Harvard vs. UND shot charts game one

The Fighting Sioux came out in the first period with a lot of energy and had a lot of nice chances in the slot. There were a couple of shots close in that Sioux forwards had an open net and whiffed on the shot and or heeled the shot.

From the fun stats department; Fighting Sioux freshman defenseman Nick Mattson became the first UND defenseman to score a shorthanded goal since October 16, 2009. With all of the offensive defensemen that graced the Sioux roster during that time period it was hard to believe that it had been 25 and a half months since Derrick LaPoint scored a short handed goal against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Looking at the shot chart in the third period you can see why Fighting Sioux hockey coach Dave Hackstol was not all that pleased with his teams effort in the third period.

After the game, Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol was not very happy with his team’s effort in the third period and said that his team went out soft in the third period. "We had three shots on goal fifteen minutes into the third period. We didn’t go out and play hard in the third period and that is what cost us the game." Coach Hakstol also said that he thought, "the team didn’t play well in the third period..." He thought "they were on their heels and had their heads up their rear ends.“

• Dating back to last season Harvard has scored at least one power play goal in their last 15 games. Harvard scored on their first power play in last night’s game. Ha
• Harvard has trailed 17 times this season and come back to tie the score 14 times. Harvard tied the score in last night’s game two more times.
• The Crimson take a five game unbeaten streak into tonight’s game.
• Until last night Harvard had outscored their opponents 19-11 in the second period. Last night the Fighting Sioux outscored them 4-1.
• The Harvard Crimson are seeking their first win against a WCHA team since December 30^th, 2006.
• The Fighting Sioux have been looking for balanced scoring. Last night, no named Brock Nelson (14g-8a—22pts), Danny Kristo (9g-11a—20pts)  or Corbin Knight (6-15a—21pts) scored a goal for the Fighting Sioux.
• Harvard’s Alex Lillorn was 17-4 in the faceoff circle last night.
• Fighting Sioux freshman Mark MacMillan went 9-6 in the faceoff circle last night.

North Dakota vs. Harvard Series Preview

Cross Posted at INSIDE HOCKEY.

The University of North Dakota entertains  Harvard University at Ralph Engelstad Arena this weekend.

Game Times: 7:37 pm Friday and 7:07 pm Saturday.

Television: TV: Fighting Sioux Sports Network, Fox College Sports Central, DirecTV (Ch. 617 Friday and 623 Saturday).

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

Internet: FightingSioux.com

Tickets: There are still tickets available for this series according to the UND Ticket Site.

Records and Rankings: UND – 9-8-1 overall, 7-7-0 WCHA; Ranked 18^th in the USCHO poll. North Dakota was idle this past weekend.

Harvard 4-3-3 overall, 3-3-2 ECAC; Unranked in the latest USCHO poll. Harvard was idle this past weekend.

Series History:  UND is 3-1-0 against Harvard and swept the Crimson at Harvard (10-1, 4-3) in 2008.

Players to Watch:

For UND: Forwards Danny Kristo (9g-11a—20pts), Corbin Knight (6g-15a—21) and Brock Nelson (14g-8a—22pts). Goaltenders Aaron Dell .895 save percentage and a 2.80 goals against average. Brad Eidsness .918 save percentage and 2.43 goals against average.

For the Crimson: Defenseman Danny Biega (3g-11a—14pts), Patrick NcNally (3g-9a—12pts), Forwards Alex Killom (6g-6a—12pts), Alex Fallstrom (3g-6a—9pts). Goaltender Steve Michalek 4-2-2 .898 save percentage 3.10 goals against average.

Key Numbers:

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

2 – Harvard’s Dany Biega is second in the nation for points per game by a defenseman.

2 – Harvard’s Patrick NcNally is second in the nation for points per game by a rookie.

7 – UND has 7 conference wins so far this season.

8 – Harvard has 8 conference points so far this season.

9 – UND has 9 wins over all so far this season.

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

10 – The Harvard Crimson have played “only” 10 games so far this season.

11 – Harvard’s Dany Biega with 10 assists is leading the nation in assists per game with 1.40.

14 – UND has 14 conference points so far this season.

22 – UND is ranked 2^nd in the Pairwise Rankings.

25 – Harvard is ranked 25^th in the Pairwise Rankings

Other games in the WCHA: Minnesota State vs. USDT U18 team (Friday), Michigan Tech vs. Michigan State on (Thursday) and Michigan/Boston College (Friday) at Great Lakes Invitational, Minnesota vs. Niagara (Friday) and Northeastern/Princeton (Saturday) in Mariucci Classic, Denver vs. Union (Friday), Denver at Air Force (Saturday), Bowling Green at Bemidji State, Colorado College vs. Air Force (Friday) Union at Colorado College (Saturday), Quinnipiac vs. Nebraska Omaha, Western Michigan vs. Saint Cloud.

Related articles

• North Dakota vs. Harvard Series Preview (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - December 12 (insidehockey.com)