Mining Gazette: Scheduling still a struggle for Wildcats in new college hockey landscape

Here’s an interesting article that I found in the Mining Journal. Personally, I really enjoyed the Non-conference matchup between the two teams. Historically, there were some good matchups between the two teams, when they played in the same conference.

Matt Wellens, Mining Gazette, Les Wong was NMU's president at the time and having previously been employed as a vice president at Valley City State University in North Dakota, Wong was interested in the Wildcats playing the team then known as the Fighting Sioux, so Kyle set up the deal.

"We've always wanted to play the bulk of our nonconference against the old WCHA schools because our fans would like that," Kyle said. "I think it's great when we get a chance to do that.

"(UND) is a great opponent. They are always perennially good year in and year out. It's a great environment every year."

Kyle hopes this weekend's one-way trip to North Dakota will spark a scheduling relationship that eventually leads to UND playing a series in Marquette. The two schools haven't played each other anywhere since NMU originally left the WCHA after the 1996-97 season.

But Kyle wants to avoid two-for-one deals that would involve, for example, two series played in Grand Forks and one in Marquette over three seasons.

Obviously, the coaching staff has to do what’s best for the team, and make their schedule based on what they think is best for the team in the long run. With the NCHC having eight-teams, there’s an opportunity for them to play a lot of non-conference matchups.... But I would love to see UND play the Northern Michigan Wildcats in the future going forward. NMU plays a brand of hockey that’s fun to watch.

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