MacMillan (X2) lead UND past BSU 4-2

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

Grand Forks, ND – Coming into tonight’s game, UND senior forward Danny Kristo had never scored a goal, or recorded a single point in six career games against the Bemidji State Beavers.

No, you don’t need to check your eyes.

During his four year career at the University of North Dakota, Kristo had racked up an impressive (62g-91a—153pts) in a 148 games, but had never scored a single point in his four year career against the Bemidji State Beavers.

Wait, what? Not a single one.

In his seventh game against the Bemidji State Beavers, Kristo finally was able to record a single assist on UND’s third goal that was scored by UND defenseman Joe Gleason.

Apparently, Kristo’s pointless streak against the Beavers was a point of discussion during this week in practice. 

Unlike Danny Kristo, Mark MacMillan has little trouble during his two seasons at UND scoring against the Bemidji State Beavers, coming into tonight’s game, MacMillan had recorded (1g-4a—5 pts) in four games against the Beavers.  Mark added (2g-1a—3pts) to his point total and was awarded the game’s first star of the game as he lead UND (18-9-6, 13-6-6 WCHA) to a 4-2 over the Bemidji State Beavers (6-17-7, 5-13-6 WCHA).

Mark’s brother Mitch MacMillan also chipped in a (1g-1a—2pts) as that line seemed to give BSU fits all night long. One has to wonder if the MacMillan boys are finding their magic they had when they played together in juniors back in Alberni Valley of the BCHL, in British Colombia.

“Hopefully, it seemed to work out well tonight,” Mark MacMillan said.  The chemistry between us is slowly starting to come back. Obviously the college game is little different than junior hockey.”

The University of North Dakota is 8-4-4 when the opposition scores the first goal. That is the second game in a row that the opposition has scored the first goal of the game that UND has come back to win.

The game was tired 1-1 going into the third period, before UND scored four straight goals. BSU head coach Tom Serratore seemed upbeat after the game, even though his team lost.

First off, I thought it was a good hockey game,” Serratore said.  “You know what, you go into third period in this building tied 1-1,  to me it was where we wanted them at that particular time.  Obviously, the second and third goals were killers. We probably could have prevented those goals.”

I don’t think it would be an understatement to say that tonight’s game wasn’t all that entertaining. It was a gut-it-out gritty style of game. The Beavers are a tough team to play against, they get in the shooting lanes and they play a high pressure game. Some like to incorrectly call the Beavers style of play a trap. The head coach of the Beavers agreed that it was tough sledding, out on the ice.

“Tonight, I thought the game was pretty much a turf war,” Serratore said.

When asked if he thought the game was a turf war, head coach Dave Hakstol was hesitant to use the term, he said, “you can call it what you want. It was a hard fought hockey game. At times there wasn't a lot of flow to it.”

 Cross-posted a the Hockey Writes Combine. 

UND’s Kristo Red Baron WCHA Co-Offensive Players of the Week

MADISON, Wis. – University of North Dakota forward Danny Kristo and Colorado College forward Rylan Schwartz, a pair of assistant team captains who both produced impressive numbers in league competition last weekend, have been named Red Baron® WCHA Men’s co-Offensive Players of the Week for February 27.

Kristo, a 5-11, 185-pound senior right winger from Eden Prairie, Minn., had a goal and an assist for two points in each of North Dakota’s two games at Denver on February 22-23, led his team with nine shots on goal and earned a +2 plus/minus rating. In a one-goal 5-4 loss to DU last Friday, Kristo factored in on goals that twice brought his team to within one with an assist in the second period and a shorthanded goal in the third. Then last Saturday he was named the No. 1 Star of the Game after scoring another goal and assist to help propel UND to a 6-1 victory over the host Pioneers, extending his point streak to seven games.

With 43 points (20g, 23a) on the season, Kristo has also surpassed the 150 career point plateau with his 152 leading all active NCAA Div. 1 men’s players. He is a NHL draftee of Montreal.

Schwartz, a 5-10, 196-pound senior from Wilcox, Sask., led the Tigers with a five-point series against league-leading St. Cloud State last weekend. He had a goal and two assists last Friday, including one on the game-winner, and was the No. 2 Star of the Game as Colorado College defeated the Huskies 4-3. He then scored two more goals last Saturday and was the No. 3 Star of the Game in the Tigers’ 5-2 setback. In addition to his five points, Schwartz also had four shots on goal in the series and was a +4 on the plus/minus.

Over his 146-game collegiate career, Schwartz has averaged a point per game with 53 goals, 93 assists and 146 points. He is fifth in scoring overall among WCHA players this season with 40 points (14g, 26a).

Also nominated: Sam Warning, F, UM; Jonny Brodzinski, F, SCSU; Tyler Barnes, F, UW.

EDIT... WCHA Power Rankings: Week 20

Here is the week 20 WCHA Power Rankings. This season, I have been doing the WCHA Power Rankings with Taylor Seibel, who is a contributor for The Hockey Writers Combine.

 1.  Saint Cloud State – (19-12-1, WCHA 16-7-1) – This past weekend, the Huskies split (3-4 L – 5-2 W) their weekend series with the Colorado College Tigers in Colorado Springs. This weekend, the Huskies entertain the Michigan Tech Huskies. The Huskies have split the last two series they have played in. Pairwise Ranking 10.

 2. Minnesota – (21-6-5, WCHA 13-6-5) – This past weekend, the Minnesota Gophers took (5-3 W – 2-2 T) three points in their weekend series with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, who have won “one” game, in their last ten games (1-7-2). This weekend, the Gophers play the Denver Pioneers at Mariucci Arena. Fun fact, the Gophers have swept one “conference” series this season, Alaska Anchorage 01/11-01/12. The Gophers went an impressive 8-0-0 in their non-conference play. Pairwise Ranking 2.

 3. University of North Dakota – (17-9-6, WCHA 12-6-6) – This past weekend, UND split (4-5 L – 6-1 L) their weekend series with the Denver Pioneers, at Magness Arena. This weekend, UND entertains the Bemidji State Beavers at the Ralph Engelstad Arena. Pairwise Ranking 6.

4. Minnesota State Mankato – (20-9-3, WCHA 14-9-1) – This past weekend, the Mavericks were off. This weekend, the Purple Mavericks travel to Colorado Springs to play the Tigers. Pairwise Ranking 7.
5.  Nebraska Omaha – (18-12-2, WCHA 14-8-2) – This past weekend, the Mavericks lost their exhibition game against the U-18 team 2-3. This weekend, the Red Mavericks entertain the Wisconsin Badgers. Friday’s game between the Mavericks and the Badgers will be on NBCSN. Pairwise Ranking 20t.

6. Denver University – (16-10-5, WCHA 11-8-5) – This past weekend, the Denver Pioneers split (5-4 W – 1-6 L) their weekend series with the University of North Dakota at Magness Arena. This weekend, the Pioneers travel to Minnesota to play the Gophers at Mariucci Arena. The Pioneers in essence, are competing with the Badgers for the last home playoff spot.  Pairwise Ranking 13t.

7.  Wisconsin – (14-11-7, WCHA 10-7-7) – The Wisconsin Badgers  split (5-0 w – 2-3 L O.T.) their non-conference series with future conference foe Penn State at the Kohl Center during a Sunday, Monday series. After starting the season 1-7-3, the Badgers have gone an amazing 13-4-4. This weekend, the Badgers travel to Nebraska-Omaha to play the Mavericks in an important two game series. The Badgers in essence, are competing with the Pioneers for the last home playoff spot.  Friday’s game between the Mavericks and the Badgers will be on NBCSN. Pairwise Ranking 28.

8.  Colorado College – (12-15-5, WCHA 9-11-4) – This past weekend, the Colorado College Tigers split (4-3 W – 2-5 L) their weekend series with the Saint Cloud State Huskies at the World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This weekend, the Tigers entertain the Minnesota State Mavericks. Pairwise Ranking 30.

9. Minnesota Duluth – (10-17-4, WCHA 8-13-5) – This past weekend, the Bulldogs took a single point (2-4 L – 1-1 T) in their weekend series with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Bulldogs have had a tough go recently, taking only a single point in each of their last two series and have one win in their last 10 games 1-7-2. This weekend that should change, as the Bulldogs entertain the Alabama Huntsville Chargers (1-18-1) at Amsoil Arena.

10. Michigan Tech – (10-16-4, WCHA 6-14-4) – This past week, the Huskies were off. The Michigan Tech Huskies travel to Saint Cloud Minnesota to play the Saint Cloud State Huskies at the National Hockey Center in the battle of the Dogs.

11. Bemidji State – (6-17-7, WCHA 5-13-6) – This past weekend, the Beavers were off. Thiks weekend, the Beavers travel down Highway 2 to play the University of North Dakota in a two game series at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

12. Alaska Anchorage – (4-19-7, WCHA 2-18-6) – This past weekend, the Seawolves were off. This weekend, the Seawolves play their cross state rivals the Nanooks in the Governor’s Cup. The Seawolves travel to Fairbanks on Friday and then entertain the Nanooks on Saturday night. The Seawolves have won one game since December 1, 2012, going 1-14-3.

Taylor Seibel’s WCHA Power Rankings

1.  St. Cloud State – (19-12-1, 16-7-1 WCHA) – The Huskies managed only a split against the Tigers this weekend, but still have a strong hold to the top spot in the WCHA thanks in part to slip-ups from Minnesota and North Dakota.  St. Cloud State has an excellent chance at gaining four points next weekend as the SCSU Huskies host the Michigan Tech Huskies, a team that SCSU has not lost to at home in over a decade.

2. Minnesota – (21-6-5, 13-6-5 WCHA) – The Gophers managed three points on the weekend against Minnesota Duluth, and struggled at times against the visiting Bulldogs.  While Minnesota still has a chance at winning the MacNaughton, the point they dropped on Saturday could prove decisive.  It also gave North Dakota a little bit of room to sneak the #2 spot away from the Gophers.  Next weekend, Denver travels up to Mariucci for WCHA play.

3. North Dakota – (17-9-6, 12-6-6 WCHA) – North Dakota struggled mightily against Denver’s powerplay on Friday, but found a way to largely control Denver’s man advantage on Saturday.  The result was a weekend split between these two rivals.  North Dakota says three points back of St. Cloud and one point back of Minnesota in the race for the MacNaughton.  North Dakota hosts Bemidji State next weekend, and four points will be crucial for UND’s hopes of winning the Cup.

4. Nebraska Omaha – (18-12-2, 14-8-2 WCHA) – The Mavericks were essentially off this past weekend, or at least some of the players thought so, as Omaha was defeated by the USA Under-18 squad.  To be fair, that same Under-18 squad has registered draws against Minnesota and Notre Dame on the season.  While the Mavericks are in good position for home ice, a strong showing next weekend at home against Wisconsin could cement their spot in the top half.

5. Minnesota State – (20-9-3, 14-9-1 WCHA) – The Mavericks of Mankato were also off this weekend.  In a similar position to Omaha, Mankato has a chance to solidify their spot as a top half team next weekend if they can take four points from Colorado College down in Colorado Springs.  Anything less, and it will be a shakier proposition as North Dakota comes down to Mankato to close out the regular season.

6. Denver – (16-10-5, 11-8-5 WCHA) – Denver played quite well in their victory over North Dakota on Friday, but failed to respond effectively on Saturday, and the Pioneers were trounced by the Visiting squad from Grand Forks.  The split drew the Pioneers even with Wisconsin heading into the final two weekends of the season.  Given that Denver loses the tiebreaker with Wisconsin, it makes any points that they can gather next weekend at Minnesota that much more important to their chances for home ice.

7. Wisconsin – (14-10-7, 10-7-7 WCHA) – The Badgers defeated Penn State last night in the first game of an odd Sunday-Monday series.  The victory shot Wisconsin up to an NCAA bubble squad.  The Badgers are also on the bubble when it comes to gaining home ice in the WCHA Tournament.  Currently, Wisconsin is tied with Denver for the 6^th and final spot.  Next weekend, the Badgers travel to Omaha to take on the Mavericks in a key series for both squads.

8. Colorado College – (12-15-5, 9-11-4 WCHA) – The Tigers surprised many in the WCHA with their victory over St. Cloud on Friday, but were unable to complete the sweep, losing on Saturday.  Barring surprising results elsewhere in the conference, it is likely that CC will remain in the #8 slot in the conference.  Any chance at home ice would start next weekend, when Minnesota State comes into town.

9. Minnesota Duluth – (10-17-5, 8-13-5 WCHA) – Minnesota Duluth was able to steal a point from Minnesota this weekend, but it was not enough to prevent the Bulldogs from being eliminated from home ice contention.  With only two WCHA games remaining, the Bulldogs will definitely be a team nobody in the top half will want to square off against in the first round of the WCHA Tournament.  Next weekend, the Bulldogs host Alabama Huntsville.

10. Bemidji State – (6-17-7, 5-13-6 WCHA) – The Beavers were off last weekend, but perhaps no team can play as much of a spoiler role over the next two weekends as Bemidji State.  Next weekend, Bemidji travels to North Dakota.  The following weekend, the Beavers host Minnesota.  Both UND and Minnesota will be looking for sweeps, while Bemidji State will look to dash both teams’ dreams of the MacNaughton Cup.

11. Michigan Tech – (10-16-4, 6-14-4 WCHA) – The Huskies of Michigan Tech were off this weekend.  Hopefully they used the time to come up with a strategy to knock off St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, who they play next weekend. The season has been a disappointment for most Tech fans who were hoping to challenge for home ice, but a strong end to the season, coupled with the program’s first GLI Championship in three decades, would be a good consolation prize.

12. Alaska Anchorage – (4-19-7, 2-18-6 WCHA) – The Seawolves were off this past weekend.  While UAA has been assured the cellar, and a First Round matchup against the MacNaughton Cup Champions, the Seawolves are still playing for pride.  Next weekend, the Seawolves square off against in-state (and future WCHA) rival Alaska before concluding the WCHA and regular season at Denver.

Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers Combine.

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings: Week 20 (thehockeywriters.com)

(Video) DU downs UND 5-4

I don't think anyone is very happy with tonight's results, but it's also not time to panic either. UND has lost 4 games in the last 18 so, I don't think it's time to pull the pin yet. After the game, UND head coach Dave Hakstol didn't seem all that pleased with his team's effort. Basically he said they played a sloppy game.

" I thought we were a very sloppy hockey team tonight. It cost us an opportunity at points," said Hakstol. "You have to be able to sustain that push. You can't just come out with a one or two shift burst. We didn't sustain a whole lot through the entire night."

If there is a positive note with tonight's loss, UND remained 6th in the Pairwise rankings.

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... 

UND Women run OSU out of the building

United States forward Jocelyne Lamoureux in a game against the ECAC All-Stars on January 3, 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Grand Forks, ND – The University of North Dakota women’s hockey team has been on a bit of a role as of late, winning six in a row and seven of the last eight games that they played in.

Senior forward Jocelyne Lamoureux came into tonight’s game on a hot streak of her own. This past week, Lamoureux broke the existing league record for career points of 262 held by Wisconsin’s Hilary Knight (2007-12). The Record fell, when Lamoureux recorded seven points during last weekend series (0g-7a—7pts) against the Bemidji State Beaver, giving her a collegiate career total of 266 points (120g -146a—266pts) in 140 games played.

Tonight, a couple of hot streaks continued as the Green and White extended their winning streak to seven straight games, beating the Ohio State University Buckeyes 5-2.

With the win tonight, UND also clinched home ice for the WCHA playoffs, but the head coach didn’t seemed satisfied with that fact.

“For a long time, it was one of our goals [home ice] every year,” Head Coach Brian Idalski said. “That hasn’t changed, but I think it’s a smaller goal, and there’s still a lot of work to be done and I think we understand that. We got a big game tomorrow we got to turn around and be ready, that club has a lot of pride, their well coached and you have to show up and be ready to go.”

Senior forward Jocelyn Lamoureux remained smoking hot, as she added two more points to her already impressive career point’s total. Tonight, she chipped in (1g-1a—2pts). Not to be out done, Jocelyn’s twin sister Monique had an impressive night of her own, as she added three helpers (0g-3a—3pts).

Junior forward Michelle Karvinen who missed the first 12 games of the season with an undisclosed injury, continue her torrid pace as she chipped in two more markers. Karvinen now has (14g-26a—40pts). Tonight, Karvinen also recorded her 100 career point in just her 55^th game and this is what she had to say on getting her 100^th career point.

“It’s very special,” Karvinen said. “I am happy it’s not just like a rebound or something and it was a little nicer, it was great.”

The Ohio State Buckeyes actually took a 2-1 lead with a couple of goals from Captain Hokey Langan (Chatham, Ontario). That was all the closer the game would get as UND would blow the game open with three goals five minutes apart.

After the game, head coach Brian Idalski was asked about the explosion in the second period.

“I just thought we executed a little better,” Idalski said. “I thought we were a little hungry as far as getting pucks to the net and being the first to jump on rebounds. You have to out work them – they’re so good at playing with energy and competing and they’re very strong on pucks. You had to turn it up a notch to match that.”

Same two teams tomorrow night at 07:07 pm.

With the win tonight, UND currently sits in 8^th of the Pairwise Rankings, UND would need to 8^th or above to make the NCAA tourney.

WCHA Web Media Poll: Week 18

Each week, I participate in a WCHA Web Media Poll that is put on by the Tech Hockey Guide with 11 other people that represent both the print media as well as the hockey blogosphere.

The Minnesota Gophers are still the #1 team in this week’s WCHA Web Media Poll, garnering seven of 12 votes. Second in this week’s poll, are the Saint Cloud State Huskies, as they picked up five of 12 first place votes.  Coming in third is the University of North Dakota.

Again, there wasn’t a lot of movement again during this week’s poll. Spots one through five remain the same, as well as spots 10-12. The only real movement is spots six, seven, eight and nine, they all traded places.  Meaning, Minnesota State trades places with Wisconsin and Colorado College trades places with Minnesota Duluth.

Here’s a look at the results the Tech Hockey Guide WCHA Web Media Poll for Week 18:

		Pts	Previous	Record	High	Low
1.	Minnesota (7)	138	1	19-5-4	1	3
2.	St. Cloud State (5)	136	2	18-11-1	1	3
3.	North Dakota	122	3	16-8-6	2	3
4.	Denver	96	4	15-9-5	4	6
5.	Nebraska Omaha	95	5	16-12-2	4	7
6.	Minnesota State	88	7	18-9-3	4	7
7.	Wisconsin	78	6	12-9-7	4	8
8.	Colorado College	62	9	11-14-5	7	9
9.	Minnesota Duluth	46	8	10-15-3	9	10
10.	Michigan Tech	39	10	9-14-4	8	10
11.	Bemidji State	24	11	5-17-6	11	11
12.	Alaska Anchorage	12	12	4-17-7	12	12

Representing Name Publication Twitter

Alaska-Anchorage, Taylor Hall College Hockey News @thall907
Bemidji State, Troy Mills The Beaver Pond
Colorado College, Joe Paisley, Paisley Hockey @Paisleyhockey
Denver, Mike Chambers, Denver Post @MChambersDP
Michigan Tech, Tim Braun, Tech Hockey Guide @TBraunTHG
Minnesota, Dan Myers, Minnesota Hockey Magazine @1DanMyers
Minnesota Duluth, Bruce Ciskie, The Ciskie Blog @BruceCiskie
Minnesota State, Chris Dilks, Western College Hockey @ChrisDilks
Nebraska-Omaha, Matt Semisch, Radio Free Omaha @matthewsemisch
North Dakota, Eric Burton The Hockey Writers Combine and Goon’s World @goon48
St. Cloud State, Jeremy Larson, Husky Hockey Time @jclarson02
Wisconsin, Andy Johnson, Bucky’s 5th Quarter @andyjohnsonB5Q

Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine... 

Related articles

• WCHA Web Media Poll: Week 17 (thehockeywriters.com)
• WCHA Web Media Poll: Week 16 (thehockeywriters.com)
• WCHA Web Media Poll: Week 15 (thehockeywriters.com)

(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.

UND vs. UW lines game two

North Dakota Forward Lines

19 Rocco Grimaldi–10 Corban Knight (A) –7 Danny Kristo (A)

9 Drake Caggiula  –27 Carter Rowney (A)–15 Michael Parks
25 Mitch MacMillan – 16 Mark MacMillan - 17 Colten St. Clair

8 Dan Senkbeil–28 Stephane Pattyn– Derek Rodwell

North Dakota Defense Pairings

2 Andrew MacWilliam (C) – 18 Dillon Simpson

4 Derek Forbort – 24 Jordan Schmaltz

Nick Mattson – 20 Joe Gleason

North Dakota Goalies

31 Zane Gothberg

33 Clarke Saunders

35 Tate Maris

Not in the lineup: 13 Connor Gaarder, 29 Bryn Chyzyk, 22 Andrew Panzarella, 26 Coltyn Sanderson, 21 Brendan O’Donnell

WCHA Officials: Referees: Tom Sterns (8), Matt Ulwelling (23), Linesman: Andy Carton (92), Nathan Freeman (78).

Wisconsin Badgers Forward Lines

16 Joseph LaBate–9 Mark Zengerle–25 Michael Mersch
17 Nic Kerdiles–14 Jefferson Dahl–7 Tyler Barnes
20 Ryan Little (A)–21 Brendan Woods–18 Sean Little
26 Brad Navin–12 Keegan Meuer–8 Matt Pappe

Wisconsin Badgers Defense Parings

28 Kevin Schulze–55 John Ramage (C)
22 Eddie Wittchow - 24 Joe Faust

19 Jake McCabe–27 Frankie Simonelli (A)

Wisconsin Badgers Goalies

30 Landon Peterson

33 Joel Rumpel

Kristo's assist was his 144th career point, tying him with Jay Panzer, Jim Archibald and Jeff McLean for 28th all-time at UND.
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) February 3, 2013

North Dakota and Wisconsin solve nothing in Grand Forks

Grand Forks, ND – All good things must come to an end. The Wisconsin Badgers and the University of North Dakota are going their separate ways after this season. The Wisconsin Badgers are going to the Big Ten, and UND is going to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

The two teams will not play next season, and will take a one year break before renewing the historic rivalry during the 2014-15 season.

Earlier this week, Badgers head coach Mike Eaves said that it was a priority that the two teams have a nonconference scheduling agreement in the future.

Whenever North Dakota and Wisconsin get together, it’s usually an entertaining, and intense affair.  Tonight was no different. Wisconsin Badgers head coach Mike Eaves thought tonight’s game was entertaining.

“We talk about solving riddles, that was a wild one,” Eaves said. “I don’t know how that riddle was going to be solved tonight. There was great energy in the building, lots of wild and crazy things going on, on the ice, entertaining game for the fans.”

North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol also thought tonight’s game was a hard fought game. “From start to finish it was a hard played 65 Minutes,” Hakstol said.

While there was more than enough action on the ice tonight to keep the fans interested, there was little in the way of goal scoring.

During the first period neither team would score, and both teams would each put seven shots on their opponent’s net.

The game would get more exciting in the second period. North Dakota would score at the 00:25 mark of the second period on power play with a goal from senior forward Danny Kristo. Wisconsin would score 13 second later at the 0:38 mark of the second period, with a goal from junior forward Michael Mersch.

Unfortunately, that was all of the scoring in the game, and UND would outshoot Wisconsin 11-9 in the second period.

The second period would end with a scrum. Players from both teams’ would end up paired off on the ice with UND’s Andrew MacWilliam and Jake McCabe locked in a heated battle that landed them both in the box with double minors for roughing and each were given a 10 minute misconduct as well.  When it was all sorted out, both teams were assessed 20 minutes in penalties.

In the third period, UND would get into penalty trouble as freshman Drake Caggiula was assessed a five minute major for checking from behind. Fortunately, UND would kill the major penalty, and Wisconsin wasn’t really able to generate any chances because of North Dakota’s tenacious penalty kill.

UND and Wisconsin would go to overtime where nothing was settled, and the game would end in a 2-2 tie.

From the fun fact department; for three overtimes periods in a row, UND has had a scoring chance to win the game, and hit the post. Breaking it down further, senior forward Danny Kristo has hit the pipe in overtime in two consecutive games, during the overtime period.

After the game, this is how Kristo saw it.

“Corban [Knight] made a great pass and the goalie was kind out of position," Kristo said. "I shot it a little too hard, and It might have hit the crossbar. It’s one that wish I had it back. I think I we hit three pipes tonight, that’s just the way it was."

UND did themselves no favors in the overtime period,  sophomore forward Mitch MacMillan took an untimely roughing penalty in front of the Badgers bench at the 01:23 mark of the overtime period. UND would kill that penalty and get a power play themselves at the 03:19 mark, but were unable to get anything past Wisconsin Badgers sophomore goalie Landon Peterson.

Having to kill the five minute major in the third period and the minor penalty in the overtime period put UND in a difficult position and Coach Hakstol agreed.

“That’s putting ourselves in a tough position,” Hakstol said. “The five minute major,  I saw it, it was a fast play. So, I don’t have an evaluation on that. Once you get to overtime you don’t need an extra push in there.  Get to the bench, and let your teammate go out there and get back in the play.”

North Dakota needs two points tomorrow night, if they want to secure an upper division for the WCHA playoffs.  The Green and White are winless in the last five games going 0-2-3.

The same two teams play again Saturday at 7:07 p.m. at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Cross posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine... 

UND: The Weekend Ahead (2/1-2/2)

This weekend, the University of North Dakota entertains the University of Wisconsin Badgers in a crucial two game WCHA series at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Matchup: North Dakota (13-8-5, 8-5-5 WCHA) #7 versus #19 Wisconsin (11-8-5, 8-5-5 WCHA).

Dates: February 1-2, 2013

Times: February 1: 7:37p.m. (CT); February 2: 7:07 p.m. (CT)

Radio:  UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM) – The Fox.

TV: Midco Sports Network, FOX College Sports Central, DirecTV

Webcast: UNDSports.com

SERIES HISTORY: All-Time: UND trails the Wisconsin Badgers 64-86-11 (.432)
In Grand Forks, UND trails the Badgers 32-36-8 (.474), In Madison, UND trails 27-46-3 (.375), At Neutral sites, UND leads the series 5-4-0 (.556). UND holds a 4-5-1 (.450) in the last 10 games and a 4-2 record the last six games (.666) against the Wisconsin Badgers.
UND is 7-3-4 in the last 15 games it’s played at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Players to Watch:

North Dakota: Forwards: Danny Kristo (15g-18a—33pts), Rocco Grimaldi (9g-11a—20pts), Mark MacMillan (8g-9a—17pts), Corbin Knight (12g-23a—35pts), Carter Rowney (6g-8a—14pts), Drake Caggiula (6g-6a—12pts). Defense:  Dillon Simpson (2g-12a—14pts), Derek Forbort (4g-8a—12pts), Joe Gleason (3g-8a—11pts) Jordan Schmaltz (1g-6a—7pts) Andrew MacWilliam (1g-5a—6pts). Goaltenders: Clarke Saunders 10-5-4, 2.34 GAA, .914 save percentage, Zane Gothberg 3-3-1, 3.11 GAA, .897 save percentage.

Wisconsin Badgers: Forwards: Michael Mersch (15g-6a—21pts), Derek Lee (3g-16a—19pts), Tyler Barnes (6g-7a—21pts), Joseph Labate (4g-6a—10pts), Nic Kerdiles (3g-7a—10pts), Defense:  Jake McCabe (2g-8a—10pts) John Ramage (4g-3a—7pts). Goalies: Landon Peterson 5—2-2, 1.83 GAA, .934 save percentage, Joel Rumpel 6-6-3, 1.85 GAA, .930 save percentage.

UND Official Web Page

Wisconsin Official Web Page

Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine...