UND Hockey vs. Vermont Catamounts Lines game two

UND forward Lines

21 Brendan O’Donnell – 27 Luke Johnson – 15 Michael Parks (A)

10 Adam Tambellini – 9 Drake Caggiula – 19 Rocco Grimaldi

28 Stephan Pattyn (A) – 13 Connor Gaarder – 17 Colton S. Clair

25 Mitch MacMillan –16 Mark MacMillan – 7 Wade Murphy

UND Defense Pairing

18 Dillon Simpson © – 24 Jordan Schmaltz

5 Nick Mattson – 6 Paul LaDue

4 Keaton Thompson – 2 Troy Stecher

UND Goalies

33 Clarke Saunders

31 Zane Gothberg

Scratches for UND:, 11 Derek Rodwell,  20 Gage Ausmus , 22 Andrew Panzerella,

26 Coltyn Sanderson, 29 Bryn Chyzyk, 30 Matt Hrynkiw  UND goalies

Vermont Forward Lines 

20 Brendan Bradley – 17 Jake Fallon – 3 Chris McCarthy

23 Connor Brickley – 11 H.T. Lenz © - 6 Colin Markison

22 Brady Shaw –19 Matt White – 7 Tom Forgione

8 Jonathan Turk – 18 Robert Polesello – 29 Malcolm McKinney

Vermont Defense Pairings

26 Caylen Walls – 2 Michael Paliotta

5 Rob Hamilton – 4 Nick Bruneteau

24 Chris Muscoby – 15 Yvan Pattyn

Vermont Goalies

1 Mike Santaguida

30 Pat Feeley

NCAA Hockey: Lucia Wants to Revisit the Gentleman’s Agreement http://t.co/wos7sycby6
— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) October 12, 2013

NCHC Hockey: 10 Must Follow Twitter Accounts http://t.co/CWMirIpUjl #hockey
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) October 11, 2013

Related articles

• UND Hockey: The Weekend Ahead (10/11-10/12) (insidehockey.com)
• UND Hockey: Two Headed Monster in Net for UND (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Slips Past Manitoba (insidehockey.com)
• UND Completes Comeback Against Vermont (insidehockey.com)

UND completes comeback against Vermont

English: Ralph Engelstadt Arena at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota. *Personally photographed by the undersigned May 8, 2007. Elcajonfarms 03:46, 3 July 2007 (UTC) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This season, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference begins its inaugural season of play. We were told back in May, that the NCHC would be pioneering an innovative standard for their on-ice officials. So, fans wanted to know what that actually meant. Tonight, University of North Dakota and the University of Vermont Catamounts were whistled for 21 minor penalties.

That’s not a misprint. Seriously!

“I thought we created some of our problems with some penalties early,” head coach Dave Hakstol said. “I thought it lead to us wasting the first 10 minutes of each of the first and second periods. We found a way to battle back and win a game, so that’s a real positive.”

At first, it looked like it was going to be a rough night for the home team. Vermont had just taken a 3-1 lead on a goal by UVM freshman defenseman Rob Hamilton. UND head coach Dave Hakstol had seen enough and made the change in net. Hakstol replaced senior goalie Clarke Saunders with sophomore goalie Zane Gothberg. The rest is history. UND would rally by scoring four unanswered goals and would skate to a 5-3 win. After the game, head coach Dave Hakstol talked about his goaltending change.

“I thought he (Zane Gothberg) did a good job,” Hakstol said. “I thought he did his job in that situation. You have to have the door slammed at that point in time. If one more (goal) goes in, it’s pretty hard to dig your way out. Some nights you make a goaltending change, it’s a goaltending issue. Tonight, I felt like tonight was a team issue. I felt that third goal against was a little bit of evidence of that and we needed to get going a bit.”

And going they did, the Green and White were led by junior forward Mark MacMillan (1g-1a—2pts) and sophomore forwards Rocco Grimaldi (1g-3a—4pts) and Drake Caggiula (1g-1a—2pts). Rocco Grimaldi downplayed his quite four point night.

“Yeah I think it was too,” Grimaldi said. “Obviously, a couple of five on three points, those aren’t extremely noticeable. When you have a five on three you’re supposed to score, you have a big advantage. So, I just did what I could, to get this team a win. I tried to do everything I could for my line mates, kind of helped them out and pushed the pace. Obviously, we had a rough start a little bit and we came back kicking at the end. So, it’s a good two points for our team.”

With all of the penalties, the game lacked flow. UND would kill 10/11 Catamount power plays and would go 2/7 on the man advantage. That being said, the game lacked flow with all of the penalties and Mark MacMillan agreed with this assessment after the game.

“Obviously, there were a lot of penalties each way,” MacMillan said. “So, when there’s a lot of a special teams, it’s hard to get some flow to the game. Parts of the game we stared to get some flow into the game.  Started to get some five on five shifts going – couple of big shifts from some guys – started getting that flow going.”

It was evident that once UND slowed their march to the penalty box, they were able to take the game over and over power the Catamounts.

UND will go for the sweep tomorrow night as the same two teams face off at 7:07 p.m. at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Related articles

• NCHC Hockey: UND Hockey Players Love Shootout Option (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: Two Headed Monster in Net for UND (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Slips Past Manitoba (insidehockey.com)

UND Hockey vs. Vermont Catamounts Lines

UND forward Lines

25 Mitch MacMillan – 16 Mark MacMillan – 7 Wade Murphy

21 Brendan O’Donnell – 27 Luke Johnson – 15 Michael Parks (A)

10 Adam Tambellini – 9 Drake Caggiula – 19 Rocco Grimaldi

17 Colton S. Clair – 28 Stephan Pattyn (A) – 13 Connor Gaarder

UND Defense Pairing

18 Dillon Simpson © – 22 Andrew Panzerella

5 Nick Mattson – 6 Paul LaDue

20 Gage Ausmus – 2 Troy Stecher

Scratches for UND: 24 Jordan Schmaltz, 11 Derek Rodwell,  26 Coltyn Sanderson, Bryn Chyzyk, 30 Matt Hrynkiw 

UND goalies

33 Clarke Saunders

31 Zane Gothberg

Vermont Forward Lines

20 Brendan Bradley – 17 Jake Fallon – 3 Chris McCarthy

23 Connor Brickley – 11 H.T. Lenz © - 6 Colin Markison

22 Brady Shaw – 12 Mike Stenerson – 21 Mario Puskarich

7 Tom Forgione – 19 Matt White – 16 Pet Massar

Vermont Defense Pairings

26 Caylen Walls – 2 Michael Paliotta

5 Rob Hamilton – 4 Nick Bruneteau

25 Nick Luukko – 15 Yvan Pattyn

Vermont Goalies

1 Mike Santaguida

30 Pat Feeley

Related articles

• NCHC Hockey: UND Hockey Players Love Shootout Option (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Slips Past Manitoba (insidehockey.com)
• UND Hockey: Two Headed Monster in Net for UND (thehockeywriters.com)

UND vs. Manitoba Lines

Forward Lines

Drake Caggiula – 9 - Mark MacMillan – 16 -  Rocco Grimaldi – 19

Adam Tambellini – 10 - Luke Johnson – 27 - Michael Parks – 15 (A)

Bryn Chyzyk – 29 - Stephane Pattyn – 28 (A)-  Colten St. Clair – 17

Brendan O’Donnell – 21 -  Connor Gaarder – 13 - Wade Murphy – 7

Defense Paring

Dillon Simpson – 18 ( C )- Jordan Schmaltz – 24

Nick Mattson – 5 - Paul LaDue – 6

Gage Ausmus – 20 - Troy Stecher – 2

Keaton Thompson – 4 - Andre Panzarella – 22

UND Goalies

33 Clarke Saunders

31 Zane Gothberg

UND Hockey: Rocco Grimaldi is Returning to Win a NCAA Title

Headed back to forks. Looking forward to a great year on and off the ice. 1 goal in mind #Sioux pic.twitter.com/yJH5dmAXFg
— Rocco Grimaldi (@RGrimaldi23) August 23, 2013

This tweet by sophomore forward Rocco Grimaldi caused a bit of a stir on the Twitter-verse today. I am sure that UND fans like his attitude...

Derek Forbort to sign with Kings soon

Source says Derek Forbort signing with Kings is imminent. Could happen as soon as today. Three-year deal.
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) April 5, 2013

I don't think this is a big shock to any of us that follow the UND hockey team, first round draft choices don't usually stay more than two to three seasons. As Grand Forks Herald beat writer Brad Schlossman had said in a recent blog post, the Kings don't want to take the risk of losing their first round draft choice.


The Mass exodus continues in Minneapolis.

So far the Gophers have lost Alt, Bjugstad, Schmidt, Budish to the pros and Larson who is transferring out.… Haula is most likely next.
— GPL (@GopherPuckLive) April 5, 2013

Related articles

• Some interesting tweets from today - early departures and signings (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

Dillon Simpson to return for his senior season

For the number of you who seem to think I may be planning on leaving UND, I'm not going anywhere #senioryear
— Dillon Simpson (@Simmer18) April 4, 2013

UND Hockey fans breathed a sigh of relief today, as they got some really good news, soon to be senior defenseman Dillon Simpson tweeted that he will return for his senior year on his twitter account today. I  would have to think that Simpson would be a good candidate to wear a letter for UND next season. Simpson was the leading point scorer for defensmen last season with (5g-19a—24pts). In 114 games at North Dakota Simpson has scored (9g-43a—52pts).

Related articles

• Goon's 2012-13 Blogger All-WCHA Awards Poll (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

Amen...

This was posted over on Siouxsports.com. I think it's a nice picture. I told my buddy, that to a UND hockey fan, it's only fitting that UND won in this afternoon's regional and Minnesota was defeated on Good Friday.

UND vs. Niagara Lines West Region

UND vs. Niagara Lines West Region

UND’s Forward lines

21 Brendan O’Donnell – 10 Corban Knight (A) – 7 Danny Kristo (A)

9 Drake Caggiula– 27 Carter Rowney (A) –19 Rocco Grimaldi

29 Bryn Chyzyk – 16 Mark MacMillan – 15 Michael Parks

13 Connor Gaarder – 28 Steph Pattyn – 17 Colten St. Clair

UND Defense Parings

2 Andrew MacWilliam (C) – 18 Dillon Simpson

4 Derek Forbort – 24 Jordan Schmaltz

5 Nick Mattson – 20 Joe Gleason

UND Goalies

31 Zane Gothberg

33 Clarke Saunders

35 Tate Maris

Not in lineup: 25 Mitch MacMillian, 8 Dan Senkbeil, 22 Andrew Panzarella, 11 Derek Rodwell, 26 Coltyn Sanderson.

UND vs. MTU game three WCHA playoffs

Game is on DirecTV 626 and Fox College Sports

UND Forward Lines

21 Brendan O’Donnell–10 Corban Knight (A) –7 Danny Kristo (A)
19 Rocco Grimaldi–27 Carter Rowney (A)–15 Michael Parks
25 Mitch MacMillan–16 Mark MacMillan–13 Connor Gaarder

Drake Caggiula 9–28 Stephane Pattyn–17 Colten St. Clair

UND Defensive Parings

2 Andrew MacWilliam (C)–18 Dillon Simpson
4 Derek Forbort–24 Jordan Schmaltz
5 Nick Mattson –20 Joe Gleason

UND goalies

33 Clarke Saunders

31 Zane Gothberg
35 Tate Maris

Not In the lineup: 11 Derek Rodwell , Andrew Panzarella (22), Dan Senkbeil (8), Coltyln Sanderson (26),  Bryn Chyzyk (29).

Michigan Tech Huskies Forward lines

19 Blake Pietila–10 Tanner Kero–23 Alex Petan
12 Ryan Furne–8 Jacob Johnstone–14 Chad Pietila
20 Blake Hietala–7 Jujhar Khaira–28 Milos Gordic
18 C.J. Eick–9 Dennis Rix–13 Aaron Pietila

Michigan Tech Huskies Defense Pairings

16 Steven Seigo (A) –34 Riley Sweeney
29 Walker Hyland–24 Daniel Sova
3 Bradley Stebner (A) –25 Carl Nielsen (C)

Michigan Tech Goalies

31 Pheonix Copley

30 Jamie Phillips

Ref Marco Hunt (15) , Derek Shepherd (3)  Lines Andy Kokken (70) Justin Hill (83).

UND finds tough sledding against Tech

“It was a hard fought playoff game and we came up one goal short,” head coach Dave Hakstol said. Well two if you believe the video replay that was shown on television monitors the Ralph Engelstad Arena press box.

We only got one look at “shot” in question and then it was gone from the screen, for some reason we didn’t get a second look at the no-goal in question.

USCHO Blogger Timothy Boger has a gif on his blog that proves otherwise, I guess that is up to you to decide.

We can discuss whether or not Michigan Tech (13-19-4) scored a goal on their first power play of the night, the fact remains that the officiating was equally poor all weekend long for both teams and wasn’t a factor in the game.

Both teams will have to play through it tomorrow night, obviously, and one teams is going to advance to the Final Five next week.

The crowd was barely seated when the Tech Huskies were able to dent the twine first at the 00:20 mark of the second period, with a goal from Tanner Kero.

UND came into the game with a 9-4-5 record when the opposition scores first, you can make that 9-5-5 with the 2-1 loss to the Michigan Tech Huskies.

This was UND’s first loss to the Michigan Tech Huskies since January 28, 2008, when UND lost 2-1 to Michigan Tech in the Great Lakes Invitational.

The game was a carbon copy of the Bemidji State series from a couple of weeks ago. The Huskies collapsed around their net and played a defensive style brand of hockey and made it tough for UND (20-11-7) to generate any offense whatsoever.

Finally, senior forward Danny Kristo was able to break through and got the equalizer at the 14:57 mark on a nice shot. “It was just a good play,” head coach Dave Hakstol said. “He came up with the puck; he got a quick shot to the net. I don’t know where it went in, it found a hole. We didn’t find a lot of holes on him [Phoenix Copley] tonight.”

As always, the electrifying, but recently snake bitten Rocco Grimaldi, had a breakaway and a glorious opportunity to take a lead in the game, but was hooked at the last second by a Tech defender, causing him to miss a glorious opportunity.

Michigan Tech Huskies turned a UND turnover into the game winning goal at the 17:58 mark of the third period when C.J. Eick scored the game winning goal sending the fans to the exits and spoiling the UND fans plans for Sunday evening.

Tonight’s game was summed up best by this frank statement. “Its playoff hockey and if you don’t bring your best you won’t like the outcome, senior defenseman Andrew MacWilliam said. We kind of lulled there in the second period and it came back to bite us. We have to regroup and be ready to play tomorrow.”

“It was a hard fought game,” senior defenseman Joe Gleason said. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot in the second period; we didn’t have a very good period. We had a great response in the third period. Definitely our best period of the night, if we can play like that for 60 minutes tomorrow it should be a good outcome for us tomorrow night.”

Nonetheless, UND ended up losing a heart breaker to pesky Michigan Tech Huskies and pushed the series to a game three. The same two teams will face-off tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. central, at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Cross-posted at the Hockey Writers Combine.

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Slugs out win against Tech (thehockeywriters.com)

UND’s Zane Gothberg name Red Baron Co-Defensive player of the week

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Third time is a charm for UND's Freshman goalie Zane Gothberg

MADISON, Wis. – A pair of goaltenders who both totalled more than 70 saves in league competition last weekend, Colorado College’s Joe Howe and University of North Dakota’s Zane Gothberg, have been named Red Baron® WCHA Men’s co-Defensive Players of the Week for March 12.

Howe, a 6-0, 195-pound senior from Plymouth, Minn., turned aside 31 shots on goal last Friday (March 8) in a 2-0 setback at Michigan Tech before coming back with 46 stops to lead the visiting Tigers to a 4-3 road victory over the Huskies last Saturday (March 9). He posted 77 total saves in the series, with double-digit stop totals in all six periods and 20 in the second stanza of game two, and helped his team kill off seven of eight MTU power-plays.

Gothberg, a 6-2, 198-pound freshman from Thief River Falls, Minn., had a hot hand throughout visiting North Dakota’s WCHA series split at Minnesota State, stopping 72 shots – the most in a two-game series by a UND goalie this season. In last Friday’s 4-3 UND win, Gothberg made a career-high 37 saves, including 14 in the third period. The following night, he added another 35 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss in the regular season finale, which ended his personal six-game unbeaten streak. 

Gothberg, who is 4-1-2 with a .937 save percentage since Feb. 1, led the WCHA in winning percentage during league play (.708) and finished fourth in save percentage.

Also nominated: Matt Prapavessis, D, BSU; Joey LaLeggia, D, DU; Steven Seigo, D, MTU; Andrew Prochno, D, SCSU.

Per the UND Athletic Web Page

UND's WCHA Players of the Week

Nov. 20: Danny Kristo (Offensive)

Dec. 11:   Carter Rowney (Offensive)

Dec. 11:   Rocco Grimaldi (co-Rookie)

Dec. 18:   Corban Knight (Offensive)

Jan. 8:     Corban Knight (co-Offensive)

Feb. 5:     Zane Gothberg (Rookie)

Feb. 12:   Zane Gothberg (Defensive)
Feb. 27:   Danny Kristo (co-Offensive)

Mar. 12:  Zane Gothberg (co-Defensive)

Related articles

• UND goalie Zane Gothberg Defensive Player of the Week (mvn.com)

UND: The Weekend Ahead: (3/7-3/8)

This weekend, the University of North Dakota travels to Mankato, Minnesota to play the Minnesota State Mavericks in the final WCHA series “ever” between the two teams at the Verizon Wireless Center March 8-9, 2013. This is also, the last series of the regular season.

Matchup: North Dakota (18-9-7, 13-6-7 WCHA) #5 versus #10 Minnesota State Mavericks (21-10-3, 15-10-1 WCHA).

Dates: March 8-9, 2013

Times: March 8: 7:37 p.m. (CT); March 9: 7:07 p.m. (CT)

Radio: UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM) – The Fox.

Webcast: AmericaOneSports.com

TV: *None in North Dakota* (Locally only): Charter 226/826 HD (both nights) Comcast (Saturday only)
Series History: All-Time: UND leads the series, 37-10-7 (.750). UND leads the series 23-6-3 (.766), in Grand Forks, North Dakota. UND leads the series 14-4-4 (.727), in Mankato, Minnesota. North Dakota and Minnesota State have never played on a neutral ice. Series the last 10 games; UND Leads 9-1-0 (.900).

Players to Watch:

North Dakota: Forwards: Corbin Knight (14g-30a—44pts), Danny Kristo (20g-24a—44pts), Rocco Grimaldi (12g-17a—29pts), Mark MacMillan (12g-12a—24pts), Carter Rowney (8g-14a—22pts), Drake Caggiula (6g-8a—14pts). Defense: Dillon Simpson (3g-17a—20pts), Derek Forbort (4g-9a—13pts), Joe Gleason (5g-11a—16pts) Jordan Schmaltz (3g-9a—12pts) Andrew MacWilliam (1g-9a—10pts). Goaltenders: Clarke Saunders 12-6-4, 2.30 GAA, .915 save percentage, Zane Gothberg 6-3-3, 2.53 GAA, .914 save percentage.

Minnesota State Mavericks: Forwards Matt Leitner (15g-25a—40pts), Eriah Hayes (18g-13a—31pts), Jean-Paul Lafontaine (8g-20a—28pts), Zach Lehrke (8g-15—23pts), Defense: Zach Palmquist (5g-16a—21pts) Josh Nelson (5g-8a—13pts), Brett Stern (2g-6a—8pts). Goalies: Stephon Williams 18-8-2, 1.82 GAA, .930 save percentage, Phil Cook 3-2-1, 3.49 GAA, .879 save percentage.

UND Officials Web Page

Minnesota State Web Page

Cross-posted at the Hockey Writers Combine…

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings: Week 21 (thehockeywriters.com)

Taking a second look at the Michael Parks wrap around goal

This is one of my favorite goals in all of hockey and to pull it off, the players have to be talented, and they have to be fast on their skates, to make it happen. If you watch the play in question, it’s like a football play, where the quarterback throws the ball to a set area, and the receiver runs to that area and catches the ball, for a touchdown.

Mark MacMillan shots the puck around the Denver the net, the goalie reacts to it. Michael Parks picks up that pass, catches the goalie and the Denver defense sleeping and puts the puck in the net before the goalie can get back to his right post. 

If only the sophomore forward Michael Parks hadn’t been hurt to start the season. I just think that he's getting to his mid-season form now. Last season, Carter Rowney, Mark MacMillan and Michael Parks comprised the RPM line and they wrecked-havoc on teams. 

You have to love the expression on Denver goalie Sam Brittain, you can tell that he’s not happy with that goal. 

Related articles

• North Dakota Stomps Wisconsin (insidehockey.com)
• (Video) Brendan O'Donnell goal that was waved off. (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• UND vs. UNO Battle on Ices @6:07 (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Knight's Four Points Leads UND Past Holy Cross (insidehockey.com)

UND vs. Denver; College Hockey’s Hatfield-McCoy feud

Fighting Sioux (University of North Dakota) vs. Denver Pioneers (University of Denver, #14 Tom May), WCHA Final FIVE 2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This season, since the NHL lockout has been over, NBC Sports Network has been doing a weekly rivalry game on Wednesdays nights between the various NHL teams.

This Friday night, there will be another rivalry game on NBC Sports Network between college hockey’s versions of the historicHatfield-McCoy feud.

Actually, both games will be on television this weekend, when the University of North Dakota (16-8-6, 11-5-6 WCHA) travels to Denver, Colorado to play their heated rival the Denver Pioneers (15-9-5, 10-7-5 WCHA) in a pivotal two game series, this series will go a long way in determining seeding for the WCHA playoffs.

As I mentioned earlier, Friday’s game will be on NBC Sports Network at 9:00 PM (CT) and Saturday’s game will be on Root Sports at 8:00 (CT).

Also at stake this weekend, is the all-important Pairwise rankings. A couple of wins would solidify either team’s standings for the NCAA playoffs and a couple of losses could knock you down a place or two.

Over the course of the last ten seasons North Dakota and Denver have had some entertaining games.

If you go on Youtube.com and conduct a search, you would literally find hours of videos of goals, scrums and dustups between Denver and North Dakota.  I can only imagine that we will be able to add a few more videos to that collection when this weekend is over.

North Dakota and Denver have a history in the playoffs and the Green and White have beaten DU in the final game of the last two WCHA Final Fives. North Dakota also has a 7-2-0 record the last 10 games against Denver.

One could say that it’s gut check time, but it’s also crunch time as well.

Freshman forward Rocco Grimaldi, who has played in a series against the Denver Pioneers earlier in the season at the Ralph Engelstad Arena, was asked why he thought the games between the Denver Pioneers and North Dakota were so intense.

“I think both teams are extremely competitive and well coached,” Grimaldi said. “Overall good teams offensively and defensively, the better the games are the more you build a rivalry with that team, I guess. When you have good games all the time, when you play someone, eventually rivalries are built.”

Senior forward Danny Kristo was more to the point when asked about the rivalry between the two teams.

“I think Mac [Andrew MacWilliam] hates these guys the most,” Kristo said. “I don’t need to beat around the bush but I don’t think our coaching staffs like each other too much, either. Obviously, both teams have a lot of respect for each other because both teams are always there at the end of the year.”

During an earlier series between the two teams, sophomore forward Steph Pattyn had this to say about playing against the Denver Pioneers.

“It’s kind of a personal rivalry for a couple of our guys,” Pattyn said.  “I know that Mac [Andrew MacWilliam] just really doesn’t like these guys.”

This is a series that gets everyone’s blood boiling. The fans of both teams love these games. The coaches and players involved in this rivalry love the games as well. You can bet that all of the body-checks will be finished, when these two teams meet this weekend. Emotions will run high, and you can also count on a few dust-ups and scrums happening between the two teams.

When it’s all said and done, the team that plays with the most discipline will probably prevail this weekend.

Denver is leading the WCHA in penalty minutes with 496 and that total could be a lot higher when the weekend is over. North Dakota is sitting in number three spot with 475.

Let the feud, err, I mean rivalry begin.

Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers Combine. 

The Weekend Ahead: (2/22-2/23)

Seal of the University of North Dakota (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This weekend, the University of North Dakota travels to Denver, Colorado to play the Denver Pioneers in an important two game WCHA series at Magness Arena February 22-23, 2013.

Matchup: North Dakota (16-8-6, 11-5-6 WCHA) #6 versus #10 Denver Pioneers (15-9-5, 10-7-5 WCHA).

Dates: February 22-23, 2013

Times: February 22: 9:10 p.m. (CT); February 23: 8:07 p.m. (CT)

Radio:  UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM) – The Fox.

TV Friday: NBC Sports Network, channel 220 DirecTV

TV Saturday: Root Sports, channel 683 DirecTV

Webcast: (NONE)

SERIES HISTORY: UND leads the All-time series 136-116-9 (.538). UND leads the series 81-42-6 (.651) in Grand Forks. UND trails the series 50-67-3 (.429) in Denver. Neutral sites, UND trails 5-7-0 (.417). In the last 10 games against DU, UND leads 7-2-1 (.750).

Players to Watch:

North Dakota: Forwards: Corbin Knight (13g-27a—40pts), Danny Kristo (18g-21a—39pts), Rocco Grimaldi (10g-14a—24pts), Mark MacMillan (9g-9a—18pts), Carter Rowney (6g-12a—18pts), Drake Caggiula (6g-6a—12pts).  Defense:  Dillon Simpson (2g-15a—17pts), Derek Forbort (4g-8a—12pts), Joe Gleason (4g-9a—13pts) Jordan Schmaltz (2g-7a—9pts) Andrew MacWilliam (1g-7a—8pts). Goaltenders: Clarke Saunders 10-5-4, 2.34 GAA, .914 save percentage, Zane Gothberg 6-3-2, 2.42 GAA, .918 save percentage.

Denver Pioneers: Nick Shore (11g-15a—26pts), Chris Knowlton (12g-12a—24pts), Shawn Ostrow (10g-10a—20pts), Daniel Doremus (8g-9a—17pts), Defense: Joey LaLeggia (10g-14a—24pts) David Makowski (6g-16a—22pts) Nolan Zajac (5g-16a—21pts). Goalies: Juho Olkinuora 9-3-5, 2.11 GAA, .935 save percentage, Adam Murray 2-1-0, 3.00 GAA, .902 save percentage, Sam Brittain 4-5-0 3.03 GAA, .902 save percentage.

UND Officials Web Page

Denver Pioneers Official Web Page

Cross posted at the Hockey Writers Combine... 

(Video) UND vs. UNO

At the beginning of the video, I included the hit that Derek Forbort put on a UNO Maverick at the beginning of last night's game. There have been some that said that the UND defense is soft. I don't know if that is the case. Last night, I thought that Forbs was awesome during last night's game, and I also thought that Schmaltz played a solid game as well.

For the past three games, the UND defense has given up a grand total of one goal per game.

Also, I included all three goals by both teams as well as the Andrew MacWillam save at the end of the game. That was a big play to keep the game 2-1 in the waning minutes of the game. According to the post game interview on the radio, MacWillam was given the hard hat award by freshman goalie Zane Gothberg for that save.