UND beats WMU 2-0

Grand Forks, ND –  University of North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol has won 20 games in each of the 10 seasons  that he’s coached. No other active Division I hockey coach can make that claim.

North Dakota started the season 4-7-2, and since November 30, 2013, has gone on a 16-3-1 run. Tonight, UND got the 20th win of their season by shutting out a scrappy Western Michigan 2-0 at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

In the second period, UND scored two goals 18 seconds apart by forwards Stephane Patty and Luke Johnson to break the game open. Sophomore goalie Zane Gothberg preserved the win, recording his second shutout of the season stopping 18-of-18 shots.

“Obviously it starts with our coaching staff,” Gothberg said. “They’ve been through the ropes. They’ve been through everything, throughout the years. And I think it just kind of came down from them.”

Gothberg continued, “Once we figured out how to play our game, each guy bought in. It was a simple mentality change, just a little bit before Christmas break. It was kind of cool to see what happened. You know what, we’re going out and proving ourselves every night, still. Proving to ourselves and to our team that we can be even better.”

After the game, Western Michigan head coach Andrew Murray was asked about his thoughts on his team’s play.

“I give North Dakota a lot of credit,” Western Michigan head coach Andy Murray said. “I actually thought our game in the first 15 minutes was pretty darn good.  We had two or three great chances in front of (Zane) Gothberg, and he made some good saves.”

“North Dakota was hungry and they were sniffing blood, and they came after us. They played hard, and we weren’t as good as they were.”

Coach Murray was asked what his team needed to do to get the win on Saturday night.

“There are a number of things that we need to do differently,” Murray said. “Coach needs to be better. We’re playing against a very good North Dakota team. I think you could tell we were ready to play tonight, the way we can, in the first 15 minutes. In reality, we could have been up by a couple of goals, here. They’re a good team and their coaches do a very good job. I think both teams play very similar. They just played better.”

After the game the UND players shared their thoughts.

“It was a good game,” sophomore forward Luke Johnson said. “I thought we played really well. I thought we played with a lot of pace. We played pretty fast, and they did too.”

“Probably the only people who believed in us was ourselves in that locker room,” junior forward Stephane Pattyn said. “We had a bit of a rough start there, it was ugly. We just stuck together. Everyone just nutted up and got the job done. We’re just going to have to keep doing the same thing.”

Tonight’s game was a hard fought game, and was a tie game until the 17:21 mark of the second period.  UND finally broke the game over with a couple of quick goals 18 seconds apart.

“It was nice that we got rewarded,” head coach Dave Hakstol said. “I thought we had a pretty good period. Then at 17 minutes (of the second period) or whatever it was, we didn’t have a lot to show for it. A nice power-play goal followed up with another quick one was critical for that period.”

With the win, North Dakota (20-10-3, 15-8-3 NCHC) has a chance to win the Penrose Trophy on the final night of the regular season.

With the loss, Western Michigan (16-14-5, 10-11-2 NCHC) will be on the road for the first round of the NCHC playoffs.

On Saturday night, the same two teams play again at 07:00 p.m. Central.

A few statistics from the game

UND out shot WMU 38-18 for the game.

Friday night’s game, was the first time UND has beaten a team when it scored two goals or fewer, UND is  now 1-8-2  (.181).

UND has killed 20 of the last 21 opponents power-plays.

[Box Score]

UND Hockey: Game Day links for both the Men and Women

Congrats to the UND Women's team for beating the Wisconsin Badgers 1-0 in the first round of the WCHA Final Faceoff. They advance to play the winner of the UMN and UMD game tomorrow.

The UND Men's team will attempt to win the Penrose Trophy this weekend. Standing in their way, the Western Michigan Broncos. UND beat WMU 3-2, 3-2 in Kalamazoo, Michigan earlier in the season.

UND and SCSU currently tied at top of the NCHC with 42 points. Both teams have two games remaining. You can watch the C.C. vs. SCSU game on CSBSN.

TV: Midco Sports Network (ch. 622 & 26) || Radio: 96.1 FM The Fox, http://t.co/AZgE0g116z, iHeart Radio || Webcast: http://t.co/AZgE0g116z
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) March 7, 2014

Photo album from today's 1-0 win over Wisconsin: http://t.co/0Gb8v0c3Me
— North Dakota WHockey (@UNDWHockey) March 8, 2014

Postgame presser time. @meghandufault and #twitterlessShelby with coach Idalski up for UND pic.twitter.com/vYqFi4wf6e
— North Dakota WHockey (@UNDWHockey) March 8, 2014

NCAA Hockey: Ex-College Hockey Players Traded During the Trade Deadline - http://t.co/lmzpllpXzL #hockey #THW pic.twitter.com/1SIKLOQGAo
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) March 7, 2014

UND Hockey: Players' Only Meeting Turns Season Around - http://t.co/5x6tGhlqCY #hockey #THW pic.twitter.com/NKKhMqG40D
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) March 6, 2014

View from the booth from @CCTigers at world arena for fridays 9est gm vs @SCSUHUSKIES_MH on @CBSSportsNet @TheNCHC pic.twitter.com/D2yCgCwqxt
— ben holden (@benholdenpxp) March 6, 2014

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Sub-Par Faceoff Numbers Plague Team (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCAA Women's Hockey Morning Skate: December 6th, 2013 (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Women's Hockey: Making an Impact on the 2014 Sochi Games (thehockeywriters.com)

UND vs. WMU Lines game 1

North Dakota Forward Lines

9 Drake Caggiula–16 Mark MacMillan–15 Michael Parks
28 Stephane Pattyn–19 Rocco Grimaldi–27 Luke Johnson
21 Brendan O’Donnell–13 Connor Gaarder–11 Derek Rodwell
25 Mitch MacMillan–29 Bryn Chyzyk–17 Colten St. Clair

North Dakota Defense Pairings

18 Dillon Simpson–24 Jordan Schmaltz
5 Nick Mattson–6 Paul LaDue
4 Keaton Thompson–2 Troy Stecher

North Dakota Goalies

31 Zane Gothberg
33 Clarke Saunders

Western Michigan Broncos Forward Lines

8 Sheldon Dries–29 Will Kessel–25 Mike Cichy
24 Shane Berschbach–13 Chase Balisy–17 Justin Kovacs
2 Mike McKee–26 Michael Rebry–28 Sam Mellor
14 Colton Hargrove–10 Josh Pitt–16 Nolan LaPorte

Western Michigan Broncos Defense Pairings

3 Thomas Nitsche–7 Kenney Morrison
9 Chris Dienes–20 Taylor Fleming
15 Jordan Oesterle–11 Dennis Brown

Western Michigan Broncos Goalies

55 Lukas Hafner
1 Frank Slubowski

On-Ice Officials: Derek Shepherd (3), Joe Sullivan (21). Linesmen: Andy Dokken (70), Brandon Schmitt (36). 

UND Women's Hockey: UND will host the 2015 WCHA Final Faceoff.

Some good news for the UND Women's Hockey team and the Ralph Engelstad Arena. They will get to host the 2015 Final Faceoff. Under coach Brian Idalski, the UND women have advanced to the Final Faceoff four consecutive years in a row.

Martin also said North Dakota would host next year's Final Faceoff.... not sure if that was announced before or not. But it's gonna rotate.
— Jack Hittinger (@jackhitts) March 6, 2014

Related articles

• UND Women's Hockey: Making an Impact on the 2014 Sochi Games (thehockeywriters.com)

UND Hockey: Dillon Simpson talks to the Student Body

A quick thank you to the students at UND for their support over the last four years #seniorweek http://t.co/5boo9bw5DT
— Dillon Simpson (@Simmer18) March 5, 2014

I can't believe that the season is almost over. An absolute gem, Dillon Simpson has been fun to cover over the past three seasons... One of the nicest kids you'll ever meet.

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Age Not a Factor for Dillon Simpson (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: Adam Tambellini Leaves UND for the WHL (thehockeywriters.com)
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• UND Beats C.C. in Grand Forks (insidehockey.com)

Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn)

Here we are the last weekend in the inaugural NCHC season.  The race for the Penrose Cup will be decided this weekend.  We know for sure is both SCSU and UND will be at home for the first round of the playoffs, oh and they are the top contenders for the inaugural league title.  I’m not sure on how all the tie breakers work, but we might have to find out come Sunday!

NCHC STANDINGS 2013-2014

Team………………………W-L-T-SW………Points

North Dakota……………..14-8-0-0…..…….….42
St. Cloud St……………….13-6-3-0…………...42
Nebraska-Omaha………..12-8-2-1…..………..39
Minnesota-Duluth………..10-10-2-2….….……34
Western Michigan………..10-10-2-2…….……34
Denver………………………9-10-3-2……….…32
Colorado College……….. ..6-11-5-1…….….…24
Miami………………………..5-16-1-1….…….….17

NCHC Games

Nebraska-Omaha @ #17 Minnesota-Duluth

Last weekend the Bulldogs swept Miami (5-4, 1-0) in Oxford and the Mavericks swept the Tigers (6-0, 2-1ot) in Omaha.

The Mavericks have almost secured home ice, and with at least a tie this weekend, they will secure a home spot.  The Bulldogs need to win, since they are tied with WMU for the last home ice spot and DU is only two points behind.  Both UMD and UNO beat up on the two bottom teams in the standings, so they both should have some confidence going into the weekend.  UNO is even stevens this year, 6-6-0 on the road and 9-9-0 at home, the Bulldogs are 4-7-3 at home and 10-6-0 on the road.  Perhaps UMD is better of throwing these games, so they are on the road the first round?  SPLIT

Miami @ Denver

Last weekend the RedHawks were swept by the Bulldogs (5-4, 1-0) in Duluth and the Pioneers split with the Broncos (4-2W, 3-1L) in Kalamazoo.

I’m guessing the season can’t end fast enough in Oxford, ugh.  MU has just two wins in 2014, and thus has lost seven of their last eight games.  The Pioneers still have a shot at home ice but they need some help; they need to pass up UMD and WMU.  The RedHawks are 4-9-2 on the road, and they did split with DU earlier this season.  The Pioneers are 9-6-1 in Denver this year.  They will need at least one win this weekend and lots of help or two wins and some help, to host games next weekend.  PIONEERS SWEEP

#3 SCSU @ Colorado College

Last weekend the Huskies split with NoDak (5-2L, 3-1W) in St. Cloud and the Tigers were swept by the Mavericks (6-0, 2-1ot) in Omaha.

This match-up could happen again next weekend too, but with SCSU hosting the games.  The teams meet way back about thanksgiving with the teams tying Friday (CC won shoot out) and SCSU winning the Saturday game.  With the cup on the line, I think SCSU will bring its “A” game to Colorado Springs.  Unless the Huskies are affected by thee, ahem, “haze”, at CC, they should leave a couple of wins.  HUSKIES SWEEP

#21 Western Michigan @ #9 North Dakota

Last weekend the Broncos split with the Pioneers (4-2L, 3-1W) in Kalamazoo and NoDak split with the Huskies (5-2W, 3-1L) in St. Cloud.

These teams met the first week of December in Kalamazoo, with NoDak sweeping the series by identical 3-2 scores.  NoDak is 11-5-1 at home in The Ralph this season and the Broncos are 5-5-3 on the road.  As far as I can recall this will be WMU first ever trip to Grand Forks (correct me if I’m wrong).  The Broncos are in a precarious spot, sitting in a tie for fourth place and the last home ice spot.  And playing on the road at the top team in the conferences barn doesn’t help their cause any.  NoDak has been hot the second half, like usual, and I don’t see them slowing down this weekend at home, with home crowd advantage cheering them on.  NODAK SWEEP

Related articles

• Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn) (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn) (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
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Drew Stafford to the Wild?

One of the rumors to be surfacing today is the that Minnesota Wild might be interested in former UND Fighting Sioux forward Drew Stafford. Apparently, some of the Sioux hating Gopher fans don't like the idea. One person that might benifit from a change of scenery might be Stafford.

Michael Russo, Russo's Rants --- As I reported in today’s newspaper and on last night’s blog, multiple sources tell me the Wild is very interested in Drew Stafford, who has been playing at a consistently high level for some time for the Sabres. There have been lots of conversations between Fletcher and Sabres GM Tim Murray lately and the big question is whether Murray is indeed willing to trade Stafford, 28, and what the price would be.

He wouldn’t be a rental. He has another year left on his contract at a pretty attractive $4 million (remember, the cap is going up), so this would be more of a “hockey trade” (one of my favorite terms; I’d love to know who coined it).

So it could cost a second-tier prospect, salaried player (Wild would need to trade some cash unless it just puts Backstrom or Harding on LTIR, which allows you to top the cap ceiling by their cap hit if you need the space) and/or a pick.

Stafford is very good friends with Zach Parise from their days at Shattuck and North Dakota, he’s a former teammate of Jason Pominville. (By the way, even though I'm mentioning Stafford on here, I'm not saying it's going to happen. I'm sure Fletcher has many balls in the air and this is just one I've heard about).

BLOG: #mnwild talking to the Buffalo Sabres about Drew Stafford http://t.co/uU1fHguls4
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) March 5, 2014

Stafford has heard same MIN rumors: "There's chatter about everything. .. It happens. We're in here watching the same thing all of you are."
— Mike Harrington (@BNHarrington) March 5, 2014

Breaking down the last week in the NCHC

With one week remaining, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings are very tight. We probably won’t know the seeding’s for the NCHC playoffs until after all of the games have been played on Saturday night.

University of North Dakota (19-10-3, 14-8-0 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 9. This weekend: North Dakota entertains the Western Michigan University Broncos (16-13-5, 10-10-2 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking T-21. Season series: UND went 2-0-0 against WMU (3-2, 3-2 North Dakota). North Dakota is closing in on securing an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. More than likely, if UND makes the NCHC tourney they’re in the NCAA tournament. WMU will probably need to win the NCHC tourney to make the NCAA tourney.

Saint Cloud State University Huskies (19-8-5, 13-6-3 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 4. This weekend: the Huskies travel to Colorado Springs to take on the Colorado College Tigers (6-20-6, 6-11-5 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 48. Season series: the Huskies went 1-0-1 against the Tigers this season (2-2 Tie and 6-2 SCSU). Saint Cloud State is a lock to make the NCAA tourney. Colorado College will have to win the NCHC tourney to make the NCAA tourney.

Nebraska-Omaha (15-15-2, 12-8-2 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 28. This Weekend: Nebraska-Omaha travels to Minnesota Duluth (15-13-4, 10-10-2 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 17. Season series: UMD 2-0-0 record against UNO (3-1, 3-2 Minnesota Duluth).  Both teams are going to need help making the NCAA tournament as an at-large bid.

University of Denver (15-13-6, 9-10-3 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 26. This weekend: Denver entertains Miami University (11-18-3, 5-16-1 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 41. Season series: The two teams split their season series so far (3-1 Miami and 4-2 Denver). From looking at the Pairwise, it appears that Denver needs to win the NCHC tourney to make the NCAA tourney. Same for Miami there’s no other way Miami can make the NCAA tournament. 

Related articles

• Bowling Green Unhappy with Travel in NCHC? (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Breaking Down the Numbers (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Breaking Down the Numbers Half Way Point (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Updated standing (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

NCHC Hockey: Connor Gaarder checks in with the fifth best goal of the week

North Dakota junior forward Connor Gaarder's scored his fourth and fifth goals of the season on Friday night, leading UND past Saint Cloud State 5-2. For his efforts, Gaarder checks in this week with the fifth best goal in the NCHC.  Gaarder has (5g-7a—12pts) in 32 games this season. Gaarder’s five goals is a career high for the junior from Edina, Minnesota.   

(Video) UND 5 - SCSU 2

Coming into the game against Saint Cloud State University, the UND hockey team talked about having a bad taste in their mouth after being swept by the SCSU Huskies back in November. UND scored five goals during the second period and cruised past SCSU 5-2.

Junior forward Brendan O'Donnell had a solid night tonight, scoring (0g-3a—3pts) and junior forward Connor Gaarder chipped in (2g-0a—2pts). Junior forward Mark MacMillan also had a strong night (1g-1a—2pts). It was a solid effort and a good road win for the UND hockey team. UND also improved to 15-2-1 since starting the season 4-7-2.

UND is in first place with 42 points with three games to go. They will go for the series sweep tomorrow night. If they get the sweep that would be their sixth sweep of the season. Last year, UND had two.

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Conference Title up for Grabs in Saint Cloud (thehockeywriters.com)

(Video) UND no goal against Huskies (2/28/2014)

UND forward Colton St. Claire thought he had scored a goal against SCSU Husky goalie Ryan Faragher. Thoughts? Watch at the end of the video, Faragher kicks his pad out, where do you think the puck is?

No goal after video review. Still scoreless 5:22 into the game.
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) March 1, 2014

UND vs. SCSU game one

UND Forward lines

9 Drake Caggiula–16 Mark MacMillan–15 Michael Parks (A)
28 Stephane Pattyn (A)–19 Rocco Grimaldi–27 Luke Johnson
21 Brendan O’Donnell–13 Connor Gaarder–11 Derek Rodwell
25 Mitch MacMillan–29 Bryn Chyzyk–17 Colten St. Clair

North Dakota Defense Pairings

5 Nick Mattson–6 Paul LaDue
18 Dillon Simpson ©–24 Jordan Schmaltz
4 Keaton Thompson–2 Troy Stecher

UND Goalies

31 Zane Gothberg
33 Clarke Saunders

Out: 7-Wade Murphy (Fr., F), 20-Gage Ausmus (Fr., D), 22-Andrew Panzarella (Jr., D), 26-Coltyn Sanderson (So., F), 30-Matt Hrynkiw (Fr., G)

SCSU Huskies Forward lines

16 Jimmy Murray–26 Nic Dowd–13 David Morley
10 Ryan Papa–11 Kalle Kossila–22 Jonny Brodzinski
9 Joey Benik–8 Cory Thorson–21 Brooks Bertsch
27 Nick Oliver–37 Joe Rehkamp–6 Daniel Tedesco

SCSU Defense Pairings

15 Niklas Nevalainen–12 Ethan Prow
7 Kevin Gravel–40 Tim Daly
19 Ben Storm–2 Jarrod Rabey

SCSU Goalies

29 Ryan Faragher
35 Charlie Lindgren
33 Joseph Phillippi

TV tonight: CBS Sports Network, DirecTV (channel 221), DISH Network (158). NO webcast tonight.
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) March 1, 2014

Out: Murphy, Ausmus, Panzarella, Sanderson, Hrynkiw || Referees: Todd Anderson, Steve Patafie || Linesmen: Nick Bradshaw, Tony Czech
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) March 1, 2014

UND Hockey: This week's Inside the NCHC (Video)

The NCHC does a good job promoting their member schools. This is a really nice video. Enjoy.

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NCHC honors Zane Gothberg and Luke Johnson

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Luke Johnson, North Dakota

Freshman Forward

Grand Forks, N.D.

Johnson sparked North Dakota to a sweep at Minnesota Duluth, UND’s second straight sweep, behind a two-goal, four-point series. In Friday’s 3-0 victory, the Chicago Blackhawks prospect had a hand in all three goals for a career-high three-point game, scoring twice and assisting on the other. Johnson scored the game’s first goal in the first period on the power play, which proved to be the game-winner, while he set up the second goal with the primary assist and capped the outing with an unassisted goal in the third period. He had a +2 rating in the game and was named the game’s first star. The next night, Johnson assisted on a power play goal in the second period that tied the game at 2-2 as UND went on to a 6-2 victory. He completed the weekend with a +2 rating while earning NCHC Rookie of the Week for the second time this season.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Zane Gothberg, North Dakota

Sophomore Goaltender

Thief River Falls, Minn.

Gothberg continued his strong play in net of late, backstopping North Dakota to a sweep at Minnesota Duluth. He played all 120 minutes in net, while allowing just two goals in the series with a .970 save percentage and a 1.00 goals-against average. In Friday’s 3-0 win, the Boston Bruins prospect stopped all 33 shots that came his way in his second start back from injury to pitch his first career shutout, while he was named the game’s second star. On Saturday, Gothberg totaled 31 saves on 33 shots against in a 6-2 victory, while stopping all 23 shots over the final 40 minutes, as he is now unbeaten in his last 12 starts. He also helped UND go 9-for-9 on the penalty kill against the Bulldogs, including 5-for-5 on Saturday. Gothberg totaled 64 saves in the wins while claiming NCHC Goaltender of the Week for the second time this season.

@UNDSID have to think that Gothberg should be @TheNCHC defensive player of the week
— Eric J. Burton THW (@goon48) February 23, 2014

Related articles

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Traditional Circle of Sticks X5

I guess @UNDMHockey decided to mess stuff up and leave… #5brooms pic.twitter.com/DxUKsCGR6Q
— Jackie (@JDeMolee) February 23, 2014

That's five series sweep for the season, two series sweeps in a row. UND only had three series sweeps last season (Holy Cross, Michigan Tech and Nebraska-Omaha). Four regular season games left.

UND vs. UMD Game Two

Champ, UMD mascot. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

UND Forward lines

9 Drake Caggiula–16 Mark MacMillan–15 Michael Parks (A)
28 Stephane Pattyn (A)–19 Rocco Grimaldi–27 Luke Johnson
21 Brendan O’Donnell–13 Connor Gaarder–11 Derek Rodwell
25 Mitch MacMillan–29 Bryn Chyzyk–17 Colten St. Clair

North Dakota Defense Pairings

5 Nick Mattson–6 Paul LaDue
18 Dillon Simpson ©–24 Jordan Schmaltz
4 Keaton Thompson–2 Troy Stecher

UND Goalies

31 Zane Gothberg
33 Clarke Saunders

Out: 7-Wade Murphy (Fr., F), 20-Gage Ausmus (Fr., D), 22-Andrew Panzarella (Jr., D), 26-Coltyn Sanderson (So., F), 30-Matt Hrynkiw (Fr., G)

Minnesota Duluth’s lines

11 Austin Farley–21 Caleb Herbert–25 Justin Crandall

14 Alex Iafallo–17 Dominic Toninato–26 Adam Krause

8 Kyle Osterberg–13 Tony Cameranesi–19 Max Tardy

23 Austyn Young – 27 Cal Decowsk–28 Sammy Spurell

Minnesota Duluth Defense Pairings

4 Carson Soucy–7 Andy Welinski
6 Derik Johnson–15 Willie Raskob
16 Tim Smith–3 Dan Molenaar

Minnesota Duluth Goalies

36 Matt McNeely

1 Aaron Crandall

30 Alex Fons

TV tonight: Midco Sports Network, My9 (Duluth) || Webcast: http://t.co/Adhs52BWB0
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) February 22, 2014

UND vs. UMD game one lines

UND Forward lines

9 Drake Caggiula–16 Mark MacMillan–15 Michael Parks (A)
28 Stephane Pattyn (A)–19 Rocco Grimaldi–27 Luke Johnson
21 Brendan O’Donnell–13 Connor Gaarder–11 Derek Rodwell
25 Mitch MacMillan–29 Bryn Chyzyk–17 Colten St. Clair

North Dakota Defense Pairings

5 Nick Mattson–6 Paul LaDue
18 Dillon Simpson ©–24 Jordan Schmaltz
4 Keaton Thompson–2 Troy Stecher

UND Goalies

31 Zane Gothberg
33 Clarke Saunders

Out: Murphy, Ausmus, Panzarella, Sanderson, Hrynkiw || Referees: Brad Shepherd, Tom Sterns || Linesmen: Sterling Egan, Sam Shikowsky
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) February 21, 2014

Minnesota Duluth’s lines

11 Austin Farley–21 Caleb Herbert–18 Joe Basaraba
14 Alex Iafallo–17 Dominic Toninato–26 Adam Krause
8 Kyle Osterberg–13 Tony Cameranesi–25 Justin Crandall
19 Max Tardy–27 Cal Decowski–23 Austyn Young

Minnesota Duluth Defense Pairings

4 Carson Soucy–7 Andy Welinski
6 Derik Johnson–15 Willie Raskob
5 Willie Corrin–3 Dan Molenaar

Minnesota Duluth Goalies

1 Aaron Crandall
36 Matt McNeely
30 Alex Fons

TV tonight: FOX Sports North PLUS, DirecTV 652-1 (HD), DirecTV 652 (SD), DISH Network 9515 (HD), DISH Network 445 (SD).
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) February 22, 2014

Webcasts of BOTH games can be purchased at http://t.co/5IOx9PHt2K.
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) February 22, 2014

Related articles

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Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn)

The race for the Penrose Cup is on.  We are down to the last three weekends of NCHC regular season play.  The only thing we know for sure is Miami is out of contention for the title.  The other good bet is CC will also not win the title.

NCHC STANDINGS 2013-2014

Team………………………W-L-T-SW………Points

St. Cloud St……………….11-4-3-0…………...36
North Dakota……………..11-7-0-0…..…….….33
Nebraska-Omaha………..9-7-2-1…..…………30
Denver…………………….8-7-3-2…….…….…29
Minnesota-Duluth………..8-8-2-2….…….……28
Western Michigan……….8-8-2-1…….……….28
Colorado College……….. 4-9-5-1…….….…...18
Miami………………………4-13-1-1….…….….14

NCHC Games

Colorado College vs #22 Denver (home/home)

Last weekend the Tigers tied and beat the Broncos (4-4SOW, 3-0W) in Colorado Springs and the Pioneers split with the Mavericks (4-2L, 4-1W) in Omaha.

The fight for the Gold Pan continues this weekend.  The teams met back in November, with the Pioneers winning the first game in a shoot-out and taking the second game 2-1 in regulation.  The Tigers shot at the title are not realistic, but a shot at taking arch-rival Denver out of the race picture is realistic.  The Pioneers need to get points this weekend for two reasons, one to keep the last home ice spot, and keep a shot at the title within reach.  I think CC will get a win this weekend and so will DU.  SPLIT

#28 Nebraska-Omaha @ #22 Western Michigan

Last weekend the Mavericks split with the Pioneers (4-2W, 4-1L) in Omaha and the Broncos tied and lost to Tigers (4-4SOL, 3-0L) in Colorado Springs.

The Broncos have been hit and miss this season, one weekend their hot, the next their not.  It’s hard to guess what WMU team will show up at Kalamazoo this weekend.  The Broncos are 5-6-1 at home this season and the Mavericks are 5-5-2 on the road.  The numbers point to these old CCHA teams splitting this weekend’s games.  SPLIT

#3 SCSU @ Miami

Last weekend the Huskies swept the Bulldogs (5-3, 4-3) in St. Cloud and the RedHawks were swept by NoDak (3-2, 9-2) in Grand Forks.

Honestly what can I say about this series, the top team in the conference versus the bottom team.  A bottom team now, that started off the season the top team in the nation, in the pre-season polls.  The RedHawks have fallen on hard times, especially after their last game in Grand Forks.  MU might show some life this weekend, to prove that they are not dead, and recoup some pride.  The Huskies on the other hand look to be rolling right along, and could just flatten the RedHawks this weekend.  A SCSU sweep would just about secure them home ice advantage and dibs on the Penrose Cup.  I think the RedHawks might surprise the Huskies, but they still won’t win.  HUSKIES SWEEP

#11 North Dakota @ #16 Minnesota-Duluth

Last weekend NoDak swept the RedHawks (3-2, 9-2) in Grand Forks and the Bulldogs were swept by the Huskies (5-3, 4-3) in St. Cloud.

These teams met back in November in Grand Forks, with UND wining the opener 4-2, and UMD winning the next night 6-3.  The Bulldogs might have lost their shot at the conference last weekend at SCSU, now eight points behind the Huskies.  But NoDak is holding steady at second place with a shot next weekend at SCSU.  NoDak needs to keep on keeping on, and that means getting at least one win this weekend in Duluth.  If the can play like they did last Saturday, watch out, they can score goals.  UMD needs to play sound defense this weekend to keep the scoring low, if they want to win.  SPLIT 

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UND Hockey: Not all Doom and Gloom today

After giving up a two goal last weekend, it seems like things were looking kind of glum. What a difference a week makes. With the win, UND moved up in the Pairwise Rankings.

Watch UND's top plays from Saturday night's 9-2 win over Miam... http://t.co/giKV0dglml
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) February 16, 2014

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(Video) UND 3 Miami 2

Kudos to CBS Sports Network, when they cover the games, their broadcasts are second to none. Here's something to chew on, during the 11-2-1 run, UND has won five games by a score of 3-2. Breaking it down further, UND is 15-2-1 when they score three or more goals. UND is 0-7-2 when they score two or less.

.@benholdenpxp & @DStarmanHockey lifting the @TheNCHC PenRose Cup for the @UNDMHockey game live on @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/VHsIAooG6t
— Andy Parr (@AndyTParr) February 15, 2014

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