Sioux Sports Talk

Another slow start for the Sioux hockey team has led to inevitable comparisons with years past. But there’s a feeling among some that key losses have led to a deeper hole this year that will be more difficult to climb out of with a second half surge.

2008 start vs past seasons

Season	PWR	RPI	Win%	KRACH	Out of Conference Games
2008-12-08	n/a	#26 (.5124)	.4688	#22	L – Boston Univ. L – Massachusetts W/L – Cornell W/W – Harvard
2007-12-10	#7	#8 (.5689)	.5667	#6	W – Michigan St. T – Boston Coll. W – Northeastern
End of 07-08 reg. season	#4	.5866	.7143
2006-12-11	#20	#22 (.5251)	.4688	#13	W/W – Quinnipiac L/L – Maine
End of 06-07 reg. season	#6	.5497	.5972
2005-12-12	#17	#15 (.5327)	.5833	#13	W – Miami L – Michigan St. W/W – Northeastern W/T – New Hampshire
End of 05-06 reg. season	#12	.5475	.6220

This seems to be UND’s worst start in the past four years. The Sioux have a win% equal to the previous low for this point in a season — 2006-07. UND’s RPI this year is lower than it was 2006-07, and KRACH rates the Sioux as a significantly less competitive team than they were at this point that season.

However, that season did include two early losses vs. Hockey East (both to Maine), and a PWR ranking of #20 at this point in this season. The Sioux rallied by the end of that regular season to finish #6 in the PWR, demonstrating that it is possible to climb out from such a hole.

Chart of UND’s 2006-07 PWR comeback

Can the Sioux still make the NCAA tournament?

In short, yes. Over half the season remains to be played! The rest of this post will look at the impact of the season to date on contributors to the PWR and future opportunities to influence contributors to the PWR. It is not meant to encourage anyone to worry much about UND’s current position in the PWR, which is quite meaningless.

Winning percentage

As an upper bound to the potential for a turnaround, consider Spring of 2008 in which the Sioux posted an amazing 18 game undefeated streak, never losing from January 5 until the playoffs. Taking the 2007-08 record over their last 22 games (16-3-3) and adding it to this year’s tally (7-8-1) would result in a final record of 23-11-4.

That would give the Sioux a regular season win percentage of .6579.

RPI

Assuming UND’s past and future opponents remain of constant quality until the end of the season, UND’s RPI from a win percentage of .6579 should be about .56. That would place UND at #11 on the current RPI chart. See other RPI scenarios under “Future RPI” on the North Dakota Hockey RPI Details page. If, instead, UND won about 13 of its remaining 21 games*, it would end the season with a win percentage of .5541 and an RPI of about .5356, currently good for 20th in the NCAA.

*That page shows only 21 remaining games for UND, though there will certainly be a 22nd, because the second opponent for the Great Lakes Invitational is not yet known.

PWR components

If the season ended today, UND wouldn’t be a TUC because it’s not in the top 25 of RPI, so would not be ranked in the PWR.

Current record vs. TUCs: 4-7-1
Remaining games vs. current TUCs: 14 (Minnesota 2, Denver 2, St Cloud St 4, Wisconsin 2, Colorado College 2, Mankato 2)

UND’s non-conference losses to Hockey East teams will hurt its COP comparisons to Hockey East teams, though UND has ample opportunity to shore up its COP comparisons to Western teams. UND has a large part of its WCHA schedule ahead of it; the Great Lakes Invititational (including Michigan St. and potentially Michigan) will position UND vs. the CCHA.

If UND averaged .600 for the rest of the season (RPI of about .5356 #20), it would result in a TUC of 12-13-1 (if that percentage is applied across TUCs); .800 (RPI of about .56 #11), would result in a TUC of 15-10-1 (ceteris paribus), and position UND well for H2H and COP comparisons with WCHA teams.

Tournaments

Of course, UND’s opportunities don’t end with the regular season. Every team in the WCHA gets at least two WCHA Final Five play-in games. All-in-all, the Final Five could add up to six games to UND’s schedule. Finally, winning the tournament would guarantee an NCAA tournament berth, regardless of previous performance.

Beginning with the 2002-03 season, the WCHA changed its scheduling system, creating “rivals” which would play each other four times each season (and play the other schools twice one season, four times the next, and so on). Minnesota and Wisconsin were paired up, as were Colorado College and Denver. All four of those schools, and particularly Minnesota and Wisconsin, would have made excellent schedule partners for UND.

And which of the remaining teams would become North Dakota’s schedule partner? Alaska-Anchorage? Mankato? No, as the two newest members of the WCHA (1993 and 1999, respectively), the Seawolves and Mavericks were paired with each other. How about Minnesota-Duluth or Michigan Tech, schools which had been members of the conference for over 35 years? No again. Those two schools are just over 200 miles apart, and that was certainly a factor in the decision.

That left St. Cloud State, a familiar foe for Sioux fans from North Central Conference football and basketball games. The St. Cloud State Huskies had been a Division I hockey program for 15 years (and a WCHA member for 12) before the 2002-03 season, and had posted a 83-34-6 (.699) record over the previous three seasons. By contrast, from 1999-02, UND held a record of 76-35-16 (.654).

The two schools had played a handful of meaningful games in the past. In 1991 (St. Cloud’s first in the league), the Huskies and Sioux met in Grand Forks for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. St. Cloud took the opener, 4-2, before falling 10-2 and 7-4 in games 2 and 3. The two teams met in the 1998 and 2000 WCHA Final Five semifinal games, with North Dakota prevailing in both contests. Perhaps the best reason to be optimistic about the rivalry was the 2001 WCHA Final Five championship game, a hard-fought contest which St. Cloud State won on Derek Eastman’s overtime winner.

It’s fair to say that in 2002 there was confusion AND cautious optimism surrounding the potential rivalry between the two teams. (And on a personal note, I had already traveled to St. Cloud for the Sioux/Husky games four times before the rivalry announcement was made, and I was more than pleased that I would now be able to make this trip every year.)

It’s also fair to say that the rivalry has caught on over the past six seasons. The two teams have played eight overtime contests in their 26 regular-season meetings, and points are tough to come by, at home and on the road. The fans have also made their mark on the partnership between the schools, as the UND/SCSU rivalry now has a commemorative fan trophy, thanks to the Center Ice Club at St. Cloud State University:

After sputtering to a 5-8-1 record through the first two months of the season, North Dakota flew into Cambridge, swept the Harvard Crimson, evened its non-conference record at 3-3-0, and served notice that the Fighting Sioux may have turned the corner.

This weekend saw UND sweep an opponent for the first time all season. Last year’s 2007-08 team earned its first sweep on January 11th and 12th against Michigan Tech. That home sweep ignited an 18-game unbeaten streak for the Fighting Sioux (15-0-3) and a trip to the Frozen Four.

Tonight’s game was the close contest that many of us anticipated. Harvard led 3-2 early in the third period before freshman forward David Toews tied the game with 14:00 to play and sophomore forward Matt Frattin gave UND the lead for good just 90 seconds later. Frattin has scored seven goals in his last seven games.

Because the final score read North Dakota 4, Harvard 3, it may seem like a completely different game from UND’s 10-1 blitzing a day earlier. But North Dakota used the same formula to complete the sweep: solid special teams play and spectacular goaltending.

The Fighting Sioux scored three power play goals in five opportunities and held Harvard to two tallies on eight chances. UND freshman netminder Brad Eidsness was at his best when North Dakota needed him the most, turning aside all six Crimson shots while killing off Chris VandeVelde’s major penalty in the first period.

Since replacing Aaron Walski midway through the November 14th game against Alaska-Anchorage, Brad Eidsness is 4-2-1 with a 2.01 goal-against average and a .933 save percentage.

For the weekend, UND went 7 for 14 with the man advantage (raising their season power-play percentage to 19.5) and killed 11 of 13 Harvard power plays.

An encouraging sign for North Dakota is the balanced score sheet. Seven Sioux players are scoring a half-point per game or more, led by defensemen Chay Genoway (2 goals and 14 assists) and Brad Miller (4 goals and 11 assists). Sioux forwards Ryan Duncan, Andrew Kozek, and Chris VandeVelde were expected to carry the scoring load up front, but Ryan Martens (5 goals, 6 assists) and Matt Frattin (7 goals, 3 assists) have been pleasant surprises.

Another key to UND’s success lately has been contributions from the freshman class. Highly touted recruits Brett Hextall, Jason Gregoire, and David Toews have totaled 11 goals and 10 assists in 43 games played this season. That’s a big step forward from last season’s top three freshmen forwards (Matt Frattin, Evan Trupp, and Brad Malone), who tallied 13 goals and 18 assists all season (109 games played).

Thank you for reading. As always, I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions.

Let the good times roll.

North Dakota rolled into Cambridge, Massachusetts and dominated every aspect of their opener against the Harvard Crimson, cruising to a 10-1 victory.

Where to begin?

The seven Sioux seniors in the lineup combined for seven goals and eleven assists. The all-senior line of Matt Watkins, Darcy Zajac, and Ryan Martens tallied four goals and six assists. And senior defenseman Zach Jones scored his first career goal in his 144th game at North Dakota.

Not to be outdone, Sioux freshman David Toews scored his first career goal and fellow frosh Corey Feinhage picked up his first career assist.

There are a couple of things that I would like to point out that often get overlooked in a game that appears as lopsided as this one does:

First off, Sioux goaltender Brad Eidsness stopped 39 of 40 shots he faced, including 20 of 21 in the second period alone. Coaches often say that a goalie has to be your best penalty killer, and Eidsness was that for North Dakota tonight. The freshman from Chestermere, Alberta turned aside all 13 of Harvard’s power play shots, including eight during a full two-minute 5 on 3 in the middle frame. Two minutes after the Sioux were back at full strength, Toews scored to make it 5-1 and the rout was on. For the game, North Dakota killed all five Harvard power plays.

With the impressive victory, Eidsness saw his season goals-against average drop to 2.65 and his save percentage rise to .910. Since taking over for Aaron Walski midway through the November 14th game versus Alaska-Anchorage, the freshman netminder has posted a record of 3-2-1 with a goals-against average of 1.85 and a save percentage of .936.

A second area that deserves a closer look is the faceoff circle. North Dakota owned the draws tonight, winning 45 out of 68 (66.2%). The top two centerman for UND, Darcy Zajac (18 of 22) and Chris VandeVelde (13 of 16) were particularly lethal. Winning faceoffs is critical, particularly in the offensive and defensive zones, and was a key to victory tonight.

In my weekend preview, I mentioned an area of emphasis for North Dakota:

North Dakota needs to find a way to score at even strength. The Fighting Sioux have scored 36 goals this season, but only 14 of them have come while the teams were skating 5 on 5. UND has struggled on the road (2-4-1), and has not won a game this season when scoring two or fewer goals (0-7-1).

Check and check. North Dakota scored six of its first seven goals at even strength and then followed that up with three late power play tallies. For the game, the Fighting Sioux scored its six even strength goals on 22 shots and went 4 for 9 on the power play (15 shots).

And I ended with this nugget of truth:

Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling that North Dakota will come out playing very well on Friday night. If the Fighting Sioux find success early, it could be a long weekend for Harvard.

I would say so. Chasing one goaltender is an accomplishment; chasing two (without an injury situation) is almost unheard of.

So where does that leave us for tomorrow night? If tonight’s third period is any indication, the Harvard Crimson did not take too kindly to being embarrassed on home ice. Expect a tighter, more physical contest in Saturday’s finale. The first period will once again be key. If North Dakota jumps out to the early lead again, it could reignite tempers and the parade to the penalty box. UND would love to get into a special teams battle again.

Thank you for reading. I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions. Check back after Saturday’s game for more reaction and commentary.

This weekend marks the halfway point for North Dakota’s non-conference schedule, and the Fighting Sioux have struggled to a 1-3-0 record outside of the WCHA. With a date with Michigan State on December 27th and a possible clash with Michigan the following night, this weekend’s games against the Harvard Crimson take on an added significance.

UND can look ahead and hope to sweep Bemidji State in a home-and-home non-conference series in January, but if they hope to make a splash in the NCAA tournament, they will need to pick up wins this weekend in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Harvard entered this season with two main question marks: scoring and goaltending.

And the freshmen will lead them.

Freshman phenom Alex Killorn is a Tampa Bay draft pick (#77 overall) who has adjusted quickly to the college game (2 goals and 6 assists in ten games). And fellow frosh Matt Hoyle has performed admirably between the pipes for the Crimson, posting a goals-against average of 2.09 and a save percentage of .929 while playing virtually every minute this season.

Harvard is undefeated at home this year (4-0-0), defeating ECAC opponents Dartmouth, Rensselaer, Clarkson, and St. Lawrence. The Crimson have finished games well, going 4-1-2 when leading or tied after two periods.

North Dakota needs to find a way to score at even strength. The Fighting Sioux have scored 36 goals this season, but only 14 of them have come while the teams were skating 5 on 5. UND has struggled on the road (2-4-1), and has not won a game this season when scoring two or fewer goals (0-7-1).

Harvard Team Profile

National Rankings: NR
Head Coach: Ted Donato (5th season at Harvard, 77-56-13, .572)
This Season: 4-4-2 Overall, 4-3-2 ECAC (t-2nd)
Team Offense: 2.30 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 2.10 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 16.4% (11 of 67)
Penalty Kill: 87.5% (63 of 72)
Last Season: 17-13-4 Overall, 12-7-3 ECAC (3rd)
Key Players: Freshman F Alex Killorn (2-6-8), Sophomore F Matt McCollum (3-3-6), Junior F Doug Rogers (0-4-4), Junior D Alex Biega (1-3-4) Senior D Brian McCafferty (1-3-4), Freshman G Matt Hoyle (4-4-2, .2.09 GAA, .929 SV, 1 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Dave Hakstol (5th season at UND, 111-64-16, .623)
This Season: 5-8-1 Overall, 4-5-1 WCHA (t-7th)
National Ranking: NR
Team Offense: 2.57 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 3.21 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 15.6% (17 of 109)
Penalty Kill: 81.2% (65 of 80)
Last Season: 28-11-4 Overall (NCAA Frozen Four semifinalist), 18-7-3 WCHA (2nd)
Key Players: Senior F Ryan Duncan (5-6-11), Junior F Chris VandeVelde (3-6-9), Senior F/D Brad Miller (3-7-10), Freshman F Brett Hextall (5-2-7), Junior D Chay Genoway (1-13-14), Freshman G Brad Eidsness (5-5-1, 2.80 GAA, .902 SV)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: December 30, 2005 (Grand Forks, ND). North Dakota earned a split with a 3-2 victory after the Crimson took Friday’s opener, 1-0.
Most Important Meeting: The Fighting Sioux and Harvard Crimson have met twice in the NCAA semifinals, with UND coming out on top in 1958 (9-1) and 1987 (5-2).
All-time Series: UND leads the all-time series, 6-2-1 (.722). The two teams have never played in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Game News and Notes

Six current Sioux players appeared in the 2005 series against Harvard; none of the six (Duncan, Finley, Kozek, Martens, Miller, Watkins) registered a point on the weekend. UND freshman goaltender Brad Eidsness has appeared in eleven consecutive games (including ten starts). The last freshman netminder to appear in a longer stretch of games was Aaron Schweitzer, who played in the last 18 games of UND’s 1996-97 championship campaign. North Dakota senior forward Ryan Duncan is currently 27th on the UND career scoring list. Duncan has notched 144 points in his Sioux career and would move into the top 25 all-time with two points this weekend. North Dakota sophomore forward Matt Frattin was named the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week after his hat trick helped the Fighting Sioux hand Cornell its first loss of the season last Friday. Frattin has now scored five goals in his last five games.

The Prediction

Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling that North Dakota will come out playing very well on Friday night. If the Fighting Sioux find success early, it could be a long weekend for Harvard. If UND struggles to solve Crimson net minder Matt Hoyle, Harvard could win a couple of close games. UND 4-1, 2-2 tie.

Thank you for reading. As always, I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions.

Tonight’s game demonstrated what can happen when North Dakota competes at a high level for 60 minutes.

The Fighting Sioux scored four even-strength goals in Friday’s opener after going more than 13 periods of hockey without a 5 on 5 tally. UND went 3 for 7 with the man advantage after Cornell had allowed only one power play goal all season (in 30 opportunities). And North Dakota chased Cornell goaltender Ben Scrivens from the game after scoring five goals on 26 shots. In six games prior to tonight, Scrivens had given up 5 goals TOTAL.

Here were Scriven’s numbers coming into the weekend series:
Four wins, two ties. 0.81 goals-against average, .971 save percentage, 2 shutouts.

And tonight: A 6.34 goals-against average and a save percentage of .808.

Don’t get me wrong, Scriven’s season numbers are still stellar (1.44 GAA, .949 SV). But it’s a good sign that North Dakota got to Scrivens early and often.

The key moment in the hockey game was UND forward Matt Frattin’s second goal. Cornell had pulled to within one on Riley Nash’s breakaway goal less than five minutes into the third period, and the Big Red had all the momentum. Two and a half minutes after Nash’s goal, Frattin and Gregoire came down the wing together, and Frattin beat Scrivens over the shoulder to make the score 5-3 and chase Scrivens from the hockey game.

“When we got down 4-3, we had some really good scoring chances,” Cornell head coach Mike Schafer said. “Hopefully, we learned our lesson that if we do get down (Saturday) night, not to play the way we did in the third, trying to open it up rather than sticking with things a little bit longer in order to get ourselves back in the game,” he added. “It was a tighter game than the score would indicate. It’s just one of those things where you regroup, revamp, and get ready to go again tomorrow.”

North Dakota junior defenseman Chay Genoway has been everything for the Sioux this season. Genoway scored a goal and added three assists to take over the team scoring lead. I have no idea how he was not voted Player of the Game. (For those of you who were not at the arena, Matt Frattin was not one of the choices despite having two goals at the time of the voting).

Genoway was noticeably absent during the starting lineups, even though he was announced as a starter. Maybe he had a wardrobe malfunction.

It’s worrisome that Sioux defensemen Matt Jones, Jake Marto, Derrick LaPoint, and Ben Blood are still scoreless on the season. The four have played a combined 50 games without a point.

The line of Jason Gregoire, Evan Trupp, and Matt Frattin was very effective tonight. For the game, the three forwards tallied 4 goals and 5 assists.

I thought it was a shame that Frattin’s hat trick only garnered a single cap on the ice. I understand that there is a lot going on at the arena, but come on, people! One hat?!? If I thought I could have made it over the netting, I would have launched mine from 306.

Before tonight’s game, Cornell had not allowed a hat trick to any player since January 15, 1999, a streak of 328 games. Incidentally, 1999 is also the last year Cornell surrendered seven goals in a game, losing 7-5 at Rensselaer on February 26th. As you might have guessed, the Big Red last had a losing season in 1998-99 (12-15-4).

North Dakota played a solid first period and then took over the hockey game, outshooting Cornell 25 to 11 over the final forty minutes of play. After trailing 2-1 late in the first, the Fighting Sioux outscored the Big Red 6-1 to close out the game.

UND (5-7-1) handed Cornell (4-1-2) its first loss of the season. With the victory, North Dakota moves to 1-2-0 in non-conference play. The two teams meet again at Ralph Engelstad Arena on Saturday night. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m.

Thank you for reading. As always, I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions.

Please join us for the UND/SCSU pre-game social, an annual event which provides an opportunity for fans of the University of North Dakota and St. Cloud State University to gather, celebrate the great sport of hockey, and award the UND/SCSU Challenge Cup, a traveling trophy which is presented to the team which collects more points in the four regular-season games between the schools.

This event, held on Saturday, December 13th from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Southgate Grill and Bar in Grand Forks, is free and open to the public. SiouxSports.com is the title sponsor for the event in Grand Forks, while the Center Ice Club (the official hockey booster organization for the St. Cloud State University Huskies) hosts the social in St. Cloud every year.

Fans of both teams enjoy the camaraderie at these social events and regularly comment that the connection between the two fan bases is among the best in college hockey.

Other businesses which have donated goods or services for this event include:

Al’s Grill and Catering
American Federal Bank
Barry’s Collector’s Corner
Daydreams Specialties
Domino’s Pizza
Gerrells Sports Center & Hockey World
Happy Joe’s Pizza
McPherson’s Jewelry
Nature’s Country Store
Ralph Engelstad Arena
Red Pepper
Southgate Grill and Bar

Please consider joining us for this event. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Cornell is one of the few teams in the country scoring at a slower rate than North Dakota. The Big Red have only tallied 12 goals in their first six games, while the Fighting Sioux have a slightly higher average of 28 goals in twelve games.

So why is Cornell still undefeated (4-0-2), while UND finds itself in yet another November funk (4-7-1)?

Goaltending.

Cornell has been a goaltending factory for years, beginning with Ken Dryden and Brian Hayward and continuing through David LeNeveu and David McKee. The next Big Red netminder to join the Hobey Baker race is Cornell junior Ben Scrivens. Scrivens had a terrific sophomore campaign (19-12-3, 2.02 goals-against average, .930 save percentage, 4 shutouts), and he’s followed that up with unfathomable numbers this season.

Scrivens has played every minute for Cornell this year, and here are the statistics:

Four wins, two ties. 0.81 goals-against average. .971 save percentage. 2 shutouts.

Admittedly, I’m a numbers guy, and some people aren’t. But let’s take a look at what those numbers mean…

In this weekend’s two game series, it would be an accomplishment for North Dakota to score two goals. Total. Scrivens is giving up less than one goal per game.

And the save percentage is even more ridiculous. In order to score three goals, the Fighting Sioux would have to put more than 100 shots on net.

The offensive outlook for North Dakota is not great. The Sioux have not scored an even-strength goal in more than 13 periods of hockey. UND’s power play is catching on, but Cornell has only allowed one power play goal all season (in 30 opportunities).

According to North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol, this opponent might be just what the doctor ordered.

“Maybe this is the right challenge at the right time,” Hakstol said. “We’re a team that’s not scoring goals. We’re a team that’s been sporadic on our power play. Cornell probably presents the best challenge possible for us at this point in our year.”

After losing two non-conference games at the Icebreaker Invitational earlier this season, it is imperative that North Dakota picks up wins this weekend and next weekend at Harvard, or UND will be on the outside looking in at the national tournament field.

Cornell Team Profile

National Rankings: #12/#12
Head Coach: Mike Schafer (14th season at Cornell, 258-139-47, .634)
This Season: 4-0-2 Overall, 4-0-2 ECAC (t-2nd)
Team Offense: 2.00 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 0.83 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 12.8% (5 of 39)
Penalty Kill: 96.7% (29 of 30)
Last Season: 19-14-3 Overall, 12-9-1 ECAC (t-4th)
Key Players: Junior F Colin Greening (2-3-5), Sophomore F Riley Nash (2-1-3), Sophomore D Jordan Berk (1-1-2), Junior G Ben Scrivens (4-0-2, 0.81 GAA, .971 SV, 2 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Dave Hakstol (5th season at UND, 110-63-16, .624)
This Season: 4-7-1 Overall, 4-5-1 WCHA (7th)
National Ranking: NR
Team Offense: 2.33 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 3.33 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 13.8% (13 of 94)
Penalty Kill: 80.6% (58 of 72)
Last Season: 28-11-4 Overall (NCAA Frozen Four semifinalist), 18-7-3 WCHA (2nd)
Key Players: Senior F Ryan Duncan (4-6-10), Junior F Chris VandeVelde (3-5-8), Senior F/D Brad Miller (3-5-8), Freshman F Brett Hextall (4-2-6), Junior D Chay Genoway (0-8-8), Freshman G Brad Eidsness (4-4-1, 2.85 GAA, .901 SV)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: December 27, 1997 (Grand Rapids, MI). North Dakota defeated Cornell 5-1 in the opener of the Pepsi Invitational. UND went on to win the holiday tournament, topping Ferris State 6-3 in the championship game.
Most Important Meeting: The Fighting Sioux and Big Red have met three times in the national tournament. Cornell beat UND 1-0 in the 1967 seminfinal, and North Dakota returned the favor in the 1968 semifinal, winning 3-1. UND also defeated Cornell 6-2 in the 1997 national quarterfinals.
All-time Series: UND leads the all-time series, 3-1-0 (.750). All four meetings have been on neutral ice.

Game News and Notes

UND freshman goaltender Brad Eidsness has appeared in nine consecutive games (including eight starts). The last freshman netminder to appear in a longer stretch of games was Karl Goehring, who played in ten straight contests in 1997-98. Cornell junior goaltender Ben Scrivens is following in the footsteps of Big Red netminders LeNevue (2001-03) and McKee (2003-06), both of whom became Hobey Baker finalists. North Dakota senior forward Ryan Duncan is currently 30th on the UND career scoring list. Duncan has notched 143 points in his Sioux career and would move into the top 25 all-time with three points this weekend. UND has not won a game this season when scoring two or fewer goals (0-6-1).

The Prediction

It does not look good for the green and white. I’m hopeful for a split, but all four lines need to play well for that to happen. Cornell 2-1, UND 2-1.

Thank you for reading. I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions.

Duluth got off to a blistering 3-0-1 start this season in non-conference play, scoring eighteen goals and allowing just nine in a tour of Michigan schools (Lake Superior, Northern Michigan, Western Michigan).

Once the Bulldogs began their WCHA schedule, however, things got noticeably tougher. UMD has won just one of its first seven conference games (1-4-2) and already finds itself near the bottom of the standings.

One thing that is different about this year’s Bulldog team is that the DECC is stacked with players who can score. After notching just 202 points all of last season (36 games), Duluth has tallied 90 points in 11 games this year. Last season’s Bulldogs barely cracked 11% on the power play, while this year’s squad is clipping along at over 18%.

In Grand Forks, this season feels like déjà vu all over again. And it feels like déjà vu all over again. Over the past five years, the Fighting Sioux have struggled in the first two months of the season:

2004-2005 October/November record: 9-5-2 (7-4-1 WCHA)
2005-2006 October/November record: 8-5-1 (4-4-0 WCHA)
2006-2007 October/November record: 7-6-1 (5-4-1 WCHA)
2007-2008 October/November record: 6-5-1 (4-5-0 WCHA)

And again, this season in October and November: 4-6-0 (4-4-0 WCHA)

In Hakstol’s first four seasons as head coach, there is a distinct difference between the opening two months (30-21-5, .580) and the rest of the season (76-35-10, .669).

Here’s my summary: “We’ve played tough teams, we’ve competed well in almost every game, and we can clearly get better in every phase. And that’s reason for optimism, not pessimism, in my book.”

Sound about right? Yes, but I wrote that last year before the Sioux/Bulldog series in Grand Forks. It’s clear that we’ve been down this road before.

The difference this year is we also need to get healthy. Injuries to Joe Finley, Zach Jones, and Chay Genoway have forced other players into expanded roles on the blue line. The Brad Miller-as-defenseman experiment is equal parts exciting and nerve-wracking, and sophomore defensemen Jake Marto (38 career games played) and Derrick Lapoint (41) are adjusting and improving as they play more minutes in key situations.

The one situation that appears settled is the goaltending issue. Freshman Brad Eidsness (4-3-0, 2.98 GAA, .895 SV) is the clear number one after replacing senior Aaron Walski last Friday night against Anchorage. Eidsness stopped 29 of 30 shots on the weekend in about 90 minutes of play. For the weekend, Eidsness went 1-0-0 with a 0.70 GAA and a .967 save percentage and was named WCHA co-Rookie of the Week.

North Dakota has had the better of the results between the two teams recently, going 10-1-1 against Duluth in the past twelve games.

Minnesota-Duluth Team Profile

National Rankings: NR
Head Coach: Scott Sandelin (9th season at UMD, 126-164-40, .442)
This Season: 4-4-3 Overall, 1-4-2 WCHA (t-8th)
Team Offense: 3.00 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 2.64 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 18.6% (16 of 86)
Penalty Kill: 78.1% (50 of 64)
Last Season: 13-17-6 Overall, 9-14-5 WCHA (8th)
Key Players: Senior F MacGregor Sharp (5-7-12), Senior F Nick Kemp (7-7-14), Sophomore F Justin Fontaine (6-7-13), Freshman F Mike Connolly (4-6-10), Senior D Josh Meyers (4-4-8), Junior G Alex Stalock (4-4-3, 2.58 GAA, .901 SV, 1 SO)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Dave Hakstol (5th season at UND, 110-62-15, .628)
This Season: 4-6-0 Overall, 4-4-0 WCHA (t-5th)
National Ranking: #20/#15
Team Offense: 2.50 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 3.50 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 13.2% (10 of 76)
Penalty Kill: 83.1% (49 of 59)
Last Season: 28-11-4 Overall (NCAA Frozen Four semifinalist), 18-7-3 WCHA (2nd)
Key Players: Senior F Ryan Duncan (4-5-9), Junior F Chris VandeVelde (3-4-7), Senior F/D Brad Miller (2-5-7), Freshman F Brett Hextall (4-1-5), Junior D Chay Genoway (0-5-5)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: March 2, 2008 (Duluth, MN). Chris VandeVelde scored less than a minute into overtime as visiting North Dakota outlasted Minnesota-Duluth, 2-1. The victory pushed UND’s unbeaten streak to 15 games (14-0-1) and secured a second-place finish in the WCHA. The Fighting Sioux won Friday’s series opener, 2-0.
Most Important Meeting: March 22, 1984. Minnesota-Duluth and North Dakota met in an NCAA national semifinal game in Lake Placid, New York. The Bulldogs defeated the Fighting Sioux 2-1 in overtime to advance to the title game. UND went on to defeat Michigan State 6-5 (OT) for third place, while Duluth fell to Bowling Green 5-4 in four overtimes, the longest championship game ever played.
All-time Series: UND leads the all-time series, 128-70-8 (.641), including a 54-37-5 (.589) record in Duluth.

Game News and Notes

North Dakota holds a 16-2-1 record against Duluth over the past five seasons. The Bulldogs have been outscored 12-6 in the first period this season, and have a record of 0-3-2 when trailing after the opening twenty minutes. North Dakota senior forward Ryan Duncan is currently 30th on the UND career scoring list. Duncan has notched 142 points in his Sioux career and would move into the top 25 all-time with a four-point weekend at Duluth. UMD junior netminder Alex Stalock has started 47 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NCAA. Sioux freshman forward Brett Hextall has scored a goal in four straight games; the last North Dakota player to score in five consecutive contests was Rastislav Spirko, who pulled off that feat in 2004-05.

The Prediction

Kozek and Trupp will be itching to get back in the lineup after watching from the stands last Saturday night. North Dakota will catch the Bulldogs by surprise on Friday night, and then rally to tie on Saturday night in a much tighter contest. UND 5-2, 3-3 tie.

Thank you for reading. I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions.

You might not recognize this year’s version of the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves.

Most of the names (Clark, Crowder, Lunden) are the same, and the jerseys haven’t changed. But after scoring a league-low 1.93 goals per game last season, UAA is buzzing along with a scoring average of 3.1 goals this season. The Seawolves are scorching hot on the power play and have received outstanding goaltending from an unlikely source.

Coming into the season, Anchorage felt comfortable between the pipes with junior Jon Olthuis (6-17-8, 2.90 GAA, .886 SV last season). But it has been the surprising play of sophomore goaltender Bryce Christianson (unbeaten in five games) that has them buzzing up where “you can see Russia from my house”.

North Dakota is struggling to stay healthy on the blue line. Senior Joe Finley and junior Chay Genoway have both missed time (and may not play this weekend), and senior Zach Jones is also playing hurt. The Sioux need steady contributions from sophomores Jake Marto and Derrick Lapoint and freshmen Ben Blood and Corey Fienhage in order to compete during this early stretch of games. Senior forward Brad Miller has played the past two games at defense and is expected to do so for the near future.

The other concern on the blue line is scoring. After leading the nation in points by defensemen last season (thanks to contributions by Taylor Chorney, Robbie Bina, Chay Genoway, and Joe Finley), North Dakota is last in that category this year. Sioux blue liners have collected zero goals and six assists in eight games, and two of those assists came from Brad Miller, a converted forward playing defense at Colorado College last weekend.

Alaska Anchorage Team Profile

Head Coach: Dave Shyiak (4th season at UAA, 31-72-16, .328)
This Season: 5-3-2 Overall, 2-2-2 WCHA
National Ranking: NR
Team Offense: 3.10 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 2.70 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 22.8% (13 of 57)
Penalty Kill: 79.7% (59 of 74)
Last Season: 7-21-8 Overall, 3-19-6 WCHA (10th)
Key Players: Junior F Kevin Clark (4-7-11), Junior F Paul Crowder (6-7-13), Junior F Josh Lunden (6-4-10), Sophomore G Bryce Christianson (3-0-2, 1.94 GAA, .903 SV)

North Dakota Team Profile

Head Coach: Dave Hakstol (5th season at UND, 109-61-15, .630)
This Season: 3-5-0 Overall, 3-3-0 WCHA
National Ranking: #18
Team Offense: 2.50 goals scored/game
Team Defense: 3.88 goals allowed/game
Power Play: 11.7% (7 of 60)
Penalty Kill: 79.2% (38 of 48)
Last Season: 28-11-4 Overall (NCAA Frozen Four semifinalist), 18-7-3 WCHA (2nd)
Key Players: Senior F Ryan Duncan (3-4-7), Junior F Chris VandeVelde (3-3-6), Senior F/D Brad Miller (2-3-5), Senior F Ryan Martens (2-2-4), Freshman F Jason Gregoire (3-1-4)

By The Numbers

Last Meeting: January 26, 2008 (Grand Forks, ND). UAA outshot UND 36-13 and carried the play for much of the hockey game, but the Fighting Sioux got great goaltending from Jean-Philippe Lamoureux (35 saves) and won 3-1 to complete the series sweep. North Dakota won Friday’s opener by the same 3-1 score.
Most Important Meeting: March 19, 2004 (St.Paul, MN). The Fighting Sioux and Seawolves met in the semifinal round of the WCHA Final Five, and UND cruised to the championship game with a 4-2 victory.
All-time Series: UND leads the all-time series, 36-15-3 (.694). The Fighting Sioux are 23-2-3 (.875) against UAA in games played in Grand Forks.

Game News and Notes

The Seawolves are converting on over 22 percent of power play opportunities, tops in the WCHA and good for third-best in the nation. Sioux senior forward Ryan Duncan has eleven career points (6 goals, 5 assists) against Anchorage in eight games; no other Sioux player has scored more than three career points against the Seawolves. UND and UAA are tied with Mankato for fifth place in the WCHA standings heading into this weekend’s series. Anchorage is in a stretch of games that includes Mankato, North Dakota, Colorado College, and Wisconsin; eerily similar to UND’s conference schedule thus far: Mankato, Wisconsin, Colorado College, and now Alaska Anchorage.

The Prediction

At full strength, this would be a different series. But that phrase takes on a double meaning due to North Dakota’s injury situation and UAA’s blistering power play. A split is a very likely result, but I’ll give three points to the homestanding Sioux. UND 4-3, 2-2 tie.

As always, thank you for reading. I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions.