UND Hockey: The Weekend Ahead (12/13-12/14)

This weekend, the University of North Dakota entertains Northern Michigan University Wildcats in an important two-game non-conference series. Last weekend, UND swept their conference series with Western Michigan (3-2 W, 3-2 W) at Lawson Arena. This is the last series for the University of North Dakota, until after the New Year.

Matchup: North Dakota (7-7-2, 5-5-0 NCHC) versus Northern Michigan (6-8-2, 4-5-1 WCHA).
Date: December 13-14, 2013.

Time: 7:37 p.m. Central Friday / Saturday 7:07 p.m. Central

Radio: UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM)  The Fox

Webcast: undsports.com

TV:  Midco Sports Network

All-Time Series History

UND leads the all-time series 27-23-3 (.538). In Grand Forks, UND leads the series 19-8-1 (.696). In Marquette, Northern Michigan leads the series 14-6-2 6-14-2 (.682). At Neutral sites: UND leads the series 2-1-0 (.667). UND has never played Northern Michigan under head coach Dave Hakstol: First meetings. Last 10 games, UND leads the series 8-2-0 (.800).

Players to watch

North Dakota: Forwards: Rocco Grimaldi (6g-8a—14pts), Drake Caggiula (4g-6a—10pts), Luke Johnson (3g-6a—9pts), Michael Parks (3g-6a—9pts), Stephane Pattyn (3g-3a—6pts), Brendan O’Donnell (3g-2—5pts), Connor Gaarder (2g-3a—5pts). Defense:  Dillon Simpson (2g-7a—9pts), Jordan Schmaltz (2g-5a—7pts), Paul Ladue (2g-4a—6pts), Nick Mattson (1g-5a—6pts), Troy Stecher (1g-4a—5pts),  Goaltenders: Clarke Saunders 2-2-0, GAA 3.60 and .900 save percentage, Zane Gothberg 5-5-2, 2.61 GAA and .914 save percentage.

UND injuries: Colten St. Clair (questionable), Brendan O’Donnell (Out).

Northern Western Michigan: Forwards Stephan Vigier (10g-5a—15pts), Ryan Daugherty (2g-7a—9pts), Reed Seckel (5g-2a—7pts).  Defense:  CJ Ludwing  (5g-7a—12pts), Mitch Jones (0g-9a—9pts), Luke Eibler (1g-5a—7pts).  Goaltenders Mathias Dahlstrom 5-6-2, 2.13 GAA, .929 save percentage, Michael Doan 1-2-0, 3.86 GAA, .863% save percentage.

Second Half Team

Year Before Xmas After Xmas
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) 16-7-2 (.680)
2010-11 13-5-2 (.700) 19-4-1 (.813)
2011-12 9-8-1 (.528) 17-5-2 (.750)
2012-13 10-5-3 (.639) 12-7-4 (.609)
2013-14 7-7-2 (.500) —-
Totals 98-69-17 (.579) 144-56-22 (.698)

Traditionally, since Dave Hakstol has been the head coach, UND has been known for its second half surges. Here’s a breakdown of those numbers.

UND official Web Page

Northern Michigan University Web Page