NON-CONFERENCE SERIES: No. 5 North Dakota at No. 9 Cornell

Here is Elliot Olshansky's pre-game write up from the NCAA blog.

Dave Hakstol's team is regularly one of the best-traveled in college hockey, but a trip to Lynah Rink in Ithaca is no ordinary road trip. Some 4,000 Big Red fans maybe one of the smaller crowds North Dakota plays in front of (coming out of the WCHA), but they'll also be one of the loudest.

The Big Red, meanwhile, is in a tight spot. Despite their high national ranking, their 2-2-1 non-conference record is less than impressive, with a major missed opportunity in a 3-3 tie with Boston University at Madison Square Garden, and a pair of losses to Colorado College and Princeton at the Florida College Classic. A win against No. 16 New Hampshire, the current Hockey East leader, helps somewhat, but with the WCHA as strong as it is, this year, Cornell needs at least one win this weekend to improve its chances at an NCAA tournament berth. Otherwise, it may be "ECAC Title or Bust" for Mike Schafer's team.

Cornell will have the No. 3 scoring defewnse in the nation on its side, allowing just 2.12 goals per game, as well as the No. 5 power play in the nation (24.3 percent), which features a pair of potent scorers in seniors Blake Gallgher and Colin Greening, who have cooled off a bit from their red-hot start to the season, but are still formidable weapons.

Still, Cornell has scored more than two goals just twice in their last seven games, and North Dakota doesn't figure to make lighting the lamp any easier. NoDak is right behind Cornell and Ferris State among the nation's defensive leaders with 2.25 goals per game, and will provide a different kind of test for Cornell at the other end of the ice, with 11 players scoring in double-digits, led by junior forward Evan Trupp (5g, 15a) and sophomore Jason Gregoire, who has seven assists to go with a team-high 12 goals.

The always-intense Lynah Faithful should be especially fired up for this series: in addition to being a key pair of games against a formidable non-conference opponent, it's also Cornell's first home game since Nov. 24

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Here is the information for listening and watching this weekend's game.

Jan. 22-23, 2010 • 6 pm CT • James Lynah Rink (4,267) • Ithaca, N.Y.
RADIO: 96.1 The Fox (KQHT-FM) • TV: Time Warner Sports (N.Y. only)
WEBCAST & LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com/Showcase • AUDIO: FightingSioux.com

SECOND-HALF SURGE?: The Sioux are off to a 3-1-2 (.667) start since the Christmas break after a 9-6-3 (.583) first half. In Dave Hakstol's five-plus years as head coach, UND has posted a .688 winning percentage (84-34-15) in games played after Christmas (including playoffs), compared to a .569 mark (49-36-9) prior to Christmas.

In each of the last five seasons, UND has dramatically increased its winning percentage following the holiday break. Below is a year-by-year comparison of UND's pre and post-Christmas records: Year Before After

2004-05 13-7-2 (.636) 12-8-3 (.587)
2005-06 12-7-1 (.625) 17-9-0 (.654)
2006-07 7-10-1 (.417) 17-4-4 (.760)
2007-08 8-6-1 (.567) 20-5-3 (.768)
2008-09 9-8-1 (.528) 15-7-3 (.660)
2009-10 9-6-3 (.583) 3-1-2 (.667)