UND vs. UMN series notes

Cross Posted @ INSIDE HOCKEY...

The University of North Dakota entertains the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Ralph Englestad Arena.

Game Time: 7:37 pm Friday, 7:07 pm Saturday.

Television: TV: UND Sports Network, MidcoSN3, FOX College Sports Central,
FOX Sports North, DirecTV 617 and 668.

Radio: The games can be heard at 96.1 the Fox.

Internet: UNDSports.com

Records and Rankings: UND (11-8-2 overall, 7-7-0 WCHA) UND is ranked 17^th in the USCHO poll. North Dakota Beat Clarkson (3-1) in the College Hockey Classic.

Minnesota Golden Gophers (15-7-1, 10-4-0 WCHA);  ranked 5^th in the latest USCHO poll. Minnesota lost to Notre Dame in the Hall of Fame Game (4-3) last weekend.

Series History:  UND is 15-11-3 against the Minnesota Golden Gophers since head coach Dave Hastol took over the coaching reigns at the beginning of the 2004-05 season. The Gophers swept UND (2-0 and 3-2) earlier back in November.  The Minnesota Gophers lead the all-time series against UND by a 135-128-14 record.

Players to Watch:

For UND: Forwards: Danny Kristo (11-13a—24pts), Corbin Knight (6g-15a—21pts) and Brock Nelson (15g-9a—24pts). Defense: Nick Mattson (5g-8a—13pts), Dillion Simpson, (0g-11a—11pts), Ben Blood (2g-8a—10pts).  Goaltenders: Aaron Dell .894 save percentage and a  2.77 goals against average. Brad Eidsness .918 save percentage and a 2.43 goals against average.

UND Injuries: Forward Rocco Grimaldi is out, forward Corban Knight and defenseman Derek Forbort are questionable for this weekend, forward Derek Rodwell is out for the season (shoulder surgery).

For the Gophers: Forwards: Kyle Rau (12g-10a—22pts), Nick Bjugstad 17g-11a—28pts), Erik Haula (10g-17a—28pts), Zach Budish (6g-14a—20pts). Defense: Nate Schmidt (1g-23a—24pts), Mark Alt (4g-10a—14pts). Goalie: Kent Patterson .918 save percentage and a 2.13 goals against average.

Key Numbers:

1 – UND goalie Aaron Dell has one shutout so far this season.

1 – UMN forward Kyle Rau is tied for first nationally in game winning goal with 5.

1 – UMN goalie Kent Patterson is ranked first in the nation for shutouts with 6.

1 – UMN is ranked first in scoring nationally.

3 – UMN is ranked third in the WCHA for penalty minutes.

4 – UMN forward Nick Bjugstad is ranked fourth in the nation in goals per game .81.

6 – UMN is ranked sixth nationally in defense.

7 – UMN is ranked seventh on the power play

8 – UND forward Brock Nelson is ranked eight in the nation for goals per game .71.

9 – UND forward Danny Kristo is ranked ninth in the nation for game winning goals with three.

9 – UND forward Brock Nelson has nine power play goals for UND to lead the nation.

10 – UMN has 10 conference wins so far this season.

11 – UND is ranked 11^th in penalty minutes in the WCHA.

11 – UMN forward Nick Bjugstad is ranked 11^th nationally for points per game.

12 – UND is ranked 12^th on the power play nationally.

13 – UND forward Corbin Knight is ranked 13^th in the nation for assists per game with 0.83.

13 – UMN goalie Kent Patterson is ranked 13 nationally in goals against average.

18 – UND is ranked 18^th in the Pairwise Rankings.

21 – UND is ranked 21^st in scoring nationally.

23 – UND forward Corbin Knight is ranked 23^rd nationally for points per game.

25 – UND forwards Danny Kristo and Brock Nelson are ranked nationally for points per game.

29 – UND is ranked 29^th nationally in defense.

Other games in the WCHA: Alaska Anchorage at Michigan Tech, Minnesota Duluth at Nebraska Omaha, Wisconsin at Minnesota State, Bemidji State at Denver, Saint Cloud State at Colorado College