00 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.
The Prediction
North Dakota is the deeper, heavier team, and they seem to have the goaltending advantage as well. Last line change will be critical for Dane Jackson as he dictates matchups against the Bobcats’ high-flying forwards. Quinnpiac has made five regional finals appearances in the past seven seasons, so the team and coaching staff are used to the bright lights. I keep saying that there is something about this year’s version of the Green and White, and I don’t see the season ending in Sioux Falls. UND 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!