Weekend Preview: UND at St. Cloud State

#23 North Dakota (6-6-3, 2-3-1 NCHC) travels to face #3 St. Cloud State (11-3-0, 3-2-1 NCHC) at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota this weekend. Despite scoring 29 goals over the past four weekends of play (3.63 goals scored/game), UND may struggle to score against the homestanding Huskies, who have only allowed sixteen goals over that same stretch of games (2.0 goals allowed/game). On the season, SCSU has been the nation’s best defensive team, allowing just 1.71 goals per game.

Almost exactly one year ago today (Friday, December 3rd, 2021), the homestanding Huskies embarrassed the Fighting Hawks by a final score of 8-1. SCSU went 3-for-7 on the power play and held UND scoreless on two man-advantage opportunities. In Saturday’s rematch, North Dakota turned the specialty teams tables, going 1-for-7 on the power play and killing all four Husky power plays en route to a 5-3 road victory and a split of the weekend series.

The Fighting Hawks had better success in Grand Forks last season, earning a 7-1 victory to go along with a 3-3 tie (and shootout victory) in late January.

At 4th in the Pairwise and with an overall record of 11-3-0, St. Cloud State is in line to make the NCAA tourney for the fifth consecutive season. (It is worth noting that in 2019-2020 – when there was no national tournament – SCSU went just 13-15-6.) The Huskies’ three losses this season have come at Bemidji State (PWR 31), at Denver (PWR 5), and vs. Western Michigan (PWR 13).

On the other side of the ledger, North Dakota sits at 24th in the Pairwise, with six losses already this season. Thankfully for fans of the Green and White, four of UND’s losses are to teams currently in the top five in the Pairwise (Minnesota 2nd, Quinnipiac 3rd, and Denver 5th). The Fighting Hawks’ Las Vegas loss at the hands of Arizona State (PWR 25) and a home loss to Miami (PWR 38) are currently weighing the team down, as is the team’s strength of schedule (15th). Playing St. Cloud State and Western Michigan on the road over the next two weekends – and getting good results – would go a long way toward a top-15 Pairwise position.

Nine 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 Central Collegiate Hockey Association (Miami and Western Michigan) 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 the CCHA reformed beginning with the 2021-2022 campaign.

The NCHC has been the premier hockey conference since its inception, and particularly over the past eight seasons. The eight teams in the league have gone 422-218-71 (.617) in non-conference action since the start of the 2014-15 season and sent twelve 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 2022) over that seven-year stretch (there was no national tournament in 2020). Conference members North Dakota (2016), Denver (2017, 2022), and Minnesota Duluth (2018, 2019) have won five of the last six national titles.

North Dakota (2015, 2016, 2020, 2021, and 2022) and St. Cloud State (2014, 2018, and 2019) have combined to win the regular season title in eight of the nine seasons of the NCHC. The Huskies also won the last WCHA conference title in 2013.

Given that these two squads have been at the top of the league standings since its inception, it was only fitting that they would meet in the 2021 NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship game, played in Grand Forks. Top-seeded North Dakota (20-5-1) squared off against #2 seed St. Cloud State (17-9-0). UND trailed 2-1 after two periods but strung together three goals just 122 seconds apart to take a lead they would never relinquish. The victory secured North Dakota’s first NCHC postseason title in the eight-year history of the league and its first conference playoff championship since the 2012 WCHA Final Five. In a nod to the Miracle On Ice, fans may well remember the 6-3 victory over Minnesota in the “Timeout Game” that year but forget that there was another game to play in the tournament. One night later, the green and white was out in full force on St. Patrick’s Day, and the Green and White dispatched Denver 4-0 to hoist the Broadmoor Trophy for the third consecutive season.

Turning our attention to this weekend’s matchup, a half-point per game or better is my benchmark for solid offensive production, and Brett Larson’s squad has eight players who meet that threshold: graduate forward Grant Cruikshank (11-6-17), senior forward Jami Krannila (6-10-16), senior forward Zack Okabe (8-7-15), senior forward Kyler Kupka (2-6-8 in eight games), junior forward Veeti Miettinen (3-9-12), graduate forward Micah Miller (2-6-8), senior defenseman Dylan Anhorn (3-12-15), and sophomore defenseman Jack Peart (0-9-9).

Kyler Kupka has returned to practice this week and may return to the SCSU lineup this weekend.

By that same measure, North Dakota has ten players at a half point or better: junior forward Riese Gaber (10-8-18), freshman forward Jackson Blake (8-9-17), freshman forward Dylan James (2-7-9), senior forward Gavin Hain (7-1-8), junior forward Louis Jamernik V (1-7-8), graduate forward Mark Senden (4-4-8), graduate defensemen Chris Jandric (2-14-16), junior defenseman Cooper Moore (2-5-7), sophomore defenseman Brent Johnson (1-5-6), and sophomore defenseman Luke Bast (0-1-1 in two games).

Luke Bast appeared in his first two games of the season last weekend.

UND is third in the nation in shooting percentage at an astounding 12.7% (55 goals on 432 shots). By comparison, St. Cloud State is 6th in the country at 11.9% (46 goals on 386 shots). The two teams create almost an identical number of shots on goal per game (UND 28.8, SCSU 27.6), although North Dakota only allows 24.4 shots on goal per game (7th) while the Huskies surrender an average of 25.5 (11th). The Fighting Hawks (22nd in Corsi, 23rd in Fenwick) also lead SCSU (30th, 27th) in both puck possession statistics.

One key area to watch this weekend is the face-off circle. The Fighting Hawks are the nation’s seventh-best team on draws (54.7%), while SCSU clocks in at 51.6% (21st).

For UND, sophomore Jake Schmaltz has been making a living on draws, winning 187 of 321 (58.3%). Junior Louis Jamernik V has more than held his own (147 of 272, 54.0), while freshman Owen McLaughlin has shown improvement (83 of 162, 51.2%). Junior Griffin Ness has been nearly dead even, with 36 wins in 73 opportunities (49.3%).

For St. Cloud State, grad transfer Grant Cruikshank has taken the majority of important draws, going 166 of 292 (56.8%). Senior Jami Krannila has been up and down (114 of 230, 49.6%), while sophomore Mason Salquist has performed admirably (86 of 162, 53.1%). Salquist hails from Grand Forks, North Dakota.

To this point in the season, North Dakota has had slightly the better of the specialty teams play. UND has been a combined plus-11, with nineteen power play goals scored (19 for 67, 28.4%, 3rd in the country) and only eight power play goals allowed (49 of 57, 86.0%, 9th), with one shorthanded goal scored and one allowed.

St. Cloud State has posted a plus-10, with thirteen power play goals scored (13 of 58, 22.4%, 20th), an identical penalty kill (49 of 57, 86.0%, 9th), and an astounding five shorthanded goals scored (2nd in the country).

It is also worth noting that UND has earned ten more power plays than penalty kill situations (67-47), while St. Cloud State has been nearly even (58-57).

North Dakota is 7th in the country in scoring offense (3.67 goals scored/game) but just 37th in the country in scoring defense (3.00 goals allowed/game). St. Cloud State is 14th in the country in scoring offense (3.29 goals scored/game) but best in the country in scoring defense (1.71 goals allowed/game).

When healthy, North Dakota is strong on the back end this season, with junior Tyler Kleven and senior Ethan Frisch leading the way. A trio of graduate students (Chris Jandric, Ty Farmer, and Ryan Sidorski) match up well with sophomores Brent Johnson and Luke Bast and junior Cooper Moore to form a defensive corps not unlike the one that took UND all the way to the national title seven years ago.

Ethan Frisch is expected to remain out of the lineup this weekend after suffering a lower-body injury last Friday night in Bemidji.

The Huskies and Fighting Hawks will also tangle on February 17th and 18th at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks.

St. Cloud State Team Profile

Head Coach: Brett Larson (5th season at SCSU, 92-50-13, .635)
National Rankings: #3/#3
Pairwise Ranking: 4th

This Season: 11-3-0 overall, 3-2-1-0 NCHC (3rd)
Last Season: 18-15-4 overall (NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinalist), 9-8-2-5 NCHC (5th)

2022-2023 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.29 goals scored/game – 14th of 62 teams
Team Defense: 1.71 goals allowed/game – 1st of 62 teams

Power Play: 22.4% (13 of 58) – 20th of 62 teams
Penalty Kill: 86.0% (49 of 57) – 9th of 62 teams

Key players: Graduate F Grant Cruikshank (11-6-17), Senior F Jami Krannila (6-10-16), Senior F Zack Okabe (8-7-15), Senior F Kyler Kupka (2-6-8 in eight games), Junior F Veeti Miettinen (3-9-12), Graduate F Micah Miller (2-6-8), Senior D Dylan Anhorn (3-12-15), Sophomore D Jack Peart (0-9-9), Junior G Dominic Basse (6-1-0, 1.29 GAA, .948 SV%, 2 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (8th season at UND, 166-82-27, .653)
National Rankings: #23/#24
Pairwise Ranking: 24th

This Season: 6-6-3 overall, 2-3-0-1 NCHC (7th)
Last Season: 24-14-1 overall (NCAA Regional Semifinalist), 17-6-1 NCHC (t-1st)

2022-2023 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.67 goals scored/game – 7th of 62 teams
Team Defense: 3.00 goals allowed/game – 37th of 62 teams

Power Play: 28.4% (19 of 67) – 3rd of 62 teams
Penalty Kill: 86.0% (49 of 57) – 9th of 62 teams

Key Players: Junior F Riese Gaber (10-8-18), Sophomore F Jake Schmaltz (3-4-7), Junior F Louie Jamernik V (1-7-8), Graduate Student Mark Senden (4-4-8), Freshman F Jackson Blake (8-9-17), Senior F Gavin Hain (7-1-8 in thirteen games), Freshman F Dylan James (2-7-9 in thirteen games) Graduate Student D Chris Jandric (2-14-16), Junior D Tyler Kleven (1-4-5), Junior D Cooper Moore (2-5-7), Sophomore G Jakob Hellsten (3-3-2, 2.73 GAA, .869 SV%)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: January 29, 2021 (Grand Forks, ND). After drubbing the visitors 7-1 in Friday’s opener, UND came back from an early 3-1 deficit to send the game to overtime knotted at three apiece. After a scoreless 3-on-3 session, North Dakota’s Ashton Calder scored the only goal in the eight-player shootout for the extra league point.

Last Meeting in St. Cloud: December 4, 2021 (St. Cloud, MN). North Dakota rebounded from an 8-1 shellacking at the hands of the homestanding Huskies by scoring two goals in the middle frame to break a 2-2 tie. Each team scored once in the third period to bring the final score to 5-3 in favor of the Fighting Hawks. St. Cloud State outshot UND 33-29 for the game and 65-57 over the course of the weekend series.

A Recent Memory: March 16, 2021 (Grand Forks, ND). One night before St. Patrick’s Day, North Dakota enjoyed playing for the NCHC playoff title in front of a whole bunch of green. St. Cloud State led 2-1 after two periods, but the Fighting Hawks stormed back with four third-period goals – including three in the span of 122 seconds early in the final frame and an empty-netter to seal the 5-3 victory and the program’s first Frozen Faceoff championship. UND senior Jordan Kawaguchi and freshman Riese Gaber each had two goals and an assist.

Most Important Meeting: NCAA West Regional Final in Fargo, ND (March 28, 2015). North Dakota scored three unassisted goals over the final two periods of the hockey game to defeat St. Cloud State 4-1 in the West Regional Final and advance to the NCAA Frozen Four. Jimmy Murray got the Huskies on the board less than 90 seconds in to the hockey game, but that did nothing to quiet the partisan crowd of 5,307 at SCHEELS Arena. Four different players scored for UND, while Zane McIntyre made 19 stops to earn his 29th and final victory of the season.

All-Time Series: North Dakota leads the all-time series, 79-46-16 (.617), including a record of 30-24-0 (.556) in games played in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Aside from their 2015 and 2018 NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinal victories, the Huskies also defeated North Dakota in the 2001 WCHA Final Five championship game. The teams have been squaring off regularly since the 1989-90 season but have only met once in the NCAA tournament (2015).

Last Ten: UND holds a slight lead of 5-3-2 (.600) in the last ten tilts between the teams, outscoring the Huskies 34-32 over that stretch of games. Two of the last ten meetings have gone to overtime, with North Dakota’s Jordan Kawaguchi scoring the game winner in both contests.

Game News and Notes

UND’s Riese Gaber has ten career points against the Huskies. SCSU opened the season with six consecutive victories (sweeps over St. Thomas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota State) before earning splits against Bemidji State, Denver, and Western Michigan. North Dakota head coach Brad Berry is 13-9-4 (.577) in his career against St. Cloud.

The Prediction

North Dakota was mostly a mess on the wider sheet of ice against Minnesota at 3M Arena at Mariucci back in October and yet somehow managed a split despite being outshot 79-38 in the series. UND cannot afford to get hemmed into its own end for long stretches, as the Huskies often build momentum with possession in front of their home crowd. The best offensive players for the Fighting Hawks – Riese Gaber, Jackson Blake, and Gavin Hain – will need to find their way onto the scoresheet in order to earn victories this weekend, but goals will be hard to come by. There is no doubt that the Huskies are the better, faster team, and things could snowball quickly in St. Cloud. SCSU 4-2, 4-3.

Broadcast Information

Both games will be broadcast live on Fox9+ (Midco Sports Network will be carrying this local broadcast) and also available via livestream 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.

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!

Weekend Preview: North Dakota vs. Miami

#19/#19 North Dakota hosts unranked Miami for a pair of NCHC games this weekend, and facing the RedHawks may be just what UND needs to right the ship after being swept at home last weekend at the hands of the Denver Pioneers.

The Miami RedHawks have only faced North Dakota five times over the past two seasons, but that has been more than enough for Chris Bergeron’s squad.

The Fighting Hawks traveled to Oxford, Ohio last November and earned a road sweep with 4-1 and 5-4 victories. UND outshot Miami 68-31 in the two-game series.

Almost one year earlier (December 2nd, 2020), the two teams met in Omaha in the first pod game for either side. North Dakota blanked Miami 2-0 and put 39 shots on goal.

And in the rematch on December 20th – the final game of the Omaha pod – the RedHawks managed to score twice but allowed six North Dakota goals on 39 shots.

Miami put a total of 42 shots on frame over the course of those six periods of hockey.

After those two December tilts, the teams were not scheduled to face each other in the second half of the 2021-2022 season. As fate would have it, however, top-seeded UND (18-5-1) drew last-place Miami (5-17-2) in the first round of the modified NCHC Frozen Faceoff. There was little drama in the contest, as the Fighting Hawks scored three goals in the first six minutes of the hockey game and cruised to a 6-2 victory, outshooting MU 46-28.

In the past five games, North Dakota has outscored Miami 23-14 while holding a 192-101 advantage in shots on goal.

Over the past two seasons, the RedHawks had to rely on junior goaltender Ludvig Persson to keep games close, as Miami only averaged 2.33 goals per game. Unfortunately, MU allowed 3.97 goals per game over those two campaigns and only won twelve total games (12-45-4, .230).

The scoring margin has gotten better for Chris Bergeron and company this year, with 25 goals scored (2.08/game) and 34 allowed (2.83) through the first twelve games of the season (4-6-2).

Nine 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 Central Collegiate Hockey Association (Miami and Western Michigan) 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 the CCHA reformed beginning with the 2021-2022 campaign.

The NCHC has been the premier hockey conference since its inception, and particularly over the past eight seasons. The eight teams in the league have gone 420-216-70 (.644) in non-conference action since the start of the 2014-15 season and sent twelve 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 2022) over that seven-year stretch (there was no national tournament in 2020). Conference members North Dakota (2016), Denver (2017, 2022), and Minnesota Duluth (2018, 2019) have won five of the last six national titles.

Over the first nine seasons of the NCHC, Miami has averaged slightly better than a seventh-place finish among the eight conference teams (8th, 2nd, 5th, 7th, 8th, 8th, 7th, 8th, and 8th), with a combined league record of 59-133-24 (.329).

By comparison, North Dakota has finished 2nd, 1st, 1st, 4th, 4th, 5th, 1st, 1st, and 1st for an average finish just under second place and a combined league record of 133-67-16 (.653). No other league member has collected as many conference wins as UND.

When the National Collegiate Hockey Conference was formed, Miami appeared positioned to be a dominant program. 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 (2nd) and 2010 (3rd). 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.

Long-tenured head coach Enrico Blasi was fired after posting a fourth consecutive losing season in 2018-2019. Over that stretch of time, the RedHawks were 47-81-19 (.384). There is reason for optimism in Oxford, however, with new bench boss Chris Bergeron taking over the program after leading Bowling Green to six consecutive winning seasons, five consecutive years with twenty or more victories, and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2018-2019.

Turning our attention to this weekend’s matchup, a half-point per game or better is my benchmark for solid offensive production, and Chris Bergeron’s squad has six players who meet that threshold: junior forward Matthew Barbolini (4-6-10), senior forward Joe Cassetti (5-3-8), sophomore forward Red Savage (4-4-8), freshman forward Max Dukovac (1-6-7), junior forward PJ Fletcher (2-4-6), and junior defenseman Hampus Rydqvist (1-5-6).

Red Savage and Max Dukovac, two stalwarts on the Miami power play, did not make the trip to Grand Forks this weekend.

By that same measure, North Dakota has ten players at a half point or better: junior forward Riese Gaber (8-4-12), freshman forward Jackson Blake (4-7-11), freshman forward Dylan James (1-5-6), senior forward Gavin Hain (5-1-6), graduate forward Mark Senden (3-3-6), sophomore forward Nick Portz (0-4-4), sophomore forward Jake Schmaltz (3-3-6), senior forward Carson Albrecht (1-0-1 in two games), graduate defensemen Chris Jandric (2-12-14), and junior defenseman Cooper Moore (2-5-7).

Cooper Moore is questionable for this weekend’s games with an undisclosed illness/injury, while fellow blueliner Tyler Kleven is probable with a lower body injury.

UND is second in the nation in shooting percentage at an astounding 12.7% (38 goals on 300 shots). By comparison, Miami is 47th in the country at 7.7% (25 goals on 325 shots). The two teams created almost an identical number of shots on goal per game (UND 27.3, Miami 27.1), although North Dakota only allows 26.4 shots on goal per game (15th) while the RedHawks surrender an average of 31.8 (46th). The Fighting Hawks (34th in Corsi, 32nd in Fenwick) also lead MU (40th, 44th) in both puck possession statistics.

One key area to watch this weekend is the face-off circle. The Fighting Hawks are the nation’s eighth-best team on draws (55.0%), while MU clocks in at 45.1% (56th).

For UND, sophomore Jake Schmaltz has been making a living on draws, winning 150 of 254 (59.1%). Junior Louis Jamernik V has been a bit better than even (109 of 210, 51.9), while freshman Owen McLaughlin has shown improvement (70 of 138, 50.7%). Sophomore Matteo Costantini has chipped in with 12 wins in 16 opportunities (75.0%).

For Miami, sophomore Red Savage has taken the majority of important draws, going 126 of 265 (47.5%). Senior Joe Cassetti has had the most success (101 of 211, 47.9%), while two freshmen – William Hallen (36 of 80, 45.0%) and Blake Mesenburg (41 of 91, 45.1%) – have been steady but not spectacular.

To this point in the season, North Dakota has had far the better of the specialty teams play. UND has been a combined plus-10, with sixteen power play goals scored (16 for 53, 30.2%, 4th in the country) and only six power play goals allowed (36 of 42, 85.7%, 9th). Miami has posted a minus-2, with nine power play goals scored (9 of 49, 18.4%, 36th), thirteen power play goals allowed (47 of 60, 78.3%, 42ns), three shorthanded goals scored, and one shorthanded goal allowed.

It is also worth noting that UND has earned eleven more power plays than penalty kill situations (53-42), while Miami has earned eleven more penalty kill situations than power plays (60-49).

North Dakota is 10th in the country in scoring offense (3.45 goals scored/game) but just 44th in the country in scoring defense (3.18 goals allowed/game). Miami is 48th in the country in scoring offense (2.08 goals scored/game) but a more respectable 31st in scoring defense (2.83 goals allowed/game).

North Dakota is strong on the back end this season, with junior Tyler Kleven and senior Ethan Frisch leading the way. A trio of graduate students (Chris Jandric, Ty Farmer, and Ryan Sidorski) match up well with sophomore Brent Johnson and junior Cooper Moore to form a defensive corps not unlike the one that took UND all the way to the national title seven years ago.

The RedHawks and Fighting Hawks will also tangle on January 27th and 28th at Goggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio.

Miami RedHawks

Head Coach: Chris Bergeron (4th season at Miami, 24-72-11, .276)
National Rankings: NR/NR

This Season: 4-6-2 overall, 0-5-1 NCHC (8th)
Last Season: 7-27-2 overall, 4-16-1-3 NCHC (8th)

2022-2023 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 2.08 goals scored/game – 48th of 62 teams
Team Defense: 2.83 goals allowed/game – 31st of 62 teams

Power Play: 18.4% (9 of 49) – 36th of 62 teams
Penalty Kill: 78.3% (47 of 60) – 42nd of 62 teams

Key players: Junior F Matthew Barbolini (4-6-10), Senior F Joe Cassetti (5-3-8), Sophomore F Red Savage (4-4-8), Freshman F Max Dukovac (1-6-7), Junior F PJ Fletcher (2-4-6), Junior D Hampus Rydqvist (1-5-6), Senior D Jack Clement (0-2-2), Junior G Ludvig Persson (4-6-2, 2.55 GAA, .918 SV%, 1 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (8th season at UND, 166-82-27, .653)
National Rankings: #19/#19

This Season: 4-5-2 overall, 1-2-0-1 NCHC (7th)
Last Season: 24-14-1 overall (NCAA Regional Semifinalist), 17-6-1 NCHC (t-1st)

2022-2023 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.45 goals scored/game – 10th of 62 teams
Team Defense: 3.18 goals allowed/game – 44th of 62 teams

Power Play: 30.2% (16 of 53) – 4th of 62 teams
Penalty Kill: 85.7% (36 of 42) – 9th of 62 teams

Key Players: Junior F Riese Gaber (8-4-12), Sophomore F Jake Schmaltz (3-3-6), Junior F Louie Jamernik V (0-5-5), Graduate Student Mark Senden (3-3-6), Freshman F Jackson Blake (4-7-11), Senior F Gavin Hain (5-1-6 in nine games), Freshman F Dylan James (1-5-6 in nine games) Graduate Student D Chris Jandric (2-12-14), Senior D Ethan Frisch (2-3-5), Junior D Cooper Moore (2-5-7), Graduate Student G Drew DeRidder (3-3-1, 2.72 GAA, .900 SV%, 1 SO)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: November 13, 2021 (Oxford, OH). After a furious opening frame that ended with North Dakota holding a 3-2 advantage on the scoreboard, the two teams traded goals in each of the next two periods, leaving the homestanding RedHawks one goal short. That 5-4 UND win, coupled with Friday night’s 4-1 victory, earned the Green and White a rare road sweep in the NCHC. The Fighting Hawks outshot their flying foes 68-31 in the series.

Last Meeting in Grand Forks: March 12, 2021. Top-seeded UND (18-5-1) drew last-place Miami (5-17-2) in the first round of the modified NCHC Frozen Faceoff. There was little drama in the contest, as the Fighting Hawks scored three goals in the first six minutes of the hockey game (including two by Collin Adams) and cruised to a 6-2 victory, outshooting MU 46-28. Over the next four days, North Dakota would defeat Denver 2-1 (OT) and St. Cloud State 5-3 to claim the program’s first NCHC postseason tournament title.

Most Important Meeting: March 6, 2015 (Oxford, OH). North Dakota claimed the Penrose Cup with a 2-1 road victory over Miami. UND fell flat the following night, losing 6-3 in the final game of the regular season.

Last Ten: UND has picked up eight wins and a tie (8-1-1, .850) in the past ten contests between the teams, outscoring Miami 46-24 over that stretch of games. The RedHawks have not beaten North Dakota since November 10, 2018, a 3-2 home victory.

All-time Series: North Dakota leads the all-time series 22-7-4 (.727), including a sparkling 10-2-2 (.786) record in games played in Grand Forks. The teams first played in 1999 (Badger Showdown, Milwaukee, WI).

Game News and Notes

In five career games against Miami, junior forward Riese Gaber has scored six goals and added an assist. The RedHawks have not beaten UND in over four years. North Dakota goaltender Drew DeRidder has faced MU once in his collegiate career, earning a 2-1 Michigan State comeback victory over Miami with 35 saves on Saturday, October 26th, 2021. Green Hawks are preferable to RedHawks.

On A Personal Note

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The Prediction

If ever there was a “get right” series for North Dakota hockey, this is it. UND is deeper, more talented, and has dug itself a hole in the league standings, and that last point might be the most important of them all. The Fighting Hawks will be a motivated group from the drop of the puck on Friday night, and that will make for a long weekend for the visiting RedHawks. UND 4-1, 4-2.

Broadcast Information

Both games this weekend will be broadcast live on Midco Sports and also available online 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.

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!

Weekend Preview: North Dakota vs. Denver

#12/#13 North Dakota (4-3-2) will host #2/#2 Denver (7-3-0) at Ralph Engelstad Arena this weekend in a matchup of two perennial powerhouses.

Before we dig into this weekend’s matchup, let’s take a quick look back at the past few games between the two teams…

In the 2021 NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinals (held at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks), North Dakota needed overtime to outlast a gutsy performance by a Pios squad that had been decimated by COVID-19. DU dressed only nine forwards for the contest but led 1-0 with under 90 seconds remaining. With the goalie pulled, the Fighting Hawks’ Shane Pinto blasted a shot on net that hit Jasper Weatherby on the way in to send the game to overtime. It took over eight minutes of extra time before Gavin Hain sent the home crowd into a frenzy with a blast of his own that advanced the Green and White into the championship game; Denver had just killed Antti Tuomisto’s boarding minor but could not clear the zone. UND outshot the weary Pioneers 20-4 in the third period and overtime.

With the playoff victory, North Dakota moved to 20-5-1 on the season; David Carle’s squad saw its season end at 10-13-1, the first time DU failed to advance to the NCAA tournament since 2007. The 2020-2021 season was the first losing campaign for DU since the 1999-2000 team went 16-23-2. UND won five of the seven meetings between the teams two years ago, outscoring the Pios 22-14. North Dakota allowed ten goals in the first three meetings with a record of 1-2; since their loss in game one at Denver on January 17th, the Fighting Hawks notched four consecutive victories over DU (15 goals for, 4 goals against). That mid-January defeat was definitely a wakeup call for Brady Berry’s squad; from that point until the end of the season, the Green and White went 13-3, outscoring opponents 69-28.

Denver definitely rebounded last year, going 31-9-1 and defeating Minnesota State 5-1 for the program’s ninth national title. That championship game was tied 1-1 until the 7:33 mark of the third period. The Pios would add two empty-net goals for the misleading final score.

Since Denver ended North Dakota’s season in 2019, UND has gone 10-2-1 against the Pios.

In the NCHC, it is clear that Denver/North Dakota is at the top of the league rivalries, with the two programs combining for seven NCHC regular season titles and averaging a top-three finish in the league standings each year (UND 2.2, DU 3.1).

The teams have played 39 times during the first nine seasons of the new conference (with UND going 19-13-7), but the feud goes all the way back to Geoff Paukovitch’ illegal check on Sioux forward Robbie Bina during the 2005 WCHA Final Five.

Since that 2005 Final Five contest (a Denver victory), the two teams have met thirteen times in tournament play. Denver won the 2005 NCAA title with a victory over North Dakota and claimed a 2008 WCHA Final Five win as well. UND has earned six victories and a tie in the last ten playoff games between the schools, including three consecutive victories in the WCHA Final Five (2010-2012), the 2011 NCAA Midwest Regional final which sent the Fighting Sioux to the Frozen Four, 2016’s thrilling Frozen Four semifinal (a 4-2 UND victory) in Tampa, Florida, and the 2017 NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinal in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Denver turned the tables by dispatching North Dakota in the first round of the league playoffs at Magness Arena to end the Fighting Hawks’ 2018-2019 campaign.

(It is impossible to bring up the Paukovitch/Bina incident without also writing that Brad Malone‘s check on Denver’s Jesse Martin during an October 2010 contest at Ralph Engelstad Arena fractured three of Martin’s vertebrae and ended the hockey career of the Atlanta Thrashers’ draft pick.)

The rivalry intensified two seasons ago, with the teams combining for 187 penalty minutes in six regular season games (the NCHC semifinal game featured just four minor penalties). The last contest between the squads in Denver saw a DU goaltender run over with nine minutes remaining, which ignited tempers further. That spilled over to the series in Grand Forks in February, with the Pioneers “winning” the penalty minute battle 54-29. North Dakota won the specialty teams battle, scoring two goals on ten man-advantage opportunities and blanking DU on its ten power play chances.

In Saturday’s series finale, North Dakota led on the scoreboard 5-2 thanks to two goals by Jasper Weatherby and 18 saves from Peter Thome, who started in place of injured netminder Adam Scheel. And how was Scheel injured, you might ask? Denver’s Kohen Olischefski ran Scheel from behind late in Friday’s 3-0 UND victory. Olischefski was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for goaltender interference and was issued an additional one-game suspension by the league office.

And in the only series played between the teams last year, the two sides combined for 78 penalty minutes and ten power play opportunities. UND swept the series 3-1 and 4-1, thanks in no small part to a 1-for-5 effort on the power play and a perfect penalty kill.

Nine 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 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 the CCHA reformed beginning with the 2021-2022 campaign.

The NCHC has been the premier hockey conference since its inception, and particularly over the past eight seasons. The eight teams in the league have gone 420-216-70 (.644) in non-conference action since the start of the 2014-15 season and sent twelve 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 2022) over that seven-year stretch (there was no national tournament in 2020). Conference members North Dakota (2016), Denver (2017, 2022), and Minnesota Duluth (2018, 2019) have won five of the last six national titles.

Turning our attention to this weekend’s matchup, a half-point per game or better is my benchmark for solid offensive production, and David Carle’s squad has eight active players who meet that threshold and THREE averaging a point per game or better: sophomore forward Massimo Rizzo (4-13-17), senior forward Casey Dornbach (5-9-14), sophomore forward Carter Mazur (10-3-13), sophomore forward Jack Devine (3-2-5), junior forward McKade Webster (1-1-2 in three games), freshman forward Aidan Thompson (0-1-1 in two games), junior defenseman Mike Benning (2-5-7), and sophomore defenseman Shai Buium (1-5-6). Rizzo was a former North Dakota recruit.

It is worth noting that DU lost its top four point-getters and six of the top ten from last year’s title team: forwards Bobby Brink (14-43-57), Cole Guttman (19-26-45), Carter Savoie (23-22-45), Brett Stapley (18-25-43), Cameron Wright (23-11-34), and Ryan Barrow (8-13-21) combined to score 105 of Denver’s 175 goals (60.0%) and 245 of the team’s 493 points (49.7%) a season ago.

By that same measure, North Dakota has twelve players at a half point or better, although two of those – senior forwards Gavin Hain (5-1-6 in seven games) and Carson Albrecht (1-0-1 in two games) – are injured and questionable to return to the lineup. Leading the way for UND are junior forward Riese Gaber (8-3-11), freshman forward Jackson Blake (4-5-9), graduate forward Mark Senden (3-3-6), sophomore forward Nick Portz (0-4-4), freshman forward Owen McLaughlin (0-5-5), sophomore forward Jake Schmaltz (3-2-5), junior forward Louis Jamernik V (0-5-5), graduate defensemen Chris Jandric (1-11-12), junior defenseman Cooper Moore (1-5-6), and senior defenseman Ethan Frisch (2-3-5).

UND is fifth in the nation in shooting percentage at an astounding 13.0% (33 goals on 253 shots). By comparison, Denver is 37th in the country at 9.3% (31 goals on 334 shots). The Pioneers average more than five additional shots on goal per game than the Fighting Hawks (33.4 – 28.1) and lead UND in both puck possession statistics (Corsi and Fenwick).

One key area to watch this weekend is the face-off circle. The Fighting Hawks are the nation’s tenth-best team on draws (53.9%), while Denver clocks in at 48.5% (40th).

For UND, sophomore Jake Schmaltz has been making a living on draws, winning 117 of 201 (58.2%). Junior Louis Jamernik V has been nearly even (81 of 164, 49.4), while freshman Owen McLaughlin has shown improvement (60 of 119, 50.4%). Sophomore Matteo Costantini has chipped in with 12 wins in 16 opportunities (75.0%).

For Denver, sophomore Massimo Rizzo has taken the majority of important draws, going 73 of 151 (48.3%). Sophomore Carter King has had the most success (55 of 107, 51.4%), while junior Carter Caponi (71 of 144, 49.3%) and sophomore Tristan Broz (40 of 84, 47.6%) have been steady but not spectacular.

To this point in the season, North Dakota has had far the better of the specialty teams play. UND has been a combined +10, with fourteen power play goals scored (14 for 44, 31.8%, 3rd in the country) and only four power play goals allowed (29 of 33, 87.9%, 8th). Denver has posted a +1, with eleven power play goals scored (11 of 47, 23.4%, 19th), eight power play goals allowed (26 of 34, 76.5%, 40th), and two shorthanded goals allowed.

North Dakota is 9th in the country in scoring offense (3.67 goals scored/game) but just 33rd in the country in scoring defense (2.89 goals allowed/game). Denver is 25th in the country in scoring offense (3.10 goals scored/game) but a more respectable 8th in scoring defense (2.10 goals allowed/game).

North Dakota is strong on the back end this season, with junior Tyler Kleven and senior Ethan Frisch leading the way. A trio of graduate students (Chris Jandric, Ty Farmer, and Ryan Sidorski) match up well with sophomore Brent Johnson and junior Cooper Moore to form a defensive corps not unlike the one that took UND all the way to the national title seven years ago.

Last season, Denver went 31-9-1 on the way to the program’s ninth national title. North Dakota (2-0 vs. the Pios) and Minnesota Duluth (3-2) were the only teams to beat DU more than once during the 2021-2022 campaign.

The Pioneers and Fighting Hawks will also tangle on February 10th and 11th at Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado.

Denver Team Profile

Head Coach: David Carle (5th season at DU, 93-46-13, .655)
National Rankings: #2/#2

This Season: 7-3-0 overall, 3-0-0-1 NCHC (1st)
Last Season: 31-9-1 overall (National Champions), 17-6-1-0 NCHC (1st)

2022-2023 Team Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.10 goals scored/game – 25th of 62 teams
Team Defense: 2.10 goals allowed/game – 8th of 62 teams

Power Play: 23.4% (11 of 47) – 19th of 62 teams
Penalty Kill: 76.5% (26 of 34) – 40th of 62 teams

Key players: Sophomore FMassimo Rizzo (4-13-17), Senior F Casey Dornbach (5-9-14), Sophomore F Carter Mazur (10-3-13), Sophomore F Jack Devine (3-2-5), Junior D Mike Benning (2-5-7), Sophomore D Shai Buium (1-5-6), Senior D Justin Lee (1-2-3), Senior G Magnus Chrona (6-3-0, 2.14 GAA, .911 SV%, 1 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (8th season at UND, 166-80-27, .658)
National Rankings: #10/#11

This Season: 4-3-2 overall, 1-0-0-1 NCHC (3rd)
Last Season: 24-14-1 overall (NCAA Regional Semifinalist), 17-6-1 NCHC (t-1st)

2022-2023 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.67 goals scored/game – 9th of 62 teams
Team Defense: 2.89 goals allowed/game – 33rd of 62 teams

Power Play: 31.8% (14 of 44) – 3rd of 62 teams
Penalty Kill: 87.9% (29 of 33) – 8th of 62 teams

Key Players: Junior F Riese Gaber (8-3-11), Sophomore F Jake Schmaltz (3-2-5), Junior F Louie Jamernik V (0-5-5), Graduate Student Mark Senden (3-3-6), Freshman F Jackson Blake (4-5-9), Senior F Gavin Hain (5-1-6 in seven games), Graduate Student D Chris Jandric (1-11-12), Senior D Ethan Frisch (2-3-5), Junior D Cooper Moore (1-5-6), Graduate Student G Drew DeRidder (3-2-1, 2.65 GAA, .906 SV%, 1 SO)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: November 6, 2021 (Grand Forks, ND). North Dakota built a two-goal lead after twenty minutes of play on goals by Matteo Costantini and Tyler Kleven and withstood a furious middle frame by the Pios, surrendering just a single goal on eight shots. In the third period, UND scored twice at 4-on-4 to win by a final margin of 4-1. In Friday’s opener, North Dakota’s Louis Jamernik scored twice, and the Fighting Hawks held Denver scoreless on five power play opportunities. The teams combined for 78 penalty minutes in the weekend series.

A Recent Memory: April 7, 2016 (Tampa, Florida). In the semifinals of the NCAA Frozen Four, the two league rivals squared off in a tightly-contested matchup. Senior forward Drake Caggiula scored twice early in the middle frame to stake UND to a 2-0 lead, but the Pioneers battled back with a pair of third period goals. The CBS line came through when it mattered most, with Nick Schmaltz scoring the game winner off of a faceoff win with 57 seconds remaining in the hockey game. North Dakota blocked 27 Denver shot attempts and goaltender Cam Johnson made 21 saves for the Fighting Hawks, who won the program’s eighth national title on the same sheet of ice two nights later.

Most Important Meeting: It’s hard to pick just one game, as the two teams have played four times for the national title. Denver defeated UND for the national championship in 1958, 1968, and 2005, while the Sioux downed the Pioneers in 1963. But the game that stands out in recent memory as “the one that got away” was DU’s 1-0 victory over the Fighting Sioux in the 2004 NCAA West Regional final (Colorado Springs, CO). That North Dakota team went 30-8-4 on the season (Dean Blais’ last behind the UND bench) and featured one of the deepest rosters in the past twenty years: Brandon Bochenski, Zach Parise, Brady Murray, Colby Genoway, Drew Stafford and David Lundbohm up front; Nick Fuher, Matt Jones, Matt Greene, and Ryan Hale on defense; and a couple of goaltending stalwarts in Jordan Parise and Jake Brandt.

Last Ten Games: The Fighting Hawks have an 8-2-0 (.800) advantage over the last ten games. UND has outscored DU 34-17 over that stretch, including a 22-6 scoreboard advantage in six home victories.

All-time Series: UND leads the all-time series, 156-130-16 (.543), including a massive 92-44-10 (.658) advantage in games played in Grand Forks. The teams first met in 1950, with North Dakota prevailing 18-3 in Denver. The 302 games played between the schools is the most among all of UND’s opponents.

Game News and Notes

Since Denver ended North Dakota’s season in 2019, UND has gone 10-2-1 against the Pios. DU is 5-1 at home this season but just 2-2 on the road. Fighting Hawks’ captain Mark Senden has faced Denver 19 times in his collegiate career, with one goal and seven assists in those contests. Eleven of Denver head coach David Carle’s 46 head coaching losses have come against UND. Last season, the Fighting Hawks won the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular season champions for the fifth time in the nine-year history of the league; the Pioneers have captured the Penrose only twice (2016-2017 and 2021-2022). Since seven of Michigan’s nine titles were earned by 1964, I consider Denver (nine titles) and North Dakota (eight titles) to be the top two men’s college hockey programs of all time.

On A Personal Note

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The Prediction

Denver’s roundabout travel plan will definitely have an effect on Friday’s opener. It will be interesting to see how this next chapter in the rivalry plays out. I expect North Dakota to trail for large stretches of this series as they have against tough opponents to this point in the season. Special teams seem to favor North Dakota, but the Fighting Hawks also have more scoring depth and might prefer to play long stretches at even strength. The difference may just come down to goaltending, but I have a feeling that there will be plenty of goals scored at the Ralph this weekend. UND 4-2, DU 4-3.

Broadcast Information

Both games this weekend will be broadcast live on Midco Sports 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.

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!

Weekend Preview: North Dakota at Omaha

#10/#11 North Dakota (3-3-1) will head to Nebraska this weekend to face Omaha (4-3-1) at Baxter Arena exactly eight months after securing the program’s third-consecutive Penrose Cup with a 5-4 overtime victory on that very same ice.

Before we dig into this weekend’s matchup, let’s take a quick look back at the past few games between the two teams…

On March 4th, 2022, North Dakota built a 4-2 advantage over the first two periods but gave up the lead in the third period, allowing a power play goal at 8:49 and an extra-attacker goal at 19:04. Less than 90 seconds into overtime, UND’s Tyler Kleven scored a 3-on-3 goal to secure yet another league championship for the Fighting Hawks. There was certainly a letdown the following night, as Omaha dispatched the visitors by a final score of 4-1.

One month earlier (Friday, February 4th), UND broke a 1-1 tie with three goals in the second period, including a 5-on-3 tally by Ethan Frisch with seven seconds remaining. In Saturday’s rematch, North Dakota built a 2-0 lead through two periods but could not hold off the Mavs, allowing two third-period goals less than three minutes apart and surrendering a 3-on-3 goal midway through the five-minute overtime session.

Saturday’s rematch marked the first time in 19 games between the teams that the team scoring first did not prevail.

And two seasons ago, the two teams tangled six times over the course of 36 days in the second half of the season, and familiarity bred contempt. To that point, a line brawl erupted in the final minute of the fourth meeting between the squads, a 7-1 North Dakota home victory which secured the Fighting Hawks’ second consecutive league championship and saw Brad Berry’s squad hoist the #PenneRosa for the fourth time in the eight-year history of the NCHC.

The Saturday melee in Grand Forks started with Omaha sophomore forward Joey Abate slashing UND’s Louis Jamernik on the wrist instead of attempting to win the faceoff. Jamernik responded with a cross-check, and the royal rumble was on. Not surprisingly, Abate did the same thing late in Friday’s game with North Dakota leading 4-1 and less than two minutes on the clock.

Despite the aforementioned Maverick ruffians, Omaha was the biggest surprise in the NCHC two seasons ago. Of course, I expected them to have good results playing at home in the pod (and they did, posting a record of 6-3-1), but I also expected them to regress in the second half. On the contrary, the Mavs went a combined 7-3 against Colorado College (4-0), Denver (2-2), and North Dakota (1-1) over the first ten games of the “normal travel” portion of the schedule, finished with an overall record of 14-11-1, and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time since their Frozen Four appearance in 2015. UNO ended its season with two consecutive losses; a 5-4 defeat at the hands of Denver in the opening round of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff and a 7-2 drubbing by #2 Minnesota in the NCAA West Regional (Loveland, CO). The Gophers would be blanked 4-0 in the regional final by #5 Minnesota State.

Omaha’s 2020-2021 campaign was buoyed by excellent results in close games, including four overtime victories, four wins by one goal in regulation, and a ninth in a shootout. The Mavericks’ two victories over UND last season were a 5-4 win on January 30th and a 3-2 overtime victory on March 5th. North Dakota defeated UNO by scores of 6-2, 4-1, 7-1, and 4-2 for a combined scoring margin of 27-14 over the six-game season series.

Omaha did not make the national tournament last season, finishing with a record of 21-17-0.

A half-point per game or better is my benchmark for solid offensive production, and Mike Gabinet’s 2022-2023 squad has eleven active players who meet that threshold, including eight forwards: senior Jack Randl (10-3-13), graduate student Tyler Weiss (2-7-9), sophomore Ty Mueller (2-5-7), graduate student Jake Pivonka (2-4-6), freshman Jacob Guevin (0-5-5), sophomore Cameron Berg (2-3-5), junior Matt Miller (1-3-4), and freshman Tyler Rollwagen (1-2-3 in six games). On defense, the Mavericks are led by sophomore Davis Pennington (0-5-5), freshman Joaquim Lemay (1-3-4), and graduate student Jonny Tychonick (1-3-4).

By that same measure, North Dakota has twelve players at a half point or better, although at least one of those – senior forward Gavin Hain (5-1-6 in 7 games) – will not be in the lineup this weekend due to injury. Leading the way for UND are forwards Riese Gaber (5-3-8), Jackson Blake (4-4-8), Jake Schmaltz (3-2-5), Louis Jamernik V (0-5-5), and Mark Senden (3-2-5) and defensemen Chris Jandric (1-10-11), Ethan Frisch (1-3-4), and Cooper Moore (1-3-4).

UND is tops in the nation in shooting percentage at an astounding 15.1% (26 goals on 172 shots). By comparison, Omaha is 21st in the country at 10.9% (27 goals on 247 shots). The Mavericks average more than six additional shots on goal per game than the FIghting Hawks (30.9 – 24.6) and lead UND in both puck possession statistics (Corsi and Fenwick).

One key area to watch this weekend is the face-off circle. The Fighting Hawks are the nation’s eighth-best team on draws (55.2%), while Omaha clocks in at 52.7% (16th).

For UND, sophomore Jake Schmaltz has been making a living on draws, winning 91 of 153 (59.5%). Junior Louis Jamernik V has been nearly even (66 of 130, 50.8%), while freshman Owen McLaughlin has shown improvement (48 of 89, 53.9%). Sophomore Matteo Costantini has chippied in with 12 wins in 16 opportunities (75.0%).

For Omaha, graduate student Jake Pivonka has taken the majority of important draws, going 69 of 128 (53.9%). Senior captain Nolan Sullivan has had the most success (58 of 104, 55.8%), while sophomore Ty Mueller (59 of 111, 53.2%) has been a steady third option.

To this point in the season, North Dakota has had far the better of the specialty teams play. UND has been a combined +8, with twelve power play goals scored (12 for 35, 34.3%, 2nd in the country) and only four power play goals allowed (19 of 23, 82.6%, 24th). Omaha has posted a +1, with ten power play goals scored (10 of 33, 30.3%, 5th), eight power play goals allowed (28 of 36, 77.8%, 37th), one shorthanded goal scored, and two shorthanded goals allowed.

North Dakota is 11th in the country in scoring offense (3.71 goals scored/game) but just 41st in the country in scoring defense (3.14 goals allowed/game). Omaha is 17th in the country in scoring offense (3.38 goals scored/game) but a more respectable 21st in scoring defense (2.50 goals allowed/game).

North Dakota is strong on the back end this season, with junior Tyler Kleven and senior Ethan Frisch leading the way. A trio of graduate students (Chris Jandric, Ty Farmer, and Ryan Sidorski) match up well with sophomore Brent Johnson and junior Cooper Moore to form a defensive corps not unlike the one that took UND all the way to the national title seven years ago.

Omaha Team Profile

Head Coach: Mike Gabinet (6th season at UNO, 79-89-12, .472)
National Rankings: NR/NR

This Season: 4-3-1 overall
Last Season: 21-17-0 overall, 9-12-2-1 NCHC (6th)

Team Offense: 3.38 goals scored/game – 17th of 62 teams
Team Defense: 2.50 goals allowed/game – 21st of 62 teams

Power Play: 30.3% (10 of 33) – 5th of 62 teams
Penalty Kill: 77.8% (28 of 36) – 37th of 62 teams

Key Players: Senior F Jack Randl (10-3-13), Graduate Student F Tyler Weiss (2-7-9), Sophomore F Ty Mueller (2-5-7), Graduate Student Jake Pivonka (2-4-6), Sophomore F Cameron Berg (2-3-5), Sophomore D Davis Pennington (0-5-5), Freshman D Joaquim Lemay (1-3-4), Graduate Student D Jonny Tychonick (1-3-4), Junior G Jake Kucharski (2-2-1, 1.85 GAA, .913 SV%)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (8th season at UND, 165-80-26, .657)
National Rankings: #10/#11

This Season: 3-3-1 overall, 0-0-0 NCHC
Last Season: 24-14-1 overall (NCAA Regional Semifinalist), 17-6-1 NCHC (t-1st)

2022-23 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.71 goals scored/game – 11th of 62 teams
Team Defense: 3.14 goals allowed/game – 41st of 62 teams

Power Play: 34.3% (12 of 35) – 2nd of 62 teams
Penalty Kill: 82.6% (19 of 23) – 24th of 62 teams

Key Players: Junior F Riese Gaber (5-3-8), Sophomore F Jake Schmaltz (3-2-5), Junior F Louie Jamernik V (0-5-5), Graduate Student Mark Senden (3-2-5), Freshman F Jackson Blake (4-4-8), Graduate Student D Chris Jandric (1-10-11), Senior D Ethan Frisch (1-3-4), Junior D Cooper Moore (1-3-4), Graduate Student G Drew DeRidder (2-2-0, 3.00 GAA, .903 SV%, 1 SO)

By The Numbers:

Last meeting: March 5, 2022 (Omaha, NE). The Mavericks’ Chase Primeau scored twice and added an assist as the homestanding Mavs upended the Fighting Hawks 4-1. One night earlier, North Dakota built a 4-2 lead over the first two periods but gave up the lead in the third period, allowing a power play goal at 8:49 and an extra-attacker goal at 19:04. Less than 90 seconds into overtime, UND’s Tyler Kleven scored a 3-on-3 goal to secure yet another league championship for the Fighting Hawks. There was certainly a letdown the following night, as Omaha dispatched the visitors by a final score of 4-1.

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.

Last ten: North Dakota has won six of the last ten contests between the schools, outscoring the Mavericks 39-26 over that stretch. Three of the last five games have gone to overtime, with two of those going the way of Omaha by identical 3-2 scores.

All-time: UND leads the all-time series 30-17-1 (.635), including a 15-8-0 (.652) record in games played in Omaha. North Dakota owns a record of 25-14-1 (.638) against the Mavericks since both teams joined the NCHC. The teams first met on November 19, 2010.

Game News and Notes

Omaha’s Jack Randl and Denver’s Carter Mazur are tied for the most goals in the nation with ten goals each through eight games. 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. Since joining the WCHA in 2011 (and later the NCHC), the Mavs have never reached the Twin Cities for the second weekend of the conference tournament despite having home ice in three of those eight years. North Dakota’s Brad Berry is 21-11-0 (.656) in his head coaching career against Omaha. In 20 of the past 21 contests in this series, the winning team is the one which scores the first goal.

The Prediction

While North Dakota has been battling Quinnipiac, Minnesota, and Arizona State, Omaha has matched up against Niagara, Lake Superior, Alaska, and Long Island. In the conference opener for both schools, expect tensions to be high. I expect both games to be high scoring, with each side having success on the power play. This feels like a split, although I wouldn’t be surprised if the Fighting Hawks do better than that. UND 4-3, UNO 4-3.

Broadcast Information

Both games this weekend will be broadcast live on Midco Sports 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.

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!

U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game Preview: UND vs. Arizona State

North Dakota’s first destination game took place ten years ago, as UND hosted Clarkson at Bell MTS Place, home of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. The five showcase events that have built up to this Saturday night have almost all gone the way of the Green and White:

2012: Bell MTS Place (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
North Dakota 3, Clarkson 1

2013: T.D. Ameritrade Park (Omaha, Nebraska)
North Dakota 5, Omaha 2

2016: Madison Square Garden (New York City)
North Dakota 4, Boston College 3

2018: Orleans Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada)
North Dakota 3, Minnesota 1

2021: Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, Tennessee)
Penn State 6, North Dakota 4

This writer was able to witness the last three performances firsthand, and while it is difficult to measure “which team wants it more”, it is clear that the UND hockey program does not take these opportunities for granted.

On Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada), #6/#7 North Dakota (3-2-1) will face off against unranked Arizona State (4-4-0); the two teams have never met on the ice. The Sun Devils have competed at the Division I level in men’s ice hockey as an independent since the 2015-2016 season and have had mixed results across those seven campaigns:

2015-2018 (three seasons): 21-62-8 (.275)

2018-2020 (two seasons): 43-24-4 (.634) and two NCAA tournament bids

2020-2022 (three seasons): 46-44-7 (.510)

Greg Powers has been the only head coach in Arizona State Division I men’s hockey history. Powers, a former goaltender from the Sun Devils’ club level (WCHL/ACHA) days, graduated from ASU in 1999 and is a member of the Arizona State Athletic Hall of Fame.

Because last year’s North Dakota – Penn State contest was pushed back one year due to COVID-19, UND fans have the opportunity to travel to a destination game for the second consecutive season this weekend. The Green and White return to Las Vegas but will see an upgrade in facilities (and capacity) by hosting at T-Mobile Arena, home of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. At Orleans Arena, the announced attendance was a sold-out 7412. T-Mobile has a capacity of 17,500 for ice hockey. North Dakota and Arizona State have never met on the ice.

Since it is difficult to compare teams that have never faced off, we need to look deeply into the won-loss records for both sides this season:

Arizona State (4-4-0):

October 1st: 2-3 (OT) road loss at #19 Minnesota Duluth
October 2nd: 1-4 road loss at #19 Minnesota Duluth
October 7th: 3-0 road win at Bemidji State
October 8th: 4-5 (OT) road loss at Bemidji State
October 14th: 2-0 home win over Colgate
October 15th: 0-4 home loss to Colgate
October 21st: 5-3 home win over Colorado College
October 22nd: 6-1 home win over Colorado College

North Dakota (3-2-1):

October 7th: 6-0 home win over Holy Cross
October 8th: 4-1 home win over Holy Cross
October 14th: 5-5 home tie vs. #7 Quinnipiac
October 15th: 2-6 home loss to #7 Quinnipiac
October 21st: 2-3 (OT) road loss at #1 Minnesota
October 22nd: 5-4 (OT) road win over #1 Minnesota

After this year’s contest, it will be at least several seasons before North Dakota plans another destination game. Cities that have been mentioned in the past are Anaheim, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, or Tampa.

Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports that fans traveled to the 2018 Vegas game from 44 states; as of Friday afternoon, he had heard of travelers from 43 different states this time around (and yes, Alaska and Hawaii are represented!). The only states without a pin on the map are Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia.

After tonight’s “neutral site’” Hall Of Fame Game matchup against Arizona State, three of UND’s four non-conference games during the 2022-2023 campaign will be played at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks:

November 25th: at Bemidji State
November 26th: vs. Bemidji State
January 6th: vs. Lindenwood
January 7th: vs. Lindenwood

UND is tops in the nation in shooting percentage at an astounding 15.3% (24 goals on 157 shots). By comparison, Arizona State is 23rd in the country at 10.6% (23 goals on 218 shots). This means that although ASU generates more shots per game (27.3 to UND’s 26.2), North Dakota has outscored the Sun Devils to this point in the season despite playing in two fewer games. The Fighting Hawks also lead ASU in both Corsi and Fenwick, two key puck possession statistics.

One key area to watch this weekend is the face-off circle. The Fighting Hawks are the nation’s tenth-best team on draws (55.2%), while Minnesota clocks in at just 45.8% (46th).

For UND, sophomore Jake Schmaltz has been making a living on draws, winning 75 of 126 (59.5%). Junior Louis Jamernik V has won 59 of 112 (52.7%), while freshman Owen McLaughlin has been nearly even (40 of 79, 50.6%). Sophomore Matteo Costantini has chippied in with 12 wins in 16 opportunities (75.0%).

For the Sun Devils, senior Robert Mastrosimone has had the most success on faceoffs, winning 58 of 120 (48.3%). After that, it’s been more of a challenge, with sophomore Jack Jensen (41 of 88, 46.6%) and senior Ty Jackson (25 of 64, 39.1%) both struggling.

To this point in the season, North Dakota has had far the better of the specialty teams play. UND has been a combined +9, with eleven power play goals scored (11 for 31, 35.5%, 2nd in the country) and only two power play goals allowed (18 of 20, 90.0%, 7th). Arizona State has posted a-1, with six power play goals scored (6 of 25, 24.0%, 22nd) and seven allowed (25 of 32, 78.1%, 35th). The Fighting Hawks scored four power play goals last weekend on seven man-advantage opportunities at #1 Minnesota.

North Dakota is 5th in the country in scoring offense (4.00 goals scored/game) but just 34th in the country in scoring defense (3.17 goals allowed/game) after allowing eighteen goals over the past two weekends against Quinnipiac and Minnesota. Arizona State is 27th in the country in scoring offense (2.88 goals scored/game) but a more respectable 17th in scoring defense (2.50 goals allowed/game).

North Dakota is strong on the back end this season, with junior Tyler Kleven and senior Ethan Frisch leading the way. A trio of graduate students (Chris Jandric, Ty Farmer, and Ryan Sidorski) match up well with sophomore Brent Johnson and junior Cooper Moore to form a defensive corps not unlike the one that took UND all the way to the national title seven years ago.

Arizona State Team Profile

Head Coach: Greg Powers (8th season at ASU, 92-123-16, .433)
National Ranking: NR/NR
This Season: 4-4-0 overall
Last Season:

Team Offense: 2.88 goals scored/game – 27th of 56 teams
Team Defense: 2.50 goals allowed/game – 17th of 56 teams
Power Play: 24.0% (6 of 25) – 22nd of 56 teams
Penalty Kill: 78.1% (25 of 32) – 35th of 56 teams

Key Players: Senior F Lukas Sillinger (1-5-6), Sophomore F Josh Doan (2-4-6), Senior F Robert Mastrosimone (4-2-6), Graduate Student F Demetrios Koumontzis (3-1-4), Sophomore F Jack Jensen (1-3-4), Senior F Ty Jackson (1-3-4), Junior F Ryan O’Reilly (2-2-4), Junior D Tim Lovell (1-4-5), Sophomore D Ethan Szmagaj (0-3-3), Sophomore G TJ Semptimphelter (4-4-0, 2.48 GAA, .933 SV%, 2 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (8th season at UND, 165-79-26, .659)
National Rankings: #6/#7

This Season: 3-2-1 overall, 0-0-0 NCHC
Last Season: 24-14-1 overall (NCAA Regional Semifinalist), 17-6-1 NCHC (t-1st)

2022-23 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 4.00 goals scored/game – 5th of 56 teams
Team Defense: 3.17 goals allowed/game – 34th of 56 teams

Power Play: 35.5% (11 of 31) – 2nd of 56 teams
Penalty Kill: 90.0% (18 of 20) – 7th of 56 teams

Key Players: Junior F Riese Gaber (5-2-7), Sophomore F Jake Schmaltz (2-2-4), Junior F Louie Jamernik V (0-5-5), Senior F Gavin Hain (4-1-5), Graduate Student Mark Senden (3-2-5), Freshman F Jackson Blake (4-4-8), Graduate Student D Chris Jandric (1-9-10), Senior D Ethan Frisch (1-3-4), Sophomore D Brent Johnson (0-3-3), Junior D Cooper Moore (1-3-4), Graduate Student G Drew DeRidder (2-1-0, 2.97 GAA, .912 SV%, 1 SO)

Game News and Notes

Only two players on UND’s roster played in the 2018 Vegas game: Gavin Hain and Mark Senden. The Fighting Hawks went 2 of 6 on the power play last weekend. North Dakota has outscored opponents 9-4 in the first period this season.

Media Coverage

Tonight’s game can be seen live on Midco Sports or online at NCHC.tv. All UND men’s hockey games, home and away, can be heard on stations across the UND Sports Home of Economy Radio Network as well as through the iHeart Radio app.

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

Any time two teams meet for the first time, there is a feeling-out process. Expect some tentative play in the first ten minutes or so, with ebbs and flows of momentum throughout the game. As always, goaltending and specialty teams will both play a huge factor in this one, with the “neutral” crowd at T-Mobile Arena providing an edge for the Green and White. North Dakota has a talent advantage and is coming off of a strong weekend at #1 Minnesota. Under the neon lights of Las Vegas, I see the Fighting Hawks rising to the occasion. UND 4, ASU 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!

Minnesota Team Profile

Head Coach: Bob Motzko (5th season at Minnesota, 87-51-11, .590)
National Rankings: #1/#1

This Season: 3-1-0 overall, 0-0-0-0 Big Ten
Last Season: 26-13-0 (NCAA Frozen Four participant), 17-4-1-2 Big Ten (1st of 7 teams)

2022-23 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 4.00 goals scored/game – 7th of 56 teams
Team Defense: 2.00 goals allowed/game – 9th of 56 teams

Power Play: 26.3% (5 of 19) – 21st of 56 teams
Penalty Kill: 84.6% (11 of 13) – 19th of 56 teams

Key Players: Sophomore F Rhett Pitlick (0-5-5), Freshman F Logan Cooley (2-3-5), Freshman F Jimmy Snuggerud (4-0-4), Senior F Jaxon Nelson (1-2-3), Sophomore F Matthew Knies (2-1-3), Senior D Jackson LaCombe (0-4-4), Senior D Ryan Johnson (0-4-4), Junior D Brock Faber (1-2-3), Senior G Justen Close (2-1-0, 1.34 GAA, .941 SV%, 1 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (8th season at UND, 164-78-26, .660)
National Rankings: #7/#7

This Season: 2-1-1 overall, 0-0-0 NCHC
Last Season: 24-14-1 overall (NCAA Regional Semifinalist), 17-6-1 NCHC (t-1st)

2022-23 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 4.25 goals scored/game – 5th of 56 teams
Team Defense: 3.00 goals allowed/game – 28th of 56 teams

Power Play: 29.2% (7 of 24) – 14th of 56 teams
Penalty Kill: 92.9% (13 of 14) – 5th of 56 teams

Key Players: Junior F Riese Gaber (3-1-4), Sophomore F Jake Schmaltz (1-1-2), Junior F Louie Jamernik V (0-4-4), Senior F Gavin Hain (4-0-4), Graduate Student Mark Senden (1-2-3), Freshman F Jackson Blake (3-3-6), Senior D Ethan Frisch (1-1-2), Sophomore D Brent Johnson (0-3-3), Graduate Student D Chris Jandric (1-6-7), Junior D Cooper Moore (1-2-3), Graduate Student G Drew DeRidder (1-0-0, 2.26 GAA, .912 SV%, 1 SO)

By The Numbers

Last meeting: November 27, 2021 (Grand Forks, ND). One night after falling 5-1 to the visiting Gophers, the homestanding Hawks scored a goal in each period to build a 3-0 lead. Minnesota goals at 7:35 (power play) and 16:30 (extra attacker) of the final frame left the outcome in doubt, but the Maroon and Gold could not find the equalizer in the closing minutes and had to settle for a road split. UND outshot Minnesota 26-13 for the contest and were led offensively by Mark Senden, who assisted on the first North Dakota goal and scored twice to lead the Green and White to victory.

Last meeting in Minneapolis: November 29, 2019. UND built a 3-1 lead through two periods of play and made that lead hold up in a 3-2 victory which secured a rare road sweep of the Gophers for the Fighting Hawks. Eight different players found their way on the scoresheet for the Green and White. North Dakota won Friday’s opener by an eye-popping final score of 9-3.

What Happens In Vegas: October 27, 2018 (Las Vegas, NV). The “Duel in the Desert” left #5 Minnesota feeling high and dry as #17 North Dakota played the Gophers even through a scoreless opening period before outshooting their guests 25-12 over the final forty minutes of play. UND’s Colton Poolman scored two goals for the Fighting Hawks, while fellow blueliner Hayden Shaw assisted on all three goals in a 3-1 North Dakota victory. Attendance was recorded as 412 Gopher fans and 7000 fans of the Green and White.

Most important meeting: March 24, 1979 (Detroit, MI). North Dakota and Minnesota met to decide the national championship, and the Gophers prevailed, 4-3. Neal Broten scored the game-winning goal for the U of M, and Steve Janaszak was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

All-time: Minnesota leads the all-time series by a seven-game margin, 141-134-15 (.512), including a 75-53-8 (.581) advantage in games played in Minneapolis. The teams first met in 1948.

Last ten: North Dakota has gone 5-4-1 in the last ten meetings between the schools, outscoring Minnesota 30-24 in those games.

Game News and Notes

North Dakota first-year forward Jackson Blake has six points in his first four collegiate games, the first UND freshman to record six points in his first four games since T.J. Oshie (2005-06). The Golden Gophers made the 2022 NCAA Frozen Four, but were trounced by Minnesota State by a final score of 5-1 in the national semifinal. In 2019, UND’s last visit to Minneapolis ended in a sweep for the Fighting Hawks, the first since January 2007. In an effort to alleviate parking concerns, Minnesota fans are asked to park in St. Paul and walk to 3M Arena at Mariucci.

Broadcast Information

Friday’s contest will be broadcast live on Bally Sports North Extra, while Saturday’s rematch will be shown live on Bally Sports North. Both games are also available via webcast at B1G+. 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).

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

Let’s get this out of the way first: Minnesota is ranked higher than North Dakota and is playing at home, but I think both of these games will be close. UND is deep enough up front that having last line change may not matter for Bob Motzko. However, Minnesota still has two advantages: experience on the wider sheet of ice and a raucous home crowd. Well, make that one advantage. The last time these two teams tangled in Minneapolis, the crowd was heavily tilted toward the Green and White. It should be 60-40 either way this weekend, with many fans traveling down I-94 and a large North Dakota alumni base in the Twin Cities. I’m looking at a few key factors: faceoffs, goaltending, and the ability to score in bunches. Either one of these teams could ride the wave of momentum to victory, and in a rivalry matchup, whichever team keeps unnecessary penalties to a minimum has the advantage.
I know it feels like a cop-out to call a split, but it’s too early in the season for one team to have that much of an advantage. UND 4-3, Minnesota 4-2.

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!

Weekend Preview: North Dakota at Minnesota

Quite simply, North Dakota vs. Minnesota is a hockey rivalry unlike any other.

#7 North Dakota (2-1-1) is six years removed from its eighth national championship but has made the national tournament in each of the past three seasons and has gone a remarkable 72-25-6 (.728) over that stretch.

#1 Minnesota (3-1-0) has only advanced to the NCAAs twice in the last five seasons (and only seven of the past fourteen) and is stuck on five national titles, the most recent in 2002 and 2003.

More to the point…

The Golden Gophers played from 1947-1973 without a title (26 seasons).

Head coach Herb Brooks led Minnesota to three NCAA championships in a six year stretch (1974, 1976, and 1979).

The Golden Gophers then played from 1979-2001 without a title (22 seasons).

Head coach Don Lucia won back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003.

This year will mark the twentieth anniversary of Minnesota’s most recent NCAA crown.

North Dakota has been relevant in every decade, with head coaches Bob May, Barry Thorndycraft, John “Gino” Gasparini, Dean Blais, and Brad Berry all lifting college hockey’s most coveted trophy.

Here is a closer look at the thirteen combined national titles won by these two storied programs.

Despite only nine tournament victories since Minnesota’s last title (UND has 22 in that same span), Gophers’ head coach Don Lucia was inexplicably given a two-year extension that was supposed to keep him behind the bench through the 2018-19 campaign. After the Gophers sputtered to a 19-17-2 record five seasons ago. Lucia was replaced by former St. Cloud State bench boss Bob Motzko.

Motzko, who guided St. Cloud State to the national tournament eight times in his thirteen seasons behind the SCSU bench, only managed an overall NCAA tourney record of 5-8 and one Frozen Four appearance with the Huskies.

After this season, there is one series remaining in the current contract between the teams, to be played at Ralph Engelstad Arena (Grand Forks, North Dakota) during the 2023-24 campaign.

The two teams will not play during the 2024-25 regular season, but there is hope that the rivalry will continue in future seasons.

Minnesota can no longer lay claim to having a roster made up exclusively of the State of Hockey’s “Pride On Ice”, with players hailing from Phoenix (Arizona), Irvine (California), Fenton (Michigan), Northville (Michigan), Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), and Kindersley (Saskatchewan). Future recruits in the pipeline hail from Bethel Park (Pennsylvania), Newburyport (Massachusetts), and Morristown (New Jersey).

So far this season, North Dakota has swept Holy Cross and battled #3 Quinnipiac to a tie and a loss. Minnesota swept Lindenwood and split a home-and-home series with #2 Minnesota State.

After this weekend’s road series at Minnesota, UND’s other non-conference opponents during the 2022-2023 campaign will be Arizona State (Hall Of Fame Game in Las Vegas, “neutral”), Bemidji State (home and home), and Lindenwood (home).

It is abundantly clear that North Dakota will have the puck a lot this season, and the numbers bear that out. Through four games, the Fighting Hawks are fourth in the nation in shots on goal allowed/game (22.8) and are among the country’s leaders in two key puck possession statistics:

Corsi (% of shots taken vs. opponent): 56.1%
Fenwick (% of unblocked shots taken vs. opponent): 55.1%

By comparison, Minnesota is just a shade above the Fighting Hawks in Corsi (57.1%) and Fenwick (55.7%) and is averaging 32.8 shots on goal per game (North Dakota is averaging 29.8/game).

Despite the Golden Gophers’ shot advantage through four games, UND has scored 17 goals to Minnesota’s 16. The difference? More North Dakota shots are going in the net. The Fighting Hawks are scoring on 14.3% of their chances (more than one goal on every seven shots), good for 2nd in the nation. Minnesota has scored on 12.2% of its shots on goal (13th).

One key area to watch this weekend is the face-off circle. The Fighting Hawks are the nation’s third-best team on draws (59.0%), while Minnesota clocks in at just 51.3% (28th).

For UND, sophomore Jake Schmaltz has been making a living on draws, winning 60 of 89 (67.4%). Junior Louis Jamernik V has won 38 of 70 (54.3%), while freshman Owen McLaughlin has been dead even (28 of 56). Sophomore Matteo Costantini has chippied in with 12 wins in 16 opportunities (75.0%).

For the Gophers, senior Jaxon Nelson has had the most success on faceoffs, winning 37 of 65 (56.9%). After that, however, it’s been a challenge, with sophomore Aaron Huglen (29 of 59, 49.2%) and freshmen Logan Cooley (19 of 49, 38.8%) and Garrett Pinoniemi (21 of 41, 51.2%) struggling to keep their heads above water.

To this point in the season, North Dakota has had the better of the specialty teams play. UND has been a combined +6, with seven power play goals scored (7 for 24, 29.2%, 14th in the country) and only one power play goal allowed (13 of 14, 92.9%, 5th). Minnesota has posted a +3, with five power play goals scored (5 of 19, 26.3%, 21st) and two allowed (11 of 13, 84.6%, 19th).

In this rivalry, scoring from the back end has often proved to be the difference. This weekend, the two groups of defensemen have each scored a total of 16 points through four games played. UND is led by graduate student Chris Jandric (1-6-7), sophomore Brent Johnson (0-3-3), and junior Cooper Moore (1-2-3), with senior Ethan Frisch (1-1-2) and graduate student Ty Farmer (0-1-1) also chipping in. Minnesota counters with seniors Jackson LaCombe (0-4-4) and Ryan Johnson (0-4-4), juniors Brock Fabe (1-2-3) and Mike Koster (1-1-2), and freshmen Ryan Chesley (0-2-2) and Luke Middelstadt 0-1-1).

Up front, the Fighting Hawks are led by junior Riese Gaber (3-1-4), senior Gavin Hain (4-0-4), freshman Jackson Blake (3-3-6), junior Louis Jamernik V (0-4-4), and graduate student Mark Senden (1-2-3). The Golden Gophers’ forward leaders include sophomore Rhett Pitlick (0-5-5), freshman Logan Cooley (2-3-5), freshman Jimmy Snuggerud (4-0-4), senior Jaxon Nelson (1-2-3), sophomore Matthew Knies (2-1-3), and freshman Connor Kurth (2-0-2).

North Dakota is 5th in the country in scoring offense (4.25 goals scored/game) but just 28th in the country in scoring defense (3.00 goals allowed/game) after allowing eleven goals last weekend against Quinnipiac. Minnesota is 7th in the country in scoring offense (4.00 goals scored/game) and a more respectable 9th in scoring defense (2.00 goals allowed/game).

I expect Brad Berry to reunite the Mark SendenLouis Jamernik VGavin Hain line for this road series and attempt to play them against the Jaxon Nelson line or the Logan Cooley line as much as possible. The question will be whether that allows Minnesota’s all-freshman line of Connor Kurth, Garrett Pinoniemi, and Brody Lamb more time and space to light the lamp.

UND will also need to watch out for Matthew Knies, Jimmy Snuggerud, Bryce Brodzinski, and Mason Nevers if they hope to find success this weekend.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes the UND coaching staff to try Jackson Blake and Riese Gaber on a line together, perhaps with #1 center Jake Schmaltz. If this is not the case this weekend, we could see Blake skating with Owen McLaughlin and Dylan James while Gaber skates with Schmaltz and Matteo Costantini. That leaves Judd Caulfield on a line with some combination of Ben Strinden, Griffin Ness, or Carson Albrecht.

North Dakota is strong on the back end this season, with junior Tyler Kleven and senior Ethan Frisch leading the way. A trio of graduate students (Chris Jandric, Ty Farmer, and Ryan Sidorski) match up well with sophomore Brent Johnson and junior Cooper Moore to form a defensive corps not unlike the one that took UND all the way to the national title seven years ago.

Minnesota Team Profile

Head Coach: Bob Motzko (5th season at Minnesota, 87-51-11, .590)
National Rankings: #1/#1

This Season: 3-1-0 overall, 0-0-0-0 Big Ten
Last Season: 26-13-0 (NCAA Frozen Four participant), 17-4-1-2 Big Ten (1st of 7 teams)

2022-23 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 4.00 goals scored/game – 7th of 56 teams
Team Defense: 2.00 goals allowed/game – 9th of 56 teams

Power Play: 26.3% (5 of 19) – 21st of 56 teams
Penalty Kill: 84.6% (11 of 13) – 19th of 56 teams

Key Players: Sophomore F Rhett Pitlick (0-5-5), Freshman F Logan Cooley (2-3-5), Freshman F Jimmy Snuggerud (4-0-4), Senior F Jaxon Nelson (1-2-3), Sophomore F Matthew Knies (2-1-3), Senior D Jackson LaCombe (0-4-4), Senior D Ryan Johnson (0-4-4), Junior D Brock Faber (1-2-3), Senior G Justen Close (2-1-0, 1.34 GAA, .941 SV%, 1 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (8th season at UND, 164-78-26, .660)
National Rankings: #7/#7

This Season: 2-1-1 overall, 0-0-0 NCHC
Last Season: 24-14-1 overall (NCAA Regional Semifinalist), 17-6-1 NCHC (t-1st)

2022-23 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 4.25 goals scored/game – 5th of 56 teams
Team Defense: 3.00 goals allowed/game – 28th of 56 teams

Power Play: 29.2% (7 of 24) – 14th of 56 teams
Penalty Kill: 92.9% (13 of 14) – 5th of 56 teams

Key Players: Junior F Riese Gaber (3-1-4), Sophomore F Jake Schmaltz (1-1-2), Junior F Louie Jamernik V (0-4-4), Senior F Gavin Hain (4-0-4), Graduate Student Mark Senden (1-2-3), Freshman F Jackson Blake (3-3-6), Senior D Ethan Frisch (1-1-2), Sophomore D Brent Johnson (0-3-3), Graduate Student D Chris Jandric (1-6-7), Junior D Cooper Moore (1-2-3), Graduate Student G Drew DeRidder (1-0-0, 2.26 GAA, .912 SV%, 1 SO)

By The Numbers

Last meeting: November 27, 2021 (Grand Forks, ND). One night after falling 5-1 to the visiting Gophers, the homestanding Hawks scored a goal in each period to build a 3-0 lead. Minnesota goals at 7:35 (power play) and 16:30 (extra attacker) of the final frame left the outcome in doubt, but the Maroon and Gold could not find the equalizer in the closing minutes and had to settle for a road split. UND outshot Minnesota 26-13 for the contest and were led offensively by Mark Senden, who assisted on the first North Dakota goal and scored twice to lead the Green and White to victory.

Last meeting in Minneapolis: November 29, 2019. UND built a 3-1 lead through two periods of play and made that lead hold up in a 3-2 victory which secured a rare road sweep of the Gophers for the Fighting Hawks. Eight different players found their way on the scoresheet for the Green and White. North Dakota won Friday’s opener by an eye-popping final score of 9-3.

What Happens In Vegas: October 27, 2018 (Las Vegas, NV). The “Duel in the Desert” left #5 Minnesota feeling high and dry as #17 North Dakota played the Gophers even through a scoreless opening period before outshooting their guests 25-12 over the final forty minutes of play. UND’s Colton Poolman scored two goals for the Fighting Hawks, while fellow blueliner Hayden Shaw assisted on all three goals in a 3-1 North Dakota victory. Attendance was recorded as 412 Gopher fans and 7000 fans of the Green and White.

Most important meeting: March 24, 1979 (Detroit, MI). North Dakota and Minnesota met to decide the national championship, and the Gophers prevailed, 4-3. Neal Broten scored the game-winning goal for the U of M, and Steve Janaszak was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

All-time: Minnesota leads the all-time series by a seven-game margin, 141-134-15 (.512), including a 75-53-8 (.581) advantage in games played in Minneapolis. The teams first met in 1948.

Last ten: North Dakota has gone 5-4-1 in the last ten meetings between the schools, outscoring Minnesota 30-24 in those games.

Game News and Notes

North Dakota first-year forward Jackson Blake has six points in his first four collegiate games, the first UND freshman to record six points in his first four games since T.J. Oshie (2005-06). The Golden Gophers made the 2022 NCAA Frozen Four, but were trounced by Minnesota State by a final score of 5-1 in the national semifinal. In 2019, UND’s last visit to Minneapolis ended in a sweep for the Fighting Hawks, the first since January 2007. In an effort to alleviate parking concerns, Minnesota fans are asked to park in St. Paul and walk to 3M Arena at Mariucci.

Broadcast Information

Friday’s contest will be broadcast live on Bally Sports North Extra, while Saturday’s rematch will be shown live on Bally Sports North. Both games are also available via webcast at B1G+. 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).

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

Let’s get this out of the way first: Minnesota is ranked higher than North Dakota and is playing at home, but I think both of these games will be close. UND is deep enough up front that having last line change may not matter for Bob Motzko. However, Minnesota still has two advantages: experience on the wider sheet of ice and a raucous home crowd. Well, make that one advantage. The last time these two teams tangled in Minneapolis, the crowd was heavily tilted toward the Green and White. It should be 60-40 either way this weekend, with many fans traveling down I-94 and a large North Dakota alumni base in the Twin Cities. I’m looking at a few key factors: faceoffs, goaltending, and the ability to score in bunches. Either one of these teams could ride the wave of momentum to victory, and in a rivalry matchup, whichever team keeps unnecessary penalties to a minimum has the advantage.
I know it feels like a cop-out to call a split, but it’s too early in the season for one team to have that much of an advantage. UND 4-3, Minnesota 4-2.

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!

Weekend Preview: North Dakota vs. Quinnipiac

In 23 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 three national tournaments and seven of the past nine, 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).

Last year, 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, the only time that Quinnipiac has played in the Central Time Zone in the past decade.

Aside from their two tournament clashes, North Dakota and Quinnipiac have faced each other on two other occasions:

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.

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.

It is fairly difficult to compare teams from different conferences, but there are some measurables. The NCHC has been the premier hockey conference since its inception, and particularly over the past eight seasons. The eight teams in the league have gone 401-197-68 (.653) in non-conference action since the start of the 2014-15 season and sent twelve 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) over that seven-year stretch (there was no national tournament in 2020). Conference members North Dakota (2016), Denver (2017, 2022), and Minnesota Duluth (2018, 2019) have won five of the last six national titles.

Despite all of those accomplishments, the NCHC has not dominated the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference in recent history. Since the 2016 title game, UND and its seven league mates are just 30-19-10 (.593) against the likes of Quinnipiac, Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Union, Colgate, Rensselaer, and the six Ivy League colleges (Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale).

Last weekend, #3/#3 North Dakota (2-0-0) hosted Holy Cross for a pair at Ralph Engelstad Arena, dispatching the Crusaders by final scores of 6-0 and 4-1.

After this weekend’s home series against Quinnipiac, UND’s other non-conference opponents during the 2022-2023 campaign will be Minnesota (road), Arizona State (Hall Of Fame Game in Las Vegas, “neutral”), Bemidji State (home and home), and Lindenwood (home).

On its opening weekend, #8/#7 Quinnipiac (1-0-1) shut out Boston College in a 4-0 road victory before stumbling to a 2-2 tie against Long Island on home ice.

QU’s out-of-conference games also include Maine, Dartmouth, UMass-Lowell, Connecticut, and a rematch with Long Island.

Through two games, UND has showcased speed, skill in the faceoff circle (66.9%, best in the nation), a solid set of blueliners, and an ability to put the puck in the net, scoring on 18.2% of shots on goal. North Dakota has also won the special teams battle (4 of 15 on the power play and a perfect 8-for-8 on the penalty kill) and received excellent goaltending from grad transfer Drew DeRidder (stopped all 27 shots) and sophomore Jakob Hellsten (stopped 19 of 20 shots) for a team save percentage of .979.

By comparison, Quinnipiac has won 51.0% of faceoffs, scored on just 8.8% of shots on goal, and posted a team save percentage of .944. To their credit, QU has scored on both power play opportunities and killed both shorthanded situations to this point of the season.

The Bobcats lost a ton of scoring from last year’s squad, notably forwards Ty Smilanic (13-10-23), Wyatt Bongiovanni (16-18-34), Oliver Chau (13-20-33), and Guus van Nes (6-11-17) and defensemen Brendan Less 4-16-20 and Griffin Mendel (5-10-15).

Left to shoulder the scoring load up front are graduate student Michael Lombardi (1-0-1), senior Skyler Brind’Amour (0-1-1), and graduate student Ethan de Jong (1-2-3). Graduate students TJ Friedmann (0-1-1) and Zach Metsa (1-1-2) have three of the four points from the Bobcats’ back end this season.

Brind’Amour, the son of Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour, was taken by the Oilers in the sixth round (177th pick) in the 2017 NHL draft. Before his head coaching career began in 2011, father Rod played 1484 NHL games, amassing 452 goals and adding 732 assists to go along with 1100 penalty minutes. Rod Brind’Amour’s crowning achievement as a player was captaining the Hurricanes to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship in 2006 (former UND defenseman Mike Commodore was also a member of that title team).

Quinnipiac Team Profile

Head Coach: Rand Pecknold (29th season at QU, 582-333-101, .623)
National Rankings: #8/#7

This Season: 1-0-1 overall, 0-0-0 ECAC
Last Season: 32-7-3 overall (NCAA Regional Finalist), 17-3-1-1 ECAC (1st of 12 teams)

2022-2023 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.00 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 1.00 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 100.0% (2 of 2)
Penalty Kill: 100.0% (2 of 2)

Key Players: Graduate Student F Michael Lombardi (1-0-1), Senior F Skyler Brind’Amour (0-1-1), Graduate Student F Ethan de Jong (1-2-3), Sophomore F Jacob Quillan (0-2-2), Graduate Student D TJ Friedmann (0-1-1), Graduate Student D Zach Metsa (1-1-2), Sophomore G Yaniv Perets (1-0-1, 0.96 GAA, .944 SV%, 1 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (8th season at UND, 164-77-25, .664)
National Rankings: #3/#3

This Season: 2-0-0 overall, 0-0-0 NCHC
Last Season: 24-14-1 overall (NCAA Regional Semifinalist), 17-6-1 NCHC (t-1st)

2022-23 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 5.00 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 0.50 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 26.7% (4 of 15)
Penalty Kill: 100.0% (8 of 8)

Key Players: Junior F Riese Gaber (1-0-0), Sophomore F Jake Schmaltz (1-0-1), Junior F Louie Jamernik V (0-3-3), Senior F Gavin Hain (3-0-0), Graduate Student Mark Senden (1-2-3), Freshman F Jackson Blake (1-1-2), Senior D Ethan Frisch (1-1-2), Sophomore D Brent Johnson (0-2-2), Graduate Student D Chris Jandric (0-4-4), Graduate Student Drew DeRidder (1-0-0, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 SV%, 1 SO)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: October 23, 2021 (Hamden, CT). The Fighting Hawks scored once in each period to erase an early 1-0 deficit and defeat the homestanding Bobcats 3-1. UND scored a power play goal and a 4-on-4 goal and killed all five QU man advantage opportunities to earn a series split. Quinnipiac outshot North Dakota 36-19 in the rematch and 64-35 on the weekend, taking Game One by a margin of 5-2.

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.

Six 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.

Fifteen 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 six times, with UND going 5-1 in those games while outscoring the Bobcats 24-11.

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 grad student Ethan de Jong is the nation’s leading career scorer with 107 points (in 145 career games), and teammate Taniv Perets is the NCAA active career leader with twelve shutouts (in 33 career games). The Bobcats play their home games at People’s United Center (capacity 3,286).

Media Coverage

Both games this weekend will be broadcast live on Midco Sports Network and also available via webcast at NCHC.tv. All UND men’s hockey games, home and away, can be heard on stations across the UND Sports Home of Economy Radio Network as well as through the iHeart Radio app.

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

UND coaches, players, and fans should savor this early-season measuring stick opportunity against a team which should be in the mix at the end of the year. North Dakota will need to win the special teams battle and the goaltending battle if they hope to achieve good results this weekend. Since I can’t see that happening in back-to-back games this early in the season against a quality opponent, I’ve got to go with a split. QU 3-2, UND 4-1.

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!

Weekend Preview: North Dakota vs. Holy Cross

It has been ten seasons since North Dakota tangled with Holy Cross, and the Green and White handled the Crusaders 5-2 and 3-2 in a January 2013 home sweep. Holy Cross led Saturday’s game 2-1 after two periods, but UND rallied with two goals in the third period. Sioux senior Corban Knight had six points on the weekend.

That trip to Grand Forks pales in comparison to the 2006 NCAA regional at the Ralph, when Holy Cross upset Minnesota 4-3 in overtime in front of 11,153 pro-purple fans at Ralph Engelstad Arena. The Crusaders held the Golden Gophers scoreless on seven man-advantage opportunities and converted one of their ten power plays, as overtime hero Tyler McGregor also scored on a five-on-three late in the second period to breathe life into the Holy Cross bench and the partisan crowd.

This season, Holy Cross was tabbed to finish in last place in the ten-team Atlantic Hockey conference, while North Dakota is ranked #3 in the country and was picked to finish second in the NCHC, the nation’s toughest conference and winners of five of the past six national titles.

Second-year head coach Bill Riga led Holy Cross to twelve wins last season (12-23-2), a huge improvement over the 4-12-0 mark posted by his predecessor David Berard, who managed a record of 84-116-34 in his seven seasons behind the Crusaders’ bench. Riga was a former Quinnipiac assistant who faced off against UND in the 2016 national title game.

Holy Cross has managed just two NCAA tourney appearances (2004, 2006) in its 56-year history at the Division I level, and both of those tournament runs ended at the hands of North Dakota.

In exhibition action last weekend, North Dakota bested Manitoba 5-1, while Holy Cross upended Boston College 3-2.

UND has only four freshmen on the roster this season (all forwards) and just three seniors, although the Fighting Hawks also have six graduate or fifth-year students.

Holy Cross Team Profile

Head Coach: Bill Riga (2nd season at Holy Cross, 12-23-2, .351)

National Rankings: NR/NR
Last Season: 12-23-2 overall, 7-14-3-2 Atlantic Hockey (10th of 10 teams)

Last Season’s Statistics:

Team Offense: 2.08 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 2.92 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 18.9% (24 of 127)
Penalty Kill: 81.9% (131 of 160)

Key Players (last season’s statistics):

Junior F Jack Ricketts (10-8-18), Junior F Matt Guerra (7-11-18), Junior F Lucas Thorne (7-10-17), Senior F Grayson Constable (7-1-8), Senior D Nick Hale (4-18-22), Junior F Jake Higgins (1-3-4), Sophomore G Thomas Gale (2-3-0, 3.72 GAA, .891 SV%)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Brad Berry (8th season at UND, 162-77-25, .661)

National Rankings: #3/#3
Last Season: 24-14-1 overall (NCAA Regional Semifinalist), 17-6-1 NCHC (t-1st)

Last Season’s Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.05 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 2.59 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 23.1% (33 of 143)
Penalty Kill: 78.6% (121 of 154)

Key Players (last season’s statistics): Junior F Riese Gaber (15-22-37), Sophomore F Jake Schmaltz (8-16-24), Sophomore F Matteo Costantini (8-13-21), Senior F Judd Caulfield (11-9-20), Junior F Louie Jamernik V (9-10-19), Senior D Ethan Frisch (9-6-15), Junior D Tyler Kleven (7-3-10), Graduate Student D Chris Jandric (1-14-15), Graduate Student Drew DeRidder (9-15-1, 2.94 GAA, .918 SV%, 2 SO)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: January 5, 2013 (Grand Forks, ND). Holy Cross led 2-1 after forty minutes of play but could not hold on, as Michael Parks and Danny Kristo potted third-period goals ten minutes apart to give North Dakota a 3-2 victory and the series sweep. UND outshot the Crusaders 37-19 for the game and 78-34 on the weekend.

Most Important Meeting: March 25, 2006 (Grand Forks, ND). One night after Holy Cross shocked the hockey world by downing Minnesota and North Dakota delighted the home fans with a 5-1 defeat of the Michigan Wolverines, the Fighting Sioux and Crusaders met with a trip to the NCAA Frozen Four on the line. UND’s Jonathan Toews scored less than 80 seconds into the contest and North Dakota never trailed, outshooting Holy Cross 32-19 and advancing to the Frozen Four with a 5-2 victory.

All-time Series: UND leads the all-time series 4-0 and has outscored the Crusaders 16-6. The teams first met on March 26, 2004 (NCAA West Regional).

Game News and Notes

The Crusaders play their home games at Hart Recreation Center (capacity 1,400). Last season, Holy Cross was 10-1-1 when scoring three or more goals but a dreadful 2-22-1 when failing to score three. The Crusaders have not faced an NCHC opponent since the last time they played North Dakota (January 2013). UND junior forward Riese Gaber was named to the 2022-2023 Preseason All-CHN First Team.

The Prediction

In the more than twenty years that Ralph Engelstad Arena has been open, we’ve seen many examples of North Dakota taking opponents too lightly as well as opposing teams bringing their best effort to the Ralph. This year’s version of the Green and White should be better defensively, with goaltending the only question mark. I expect a tight contest in Game One, with depth and talent shining through in the rematch. UND 3-2, 4-1.

Broadcast Information

Both games will be broadcast live on Midco Sports 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.

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.

NCAA Tournament Preview: UND vs. Notre Dame

It’s a battle of the Crossed ND’s in a rare Thursday tilt in the national tournament. #2-seed North Dakota (24-13-1) is matched up with #3-seed Notre Dame (27-11-0) at the NCAA Regional in Albany, New York, with the winner facing either #1-seed Minnesota State (35-5-0) or #4-seed Harvard (21-10-3) with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line.

The two fighting squads (Hawks and Irish) have never faced one another in the NCAA tourney, and it has been more than ten years since the teams squared off on the ice. Further back in history, Notre Dame was a member of the WCHA from 1971-1981, posting three winning seasons in ten campaigns. The Fighting Irish have had more success lately, winning the CCHA league title twice in their last seven seasons in that conference before spending four seasons in Hockey East. During that stretch (2013-2017), the Golden Domers made the national tournament three times, with a Frozen Four appearance in 2017.

Notre Dame moved to the Big Ten beginning in 2017-18 and immediately found success, winning the regular season title and playoff championship. That team went 28-9-2 on its way to the national title game, eventually falling 2-1 to Minnesota Duluth at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. That 2018 playoff run was Notre Dame’s last appearance in the Frozen Four.

The Fighting Irish have played ten games against this year’s NCAA tournament field, going 6-4-0 (.600). North Dakota has played nineteen games against the other fifteen teams in the tourney, with a record of 11-7-1 (.605). UND boasts the best record against the field of any team in the NCHC and trails only Minnesota State (9-2-0) and UMass (7-4-1) overall.

Notre Dame went just 3-3 in October (including back-to-back losses at Minnesota) but followed that up with a flawless November, going 6-0 and punctuating that record with consecutive overtime victories at Michigan. Since a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Niagara on New Year’s Day, the Fighting Irish have gone 15-5 while allowing more than two goals just five times, an average of just 2.20 goals allowed/game.

When North Dakota traveled to Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan in late January, the Fighting Hawks hadn’t won a game since defeating Colorado College on December 11th, 2021.

UND dropped both games against the Broncos by final scores of 4-1 and 2-0, falling to 13th in the Pairwise Rankings.

Despite the two road defeats, there were signs that Brad Berry’s squad had righted the ship…

On Friday night, North Dakota outshot the Broncos 35-23 but were undone by three WMU power play goals and an 0-for-3 performance with the man advantage.

On Saturday night, shots were nearly even, with the decisive goal coming on a shorthanded breakaway in the final minute of the first period (Western Michigan would add a late empty-net goal).

Since those defeats at the hands of the Broncos, UND finished up the regular season by facing St. Cloud State, Omaha, Colorado College, Minnesota Duluth, Western Michigan, and Omaha, collecting 29 of 36 league points to tie Denver for 1st place in the league standings and secure the program’s third-consecutive Penrose Cup.

North Dakota’s impressive second half moved them to 24-13-1 on the season and secured yet another 20-win campaign. Beginning in 1996-97, UND has collected twenty victories or more in 23 of 26 seasons, including last year, when the squad earned 22 wins in just 29 games.

Turning our attention to the tonight’s matchup, I would expect senior goaltender Matthew Galajda (17-7-0, 1.98 GAA, .930 SV%, 2 SO) to get the start in net for the Fighting Irish. The transfer from Cornell split time early in the season with junior Ryan Bischel, but Galajda has gotten the nod in nine straight games after relieving Bischel after one period of play (three goals allowed, two saves) at Wisconsin on February 12th.

Before UND’s December series at Colorado College, fifth-year senior Zach Driscoll had played nearly every meaningful minute between the pipes for North Dakota, going 11-6-0 with a goals-against average of 2.62, a save percentage of .889, and one shutout. Both Driscoll and freshman Jakob Hellsten got a start in Colorado Springs, and each performed admirably (Driscoll made 28 of 30 saves on Friday night, while Hellsten stopped 23 of 24 in the rematch). Each of the netminders also got one start in early January against Cornell, with Driscoll struggling on Friday night (13 saves on 17 shots) before giving way to Hellsten on Saturday (17 saves on 20 shots).

After a bit of a back-and-forth between the two, Zach Driscoll has regained his status as UND’s #1 goaltender. Since taking over for Jacob Hellsten on January 29th against St. Cloud State, Driscoll has gone 10-2-1 with a goals-against average of 1.80, a save percentage of .936 (336 saves, 23 goals allowed), and one shutout. In February, the fifth-year netminder from Apple Valley, Minnesota was awarded three consecutive NCHC Goaltender Of The Week Awards and was named the NCHC Goaltender of the Month.

A half-point per game or better is my benchmark for solid offensive production, and Jeff Jackson’s squad has eleven players who meet that threshold: junior forward Max Ellis (16-12-28), sophomore forward Ryder Rolston (10-17-27), junior forward Trevor Janicke (15-9-24), sophomore forward Landon Slaggert (11-13-24), senior forward Graham Slaggert (11-12-23), sophomore forward Grant Silianoff (5-13-18), junior forward Jesse Lansdell (8-11-19), senior forward Cam Burke (8-11-19), junior forward Solag Bakich (5-12-17), senior defenseman Nick Leivermann (6-20-26), and senior defenseman Spencer Stastney (7-20-27).

Max Ellis was named to the All-Big Ten second team, while Landon Slaggert, Spencer Stastney, and Matthew Galajda were honorable mentions.

By that same offensive measuring stick, North Dakota has ten players at a half point or better, although two of those – senior forward Gavin Hain (6-3-9 in 18 games) and sophomore defenseman Jake Sanderson (8-18-26 in 23 games) – will not be in the lineup this weekend due to injury.

On the plus side, UND got forward Mark Senden (5-12-17) back in the lineup just under a month ago after the senior captain had missed two consecutive series.

Brad Berry can also count on the offensive production of sophomore forward Riese Gaber (15-22-37), senior forward Connor Ford (4-24-28), senior forward Ashton Calder (11-10-21), freshman forward Matteo Costantini (8-13-21), freshman forward Jake Schmaltz (8-16-24), junior forward Judd Caulfield (11-9-20), and sophomore forward Louis Jamernik (9-10-19).

With Sanderson out of the lineup since January 29th, Brad Berry has been relying on a trio of blueliners – junior Ethan Frisch (9-16-15, 119 total shot attempts), graduate student Chris Jandric (1-14-15, 97), and sophomore Tyler Kleven (7-3-10, 165) – to shoulder the offensive load. Frisch has come on after being added to the top power play unit; the third-year d-man from Moorhead, Minnesota has scored a goal in six of his past twelve games and has already surpassed his goal-scoring total from his first two seasons at North Dakota (four goals in 55 games).

Riese Gaber was named to the All-NCHC first team, with Jake Sanderson and Zach Driscoll appearing on the second team. Connor Ford was an honorable mention selection. The National Collegiate Hockey Conference also names an All-Rookie Team; Matteo Costantini and Jakob Hellsten were both selected for that honor.

Last year, North Dakota definitely benefitted from having a number of players stick around for a title run rather than turn pro. And UND’s roster is now feeling the effects of all of those departures happening at once, with fourteen new faces in Green and White this season. Despite bringing in five experienced transfers (forwards Ashton Calder and Connor Ford, defensemen Chris Jandric and Brady Ferner, and goaltender Zach Driscoll), the Fighting Hawks lost their top five scorers (and seven of their top eight) from a season ago: Jordan Kawaguchi, Collin Adams, Shane Pinto, Jasper Weatherby, Matt Kiersted, Grant Mismash, and Jacob Bernard-Docker combined for over 60% of UND’s offense last season (69 of 114 goals and 185 of 308 total points).

In addition to those seven skaters, Brad Berry also lost forwards Jackson Keane and Harrison Blaisdell, defensemen Gabe Bast and Josh Rieger, and goaltenders Adam Scheel and Peter Thome.

Despite losing all of that firepower and scoring depth, North Dakota is still managing 3.11 goals per game; last year, UND scored 3.93 goals/game. A more glaring difference can be found on the defensive side of the puck: after allowing less than two goals per game last year (1.97), the Fighting Hawks are giving up an average of 2.61 per game this season.

UND is scoring on 11.4 percent of its shots on goal, a mark good for 9th in the country. Notre Dame clocks in at 10.2 percent (22nd).

North Dakota made a living with the puck last season (7th and 5th in two key puck possession statistics), and it started in the faceoff circle. In particular, Shane Pinto, Collin Adams, and Jasper Weatherby had UND at #1 in the nation in faceoff percentage (56.2%); this year, the Green and White struggled early but now land at 55.5%, good for 3rd in the nation. The Fighting Irish sit at 53.8 percent (6th).

For UND, Connor Ford (62.4% of faceoffs won) takes nearly every important draw, while Jake Schmaltz (51.8%) has improved over the course of his first college season. Louis Jamernik (56.0has been a steady third option for Brad Berry. Ford’s 572 faceoff wins this season are the most in the country by a wide margin.

Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson has three solid experienced options in the faceoff dot: senior Graham Slaggert (52.0%), senior Cam Burke (58.4%), and senior Jake Pivonka (59.9%) have each won over 230 faceoffs this season.

With both teams faring extremely well on draws this season, one would expect the puck possession statistics to be comparable as well, and that’s the case here:

Corsi: North Dakota 51.2% (21st), Notre Dame 51.1% (23rd)
Fenwick: North Dakota 51.7% (21st), Notre Dame 52.5% (18th)

Corsi measures the percentage of shots taken vs. opponents; Fenwick measures the percentage of unblocked shots taken vs. opponents.

North Dakota’s penalty disparity has been a problem all season, as UND averaged nearly a full minor penalty more per game (12.29 – 10.67) in conference play. The Fighting Hawks have had 141 man-advantage situations this season but have been shorthanded 151 times. With 33 power play goals scored, 32 power play goals allowed, four shorthanded goals scored, and three allowed, UND’s specialty teams net is a +2.

Notre Dame is in much better shape in the penalty department, averaging just 9.17 penalty minutes per conference game while seeing their opponents whistled for 11.42. Overall, however, the Fighting Irish have enjoyed just 125 man-advantage situations on the season against 136 shorthanded situations. With 24 power play goals, 13 power play goals against, seven shorthanded goals scored, and zero allowed, Notre Dame sits at a plus-18.

To this point in the season, here is the complete specialty teams ledger:

Notre Dame power play: 24 of 125, 19.2 percent (31st)
Notre Dame penalty kill: 123 of 136, 90.4 percent (2nd)

North Dakota power play: 33 of 141, 23.4 percent (13th)
North Dakota penalty kill: 119 of 151, 78.8 percent (43rd)

UND has put together an impressive tournament resume by playing a tough slate of games all season long; the Fighting Hawks have played the country’s sixth-toughest schedule according to KRACH; Notre Dame’s slate of games currently ranks as the 10th-toughest in all of college hockey.

Notre Dame Team Profile

Head Coach: Jeff Jackson (17th season at Notre Dame, 375-230-66, .608)

National Rankings: #9/#10
Pairwise Ranking: 9th
KRACH Rating: 328.0 (8th)

This Season: 27-11-0 overall, 12-6-5-1 Big Ten (3rd)
Last Season: 14-13-2 overall (NCAA tournament bid), 11-8-3-2 Big Ten (3rd)

Team Offense: 3.32 goals scored/game – 11th of 59 teams
Team Defense: 2.11 goals allowed/game – 6th of 59 teams

Power Play: 19.2% (24 of 125) – 31st of 59 teams
Penalty Kill: 90.4 % (123 of 136) – 2nd of 59 teams

Key Players: Junior F Max Ellis (16-12-28), Sophomore F Ryder Rolston (10-17-27), Junior F Trevor Janicke (15-9-24), Sophomore F Landon Slaggert (11-13-24), Senior F Graham Slaggert (11-12-23), Sophomore F Grant Silianoff (5-13-18), Junior F Jesse Lansdell (8-11-19), Senior F Cam Burke (8-11-19), Junior F Solag Bakich (5-12-17), Senior D Nick Leivermann (6-20-26), Senior D Spencer Stastney (7-20-27), Senior Goaltender Matthew Galajda (17-7-0, 1.98 GAA, .930 SV%, 2 SO)

North Dakota Fighting Hawks

Head Coach: Brad Berry (7th season at UND, 162-76-25, .663)

National Rankings: #7/#8
Pairwise Ranking: 7th
KRACH Rating: 402.1 (6th)

This Season: 24-13-1 overall, 17-6-1 NCHC (t-1st)
Last Season: 22-6-1 overall (NCHC Midwest Regional Finalist), 18-5-1 NCHC (1st)

2021-2022 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.11 goals scored/game – 19th of 59 teams
Team Defense: 2.61 goals allowed/game – 21st of 59 teams

Power Play: 23.4% (33 of 141) – 13th of 59 teams
Penalty Kill: 78.8% (119 of 151) – 43rd of 59 teams

Key players: Sophomore F Riese Gaber (15-22-37), Senior F Connor Ford (4-24-28), Senior F Ashton Calder (11-10-21), Freshman F Jake Schmaltz (8-16-24), Junior F Judd Caulfield (11-9-20), Freshman F Matteo Costantini (8-13-21), Sophomore F Louis Jamernik (9-10-19), Junior D Ethan Frisch (9-6-15), Senior Chris Jandric (1-14-15), Sophomore D Tyler Kleven (7-3-10), Senior G Zach Driscoll (22-10-1, 2.36 GAA, .907 SV%, 2 SO)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: November 24, 2012 (South Bend, IN). One night after the visitors eeked out a 2-1 road victory, it was the homestanding Irish who held serve with a 5-2 win. A shorthanded goal in the middle frame broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Fighting Irish a lead they would never relinquish. There were three goals scored in the final 90 seconds of the hockey game; a North Dakota tally by Rocco Grimaldi was sandwiched between two Jeff Costello markers, including an empty-netter with just 19 seconds remaining.

Most Important Meeting: March 15, 1980. In WCHA playoff action, the Fighting Sioux dispatched with Notre Dame with a 7-4 victory after winning the opener 10-4. UND would go on to win its third national championship two weeks later.

Last Ten: North Dakota has a 5-2-3 (.650) record over the past ten games, outscoring the Fighting Irish 37-24 over that stretch.

All-time Series: The series is tied 17-17-3. The Fighting Irish won 15 of the first 20 meetings between the two teams, but UND has evened the ledger with a mark of 12-2-3 over the past seventeen games.

Game News and Notes

The Fighting Irish appeared in the national championship game in 2008 (falling 4-1 to Boston College) and in 2018 (losing 2-1 to Minnesota Duluth). Three current North Dakota players – forwards Ashton Calder and Connor Ford and defenseman Brady Ferner – have played two games each against Notre Dame in their collegiate careers. Calder and Ford each picked up an assist. Tonight’s game will mark UND’s 34th appearance in the national tournament. Notre Dame is 14-0-0 when leading after one period of play and 21-0-0 when leading after two.

The Prediction

UND survived the gauntlet of conference play and the NCHC playoffs while dealing with injuries and absences up and down the lineup. The second half of the season has forced players into increased roles, and that will bode well for Brad Berry’s squad throughout the tournament. Notre Dame doesn’t give up much defensively, and that might frustrate the Fighting Hawks. I am concerned about specialty teams, particularly the Fighting Irish penalty kill. Both teams would love to play with a lead, and that makes the first period that much more important. Last year’s five-overtime NCAA tourney defeat and last weekend’s less-than-stellar performance at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff are both fresh in the minds of the North Dakota players, and that will be all the motivation the Fighting Hawks need to find a way to advance to tomorrow’s regional final. UND 3-2.

Broadcast Information

Tonight’s regional semifinal can be seen on ESPNU or via webcast by using the Watch ESPN platform. 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.

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!

NCHC Playoff Preview: UND vs. Colorado College

Author’s note: Today marks my 500th article for SiouxSports.com. When I started this adventure back in September of 2007, I had no idea that I would write for so many years – fifteen seasons and counting! And while I have no intention of stopping or even slowing down, it is important to mark milestones and reflect on the passage of time. And so I say to all of you: thank you for reading!

#5 North Dakota (22-12-1) hosts unranked Colorado College (9-22-3) for an NCHC best-of-three quarterfinal series this weekend (Friday and Saturday; Sunday if necessary) at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks. The winner of this series will advance to next weekend’s NCHC Frozen Faceoff at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota along with the winners of the other three series this weekend (Miami at Denver, Omaha at Western Michigan, and Minnesota Duluth at St. Cloud State).

Colorado College also traveled to Grand Forks to face UND in the first round of the playoffs in 2014, 2015, and 2016. As I’ve written about before, it is difficult to end a team’s season, and tight Saturday night elimination games are to be expected, even after relatively comfortable Friday night victories. In fact, UND’s 2016 sweep (7-1, 5-1) is one of only two playoff series in recent memory that did not feature at least one close contest.

Here are the results from the past three first-round series between North Dakota and Colorado College:

2014: UND 4-2, CC 3-2 (OT), UND 4-3
2015: UND 5-1, UND 3-2
2016: UND 7-1, UND 5-1

CC was also scheduled to face the Fighting Hawks in 2020 before the college hockey season was canceled due to COVID-19. And last season, the Tigers dressed just eleven forwards, five defensemen, and one goalie for their opening-round game against St. Cloud State at Ralph Engelstad Arena. Despite losing a blueliner to a major penalty in the second period, Colorado College took SCSU to the wire, surrendering the game-winning goal with less than four minutes remaining in the contest.

By virtue of its Pairwise Ranking, North Dakota (6th) will make the NCAA tourney regardless of its results in the NCHC playoffs; Colorado College (42nd) would need to win this weekend’s series and win the NCHC playoff championship next weekend to secure a berth in the national tournament.

When the teams squared off at brand-new Robson Arena for a mid-December series in Colorado Springs, the Fighting Hawks secured the road sweep with 5-2 and 4-1 victories. Those games dropped the Tigers to 3-10-3 on the season.

UND held the advantage in all phases, outshooting the Tigers 62-54 and winning 72 of 119 faceoffs (60.5%). North Dakota scored three power play goals on nine attempts and held Colorado College to just a single power play goal in ten man-advantage opportunities.

After that weekend, the Tigers went 4-4-0 against Arizona State, Miami, Denver, and Omaha to close out January, much more respectable results for first-year head coach Kris Mayotte. Mayotte replaced Mike Haviland, who went just 74-177-28 (.315) in his seven seasons behind the Tiger bench, with no regular season or postseason titles and zero NCAA tournament appearances. Haviland had something brewing from 2017-2019, with his teams going 32-37-9 (.468). Things fell off over the past two seasons, however (15-37-5, .307), and it was time for a change.

February and March have not been kind to Mayotte’s squad, however, as the Tigers have just two wins in the past ten games. Both of those victories came in overtime against Miami (4-3, 3-2). In the other eight, CC was outscored 30-11.

Two of those losses came on February 11th and 12th at UND. Colorado College put up a good showing in Friday night’s 3-2 defeat, nearly overcoming a 3-0 first-period deficit and outshooting North Dakota 26-21 for the game. The Fighting Hawks turned the tables in Saturday’s 4-0 triumph, sweeping the regular season series between the two teams by a combined score of 16-5.

When North Dakota traveled to Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan in late January, the Fighting Hawks hadn’t won a game since defeating Colorado College on December 11th, 2021.

UND dropped both games against the Broncos by final scores of 4-1 and 2-0, falling to 13th in the Pairwise Rankings.

Despite the two road defeats, there were signs that Brad Berry’s squad had righted the ship…

On Friday night, North Dakota outshot the Broncos 35-23 but were undone by three WMU power play goals and an 0-for-3 performance with the man advantage.

On Saturday night, shots were nearly even, with the decisive goal coming on a shorthanded breakaway in the final minute of the first period (Western Michigan would add a late empty-net goal).

Since those defeats at the hands of the Broncos, UND has faced St. Cloud State, Omaha, Colorado College, Minnesota Duluth, Western Michigan, and Omaha, collecting 29 of 36 league points to tie Denver for 1st place in the league standings and secure the program’s third-consecutive Penrose Cup.

North Dakota’s impressive second half moved them to 22-11-1 on the season and secured yet another 20-win campaign. Beginning in 1996-97, UND has collected twenty victories or more in 23 of 26 seasons, including last year, when the squad earned 22 wins in just 29 games.

Turning our attention to the matchup this weekend, it’s been a jumble in net for the Tigers. Sophomore Dominic Basse (6-15-2, 3.23 GAA, .888 SV%, 1 SO) has played nearly two-thirds of the minutes between the pipes, but he’s been outplayed recently by junior Matt Vernon (3-7-1, 2.92 GAA, .908 SV%, 1 SO). Vernon only started four games during the first half of the season, but he came on in relief both nights of a January home-and-home series against Denver (stopping 36 of 38), and he’s earned seven of the last twelve starts for the Tigers. Basse started both games in Grand Forks last month (allowing seven goals on 48 shots). Vernon started the next four, but it was Basse in net for last weekend’s home-and-home series with Denver (ten goals allowed on 71 shots).

Before UND’s December series at Colorado College, fifth-year senior Zach Driscoll had played nearly every meaningful minute between the pipes for North Dakota, going 11-6-0 with a goals-against average of 2.62, a save percentage of .889, and one shutout. Both Driscoll and freshman Jakob Hellsten got a start in Colorado Springs, and each performed admirably (Driscoll made 28 of 30 saves on Friday night, while Hellsten stopped 23 of 24 in the rematch). Each of the netminders also got one start in early January against Cornell, with Driscoll struggling on Friday night (13 saves on 17 shots) before giving way to Hellsten on Saturday (17 saves on 20 shots).

After a bit of a back-and-forth between the two, Zach Driscoll has regained his status as UND’s #1 goaltender. Since taking over for Jacob Hellsten on January 29th against St. Cloud State, Driscoll has gone 8-1-1 with a goals-against average of 1.84, a save percentage of .938 (270 saves, 18 goals allowed), and one shutout. In February, the fifth-year netminder from Apple Valley, Minnesota was awarded three consecutive NCHC Goaltender Of The Week Awards and was named the NCHC Goaltender of the Month.

A half-point per game or better is my benchmark for solid offensive production, and Kris Mayotte’s squad has just four players who meet that threshold: sophomore forward Logan Will (6-12-18), sophomore forward Matthew Gleason (6-9-15), sophomore forward Hunter McKown (13-7-20), and sophomore forward Tyler Coffey (10-4-14).

McKown, who played on the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams before coming to Colorado Springs, has come on strong since being held scoreless against North Dakota in December; the 19-year-old from San Jose, California has ten goals and five assists for fifteen points in his last eighteen games, although UND held him off of the scoresheet in February’s series as well. He scored a total of three goals in 43 games with the USNTDP.

By that same measure, North Dakota has nine players at a half point or better, although at least one of those – senior forward Gavin Hain (6-3-9 in 18 games) – will not be in the lineup this weekend due to injury. Two others – sophomore forward Riese Gaber (14-21-35) and sophomore defenseman Jake Sanderson (7-17-24 in 21 games) are dealing with injuries and will be game-time decisions.

On the plus side, UND got forward Mark Senden (5-11-16) back in the lineup two weekends ago after the senior captain had missed two consecutive series.

Brad Berry can also count on the offensive production of senior forward Connor Ford (4-23-27), senior forward Ashton Calder (11-10-21), freshman forward Matteo Costantini (7-13-20), freshman forward Jake Schmaltz (8-14-22), and sophomore forward Louis Jamernik (9-10-19).

With Sanderson out of the lineup since January 29th, Brad Berry has been relying on a trio of blueliners – junior Ethan Frisch (9-16-15, 107 total shot attempts), graduate student Chris Jandric (1-13-14, 94), and sophomore Tyler Kleven (6-3-9, 155) – to shoulder the offensive load. Frisch has come on after being added to the top power play unit; the third-year d-man from Moorhead, Minnesota has scored a goal in six of his past nine games and has already surpassed his goal-scoring total from his first two seasons at North Dakota (four goals in 55 games).

Last year, North Dakota definitely benefitted from having a number of players stick around for a title run rather than turn pro. And UND’s roster is now feeling the effects of all of those departures happening at once, with fourteen new faces in Green and White this season. Despite bringing in five experienced transfers (forwards Ashton Calder and Connor Ford, defensemen Chris Jandric and Brady Ferner, and goaltender Zach Driscoll), the Fighting Hawks lost their top five scorers (and seven of their top eight) from a season ago: Jordan Kawaguchi, Collin Adams, Shane Pinto, Jasper Weatherby, Matt Kiersted, Grant Mismash, and Jacob Bernard-Docker combined for over 60% of UND’s offense last season (69 of 114 goals and 185 of 308 total points).

In addition to those seven skaters, Brad Berry also lost forwards Jackson Keane and Harrison Blaisdell, defensemen Gabe Bast and Josh Rieger, and goaltenders Adam Scheel and Peter Thome.

Despite losing all of that firepower and scoring depth, North Dakota is still managing 3.20 goals per game; last year, UND scored 3.93 goals/game. A more glaring difference can be found on the defensive side of the puck: after allowing less than two goals per game last year (1.97), the Fighting Hawks are giving up an average of 2.66 per game this season.

UND is scoring on 11.6 percent of its shots on goal, a mark good for 8th in the country. Colorado College clocks in at 8.3 percent (46th).

North Dakota made a living with the puck last season (7th and 5th in two key puck possession statistics), and it started in the faceoff circle. In particular, Shane Pinto, Collin Adams, and Jasper Weatherby had UND at #1 in the nation in faceoff percentage (56.2%); this year, the Green and White struggled early but now land at 55.5%, good for 3rd in the nation. Colorado College sits at 46.5 percent (54th).

For UND, Connor Ford (62.6% of faceoffs won) takes nearly every important draw, while Jake Schmaltz (51.4%) has improved over the course of his first college season. Louis Jamernik (55.1%) has been a steady third option for Brad Berry. Ford’s 538 faceoff wins this season are the most in the country by a wide margin.

For Colorado College, sophomore Logan Will (50.6%) has spent the most time in the faceoff circle and has had the most success, although freshman Stanley Cooley (45.0%) is not far behind. Junior Noah Prokop (44.1%) and sophomore Jackson Jutting (47.4%) contribute as well.

A disparity in faceoff success often leads to a similar imbalance in puck possession statistics as well, and that’s the case here:

Corsi: UND 50.9% (24th), CC 46.8% (45th)
Fenwick: UND 51.8% (21st), CC 47.2% (43rd)

Corsi measures the percentage of shots taken vs. opponents; Fenwick measures the percentage of unblocked shots taken vs. opponents.

North Dakota’s penalty disparity is becoming problematic, as UND averages nearly a full minor penalty more per game (12.29 – 10.67) in conference play. The Fighting Hawks have had 131 man-advantage situations this season but have been shorthanded 144 times. With 32 power play goals scored, 30 power play goals allowed, four shorthanded goals scored, and three allowed, UND’s specialty teams net is a +3.

CC is in slightly better shape in the penalty department, averaging 12.63 penalty minutes per conference game while seeing their opponents whistled for just 11.58. Overall, however, the Tigers have enjoyed 139 man-advantage situations on the season against 132 shorthanded situations. With 23 power play goals, 37 power play goals against, and five shorthanded goals allowed, Colorado College sits at minus-19.

To this point in the season, here is the complete specialty teams ledger:

Colorado College power play: 23 of 139, 16.5 percent (40th)
Colorado College penalty kill: 95 of 132, 72.0 percent (56th)

North Dakota power play: 32 of 131, 24.4 percent (11th)
North Dakota penalty kill: 114 of 144, 79.2 percent (42nd)

UND has put together an impressive tournament resume by playing a tough slate of games all season long; the Fighting Hawks have played the country’s fourth-toughest schedule according to KRACH; CC’s slate of games currently ranks as the 14th-toughest in all of college hockey.

Colorado College Tigers

Head Coach: Kris Mayotte (1st season at CC, 9-22-3, .309)

National Rankings: NR/NR
Pairwise Ranking: 42nd
KRACH Rating: 66.8 (37th)

This Season: 9-22-3 overall, 6-17-1 NCHC (7th)
Last Season: 4-17-2 overall, 4-16-2 NCHC (t-7th)

2021-2022 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 2.26 goals scored/game – 47th of 59 teams
Team Defense: 3.29 goals allowed/game – 45th of 59 teams

Power Play: 16.5% (23 of 139) – 40th of 59 teams
Penalty Kill: 72.0% (95 of 132) – 56th of 59 teams

Key players: Sophomore F Logan Will (6-12-18), Sophomore F Hunter McKown (13-7-20), Sophomore F Matthew Gleason (6-9-15), Sophomore F Jordan Biro (5-7-12), Freshman F Stanley Cooley (5-11-16), Sophomore F Danny Weight (1-11-12), Sophomore D Nicklas Andrews (4-10-14), Senior D Bryan Yoon (1-11-12), Junior G Matt Vernon (3-7-1, 2.92 GAA, .908 SV%, 1 SO)

North Dakota Fighting Hawks

Head Coach: Brad Berry (7th season at UND, 160-75-25, .663)

National Rankings: #5/#5
Pairwise Ranking: 6th
KRACH Rating: 406.9 (6th)

This Season: 22-12-1 overall, 17-6-1 NCHC (t-1st)
Last Season: 22-6-1 overall (NCHC Midwest Regional Finalist), 18-5-1 NCHC (1st)

2021-2022 Season Statistics:

Team Offense: 3.20 goals scored/game – 18th of 59 teams
Team Defense: 2.66 goals allowed/game – 23rd of 59 teams

Power Play: 24.4% (32 of 131) – 11th of 59 teams
Penalty Kill: 79.2% (114 of 144) – 42nd of 59 teams

Key players: Sophomore F Riese Gaber (14-21-35), Senior F Connor Ford (4-23-27), Senior F Ashton Calder (11-10-21), Freshman F Jake Schmaltz (8-14-22), Junior F Judd Caulfield (10-7-17), Freshman F Matteo Costantini (7-13-20), Sophomore F Louis Jamernik (9-10-19), Sophomore D Jake Sanderson (7-17-24 in 21 games), Junior D Ethan Frisch (9-6-15), Senior Chris Jandric (1-13-14), Sophomore D Tyler Kleven (6-3-9), Senior G Zach Driscoll (20-9-1, 2.43 GAA, .905 SV%, 2 SO)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: February 12, 2022 (Grand Forks, ND). One night after North Dakota withstood a furious CC comeback to gain a 3-2 home victory, it was smooth sailing for the Fighting Hawks. Four different UND players scored (including Brent Johnson with his first of the season), Riese Gaber collected two assists, and Zach Driscoll made 23 saves for the shutout.

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, 170-84-11 (.662), including a massive advantage of 109-22-7 (.815) in games played in Grand Forks. The teams first met in 1948; North Dakota’s 170 wins over the Tigers are the most against any single opponent in program history.

Last Ten: North Dakota has swept the last ten meetings between the teams, outscoring CC 39-8 over that span. The Fighting Hawks’ last loss to Colorado College was at CC on March 1, 2019 (1-3).

Game News and Notes

North Dakota head coach Brad Berry is 21-4-1 (.827) in his head coaching career against Colorado College. CC has won two national titles (1950, 1957). Since 1957, the Tigers have appeared in the NCAA tournament thirteen times (most recently in 2011) and advanced to three Frozen Fours (1996, 1997, 2005). Head coaches Scott Owens (1999-2014) and Don Lucia (1993-1999) combined to lead CC to six regular-season titles, twelve NCAA tournament appearances, three Frozen Fours, and one national championship game appearance (1996). Twelve UND players expected to be in the lineup this weekend have scored goals in their careers against Colorado College, and netminder Zach Driscoll is 5-0-0 with a goals against average of 1.75 and a save percentage of .950 in his five career starts against CC. The Tigers are 8-6-2 when leading or tied after one period of play but 1-16-1 when trailing.

The Prediction

UND survived the gauntlet of conference play while dealing with injuries up and down the lineup. This weekend will feature the most complete Fighting Hawks’ squad since before the Christmas break, and that leads to advantages all over the ice for the Green and White. The only question mark is whether Brad Berry’s crew will overlook their opponent after winning ten straight against the Tigers. There’s something about this team, however, and North Dakota will find a way to advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff next weekend in St. Paul. I wouldn’t be surprised if these two long-time opponents need a Sunday game to decide the series, but I’ve got the Fighting Hawks in two straight. UND 5-1, 4-2.

Broadcast Information

This weekend’s games will be broadcast live on Midco Sports Network and will also be 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.

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!