Friday Gameday: An October Must Have Series

Excuse the questionable source, but per Urban Dictionary, a "trap game" is defined as a game played against an opponent generally deemed to be easy to defeat. As a result, a person or team may not prepare as thoroughly as they would for a formidable opponent. Often, this attitude and its attendant lack of preparation, lead to a loss.

DDC dubs this weekend .. a trap series.

Kicking off the regular season, the No. 8/7 University of North Fighting Hawks take on the Niagara University Purple Eagles from the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, and as the 2018-19 UND squad can attest to, this weekend is an important one for the Green and White.

On January 5-6, 2019, UND faced off against Canisius College, got swept against a team that ultimately would finish 54 out of 60 teams in the Pairwise ranking, which determine the NCAA tournament field each season. These losses ultimately popped the Green and White's tournament bubble by season's end. While Niagara isn't necessarily as poor Canisius ended up being that season, with the Pairwise ranking determining everyone's fate, losing to the Purple Eagles would be a massive blow to a potential national tournament in the future. 

With all of that said ... trap series. 

And as he did for the Roses and Thorns column, DDC will re-introduce the Who? What? How? preview. Simply put, this is the people, the things and the situations that lead up to a particular weekend's tilt. The players, that standout stats, and the how they got here are going to give you all an idea of what to look for each weekend. And finally, it will end with DDC's weekend pick! Without further ado...

Who?

Players to Watch

Niagara University Purple Eagles -- 2020-21 stats

Sr. F., Walker Sommer, 8 goals, 7 assists -- 15 points; Jr. F., Ryan Numovski, 3g, 10a -- 13pts; Sr. F., Ryan Cox, 7g, 4a -- 11pts; Sr. D., Chris Harpur, 0g, 8a -- 8 pts; Jr. G.,Chad Veltri, 5-7-2, 2.61 goals against average, .914 save percentage; Sr. G., Michael Corson, 2-4-1, 3.28 GAA, .903 SV%

University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks -- 2020-21 stats

So. F., Riese Gaber, 11g, 10a -- 21pts;  So. F., Jake Sanderson, 2g, 13a -- 15pts; Sr. F., Mark Senden, 3g, 11a -- 14pts; Jr. F., Judd Caulfield, 4g, 7a -- 11pts; Sr. G., Zach Driscoll (w/Bemidji State), 15-9-3; 2.32 GAA; .922 SV%

What?

Standout Stats and Notes

Niagara

So. F., Carter Randklev

Moorhead, Minn., native and former UND recruit Carter Randklev skates for the Purple Eagles. The now sophomore tallied 3 goals and 2 assists for Niagara last season.

Niagara returns 18 players from last year's team and adds 12 rookies.

Niagara is 0-7-0 all-time against North Dakota including a 2013 NCAA regional loss. The Purple Eagles' last visit to Grand Forks in 2015 was not a pleasant one with UND sweeping the series to the tune of a 12-1 margin in the two games. 

UND

This weekend marks 20 years since the REA opened it's doors. Cheers to the Palace on the Prairie. 

UND welcomes forward Connor Ford (Bowling Green) and Ashton Calder (Lake Superior State) to this year's squad and hopes the two continue their solid WCHA goal scoring in the NCHC. Ford and Calder finished last season tied with 16 goals each, good for fifth in the nation.

The Green and White hopes to find offensive consistency and goal scoring with a plethora of new faces. Last year, UND was 16-1-0 when they scored at least 4 goals.

How?

How'd they get here?

Niagara plays in its first game action of the year after missing out on the NCAA tournament last season. The Purple Eagles fell in the Atlantic Hockey semifinals to end their campaign. 

UND took down the Bemidji State Beavers 2-1 in an exhibition last weekend in Grand Forks. Sophomore winger Riese Gaber scored the Fighting Hawks' first goal and sophomore defenseman Jake Sanderson notched the game winner.

The Pick

The Cathedral of College Hockey turns 20. DDC predicts UND will celebrate in style with a sweep.

DDC will be honest, here ... this needs to be a sweep. He gets it, yes, it's October... but come tournament time, if he has to hear about a loss or two to frickin' Niagara from October, he is gonna be sick. DDC believes talent wins out, here. While there are concerns with how this team will gel to start the year, DDC believes in the pieces that the Fighting Hawks will skate out onto the REA ice this weekend. Zach Driscoll looked so good in the exhibition and he will clean up with a solid defensive performance in front of him.

Jake Sanderson is so an NHL player playing college hockey and DDC predicts a big weekend from him as Atlantic Hockey just doesn't have this type of talent skating against its opponents on a nightly basis. The UND faithful got a whiff of this premise in the first round of the NCAA tournament as the Hawks rolled AIC. The Yellow Jackets just weren't in UND's league and DDC believes that will show again this weekend for the Purple Eagles.

It's time to pay homage to the Palace on the Prairie for its 20th birth, kick the season off right, and get two wins.

The Green and White pushes Niagara over the falls and sweeps, 4-1, 5-2

Check back early next week to see how it all went down! Thanks for the read!