Time for the Second Half of the Season

Now is the time for the Fighting Sioux to step it up and set the tone for the second half of the season if they want get a good seeding for the WCHA playoffs and do anything in the NCAA playoffs. It seems that the Fighting Sioux under Coach Dave Hakstol start slow, almost uninterested, in playing at the beginning of the season. They then peak at the right time just before the playoffs begin and go on a torrid pace. At least that is what has happened the past three seasons; all three seasons have had a familiar ending with UND finishing their season in the Frozen Four minus a NCAA Championship trophy.

This season the expectations were set much higher. During the three previous seasons the Sioux had lost numerous big time hockey players. However, this time the Sioux were relatively unscathed as they had only lost two highly skilled underclassmen and two veteran hockey players to graduation.

That being said, it would seem that the expectation of the Sioux winning some hardware such as a league title and an NCAA title might be the standard of achievement this season, especially with the return of Hobey Baker Memorial award winner Ryan Duncan, T.J. Oshie, Joe Finley and Taylor Chorney.
Here are a few points of interest for this weekend's series.

ALL-TIME SERIES vs. UNH (9-2-2)
12-29-71 (H) UND 9 UNH 3 W
12-30-71 (H) UNH 3 UND 2 L
11-16-84 (A) UND 4 UNH 3 W
11-17-84 (A) UND 11 UNH 0 W
11-8-85 (H) UND 4 UNH 2 W
11-9-85 (H) UND 7 UNH 4 W
11-28-86 (A) UND 10 UNH 0 W
1-17-88 (H) UND 6 UNH 2 W
1-6-89 (A) UND 8 UNH 2 W
11-28-99 (H) UNH 6 UND 2 L
10-6-00 (N) UNH 2 UND 2 OT T
10-21-05 (H) UND 3 UNH 2 W
10-22-05 (H) UND 3 UNH 3 OT T

Series against New Hampshire: North Dakota is 9-2-2 all-time against New Hampshire. The Sioux are 4-0-0 against the Wildcats in Grand Forks, 5-2-1 against UNH in Durham, N.H., and 0-0-1 at neutral sites.

The last time the teams met was in October 2005, when the Wildcats played host to the Fighting Sioux in a two-game series in Durham, N.H. UND won the series opener 3-2 and the teams played to a 3-3 tie the next night.

UNH Wild Cats Roster Break down

Alberta (1): Fornataro- Calgary
Arizona (1): Flaishans- Glendale
British Columbia (1): Switzer-Peachland
California (1): Beck- Long Beach
Florida (1): Vranek- New Port Richey
Illinois (2): Krates-Palos Park, Radja-Yorkville
Maryland (1): Fritsch- Odenton
Massachusetts (6): Butler- Marlboro, Kapstad- Boxboro, Pollastrone- Revere,
Regan- South Boston, Rossman-Boxford, Savard- Framingham
Michigan (1): Dries-Lake Orion
Minnesota (1): Fricke-St. Paul
Missouri (1): Fortney- Webster Groves
New Hampshire (3): Foster-Pembroke, A. Thompson- Gilford, P. Thompson- Derry
New Jersey (1): vanRiemsdyk-Middletown
New York (3): Charlebois- Potsdam, Collins- Fairport, DeSimone- East Amherst
Ontario (1): LeBlanc-Hamilton
Pennsylvania (2): Campanale- Chester Springs, Manz- Wayne
Wisconsin (1): Sislo- Superior

Pretty interesting break down of hockey players from many different places, including a couple that are from south of the Mason Dixion Line.

University of New Hampshire Links for the Series

My Favorite the UNH Hockey blog

University of New Hampshire Media Guide

Chris Heisenberg Unofficial UNH site


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