Friday Gameday: Time to Set the Tone

The No. 1 UND men's hockey team is 18-2-2 coming into this weekend's National Collegiate Hockey Conference Series against No. 9 Nebraska Omaha.

The first half of season couldn't have gone any better for the Green and White as the vaunted CBS line of junior Drake Caggiula, freshman Brock Boeser and sophomore Nick Schmaltz and NCAA goaltending leader sophomore Cam Johnson tore up the schedule and the scoresheet.


While all that is certainly nothing to be negative about, the real stretch begins Friday and Saturday in Grand Forks versus the Mavericks. After finishing their non-conference schedule with a sterling 9-1-2 record, it's all NCHC games from here on out for the Green and White in what is lauded by many as the best conference in the NCAA.

It's time to set the tone and make that first half really mean something.

Here's what to watch for from the Ralph in this week's "Who? What? How?" series breakdown.

Who?

Players to watch

Nebraska Omaha

UNO Jr. F, Austin Ortega

Jr. F, Jake Guentzel, 10 goals, 17 assists (8th in NCAA) -- 27 points; Jr. F, Austin Ortega, 16g (3rd in NCAA), 8a -- 24 pts; Jr. F, Justin Parizek, 6g, 15a -- 21 pts; So. F, Jake Randolph, 8g, 9a --17 pts; Jr. G, Kirk Thompson, 4-3-1, 2.75 goals against average, .899 save percentage; Freshman goaltender, UNO's statistical goalie leader, won't travel to Grand Forks this weekend due to injury.

UND

Sr. F, Drake Caggiula, 14g (T-6 in NCAA), 15a -- 29 pts (T-6 in NCAA); So. F, Nick Schmaltz, 3g, 23a (2nd in NCAA) -- 26 pts; Fr. F, Brock Boeser, 13g (2nd in NCAA in rookie goals), 8a -- 21 pts; Jr. D, Troy Stecher, 3g, 12a -- 15 pts; So. D, Tucker Poolman, 3g, 11a -- 14 pts; So. G, Cam Johnson, 9-0-1 (1st in NCAA in win percentage), 1.07 GAA (1st in NCAA), .957 SV PCT (1st in NCAA).

What?

Standout Stats

The "CBS line" of Drake Caggiula (+29), Nick Schmaltz (+29) and Brock Boeser (+22) ranks T-1st, T-1st
and T-3rd respectively in the NCAA in plus/minus rating. Schmaltz and Boeser return to the lineup this weekend after a bronze medal performance for the United States in this year's World Junior Championship tournament.

UND sophomore forward Nick Schmaltz returns to the lineup for the
Green and White after an 8 point, bronze medal performance in this year's WJC.
Freshman forward Brock Boeser re-joins the CBS line as well after the WJC.

UNO's Austin Ortega leads the country in game-winning goals with six. Caggiula is tied for fourth with four.

UND's Cam Johnson leads the country in all three major statistical categories, .950 win percentage, 1.07 goals against average and .957 save percentage.

UND is allowing just 1.59 goals per game which is second in the NCAA. Omaha sports the nation's 7th-best penalty kill at 87.5%

How?

How'd they get here?

No. 1 UND (18-2-2, 9-0-1 -- 27 pts, T-1 in NCHC) has won eight-straight games since falling 6-1 at St. Cloud on November 21. The Green and White won an exhibition game against the U.S. Under-18 team 4-1 last Saturday.

No. 9 Nebraska Omaha (14-5-1, 4-5-1 -- 13 pts, 5th in NCHC) got swept by Denver 3-0, 4-3 at home last weekend after previously winning six out of their last seven games.

The Pick

UND So. G, Cam Johnson
leads the NCAA in win
percentage, goals against
average and save percentage.

Schmaltz and Boeser return to their Green and White brethren after a successful bronze for the U.S. in the WJC, putting back together the CBS line that dazzled the college hockey world in the first half. Schmaltz had a terrific tournament, notching 2 goals and adding 6 assists with Boeser adding 1 goal and 2 assists. The duo played on the same line for much of the tournament and UND looks for the chemistry from the WJC and first half of their collegiate season to continue.

Opposing the CBS line, UNO have a dynamic scoring duo in Jake Guentzel and Austin Ortega. Guentzel's 17 assists are 8th in the NCAA and Ortega's 16 goals are third. Ortega has shown over his first two and half seasons that he is truly a clutch player, setting a NCAA record with 11 game-winning goals last season and leading the country with six thus far, this year.

Omaha is coming off a rather stunning weekend against Denver in which they got swept at home, 3-0, 4-3, so expect a fired up Mavericks squad in Grand Forks.

These two teams have had a run of incredibly high-octane and tight battles over the last couple of seasons, including overtime games in three out of four contests. UND went 2-1-1 in those games.

Both of these teams can light it up offensively with top line talent, but DDC thinks the real difference between these squads comes on the back end. UNO is without freshman goaltender Evan Weninger, the team's top netminder this season due to injury while UND's Cam Johnson continues a historic pace. The Green and White goalie leads the country in every major statistical category, allowing just one goal in his last five outings. Couple that with a dynamic defensive corps led by Troy Stecher and Paul LaDue, UND is as good as it comes on the 'D' end. This ultimately will make the difference this weekend.

UND SWEEPS IN TWO TIGHT BATTLES, 4-2, 3-2 OT

There you have it. Check back after this weekend for how it all went down. Thanks for reading!

Roses and Thorns: Pulverizing the Pios

NCHC Standings:
1) UND, 7-1-0, 21 pts; 2) SCSU, 6-2-0, 18pts;
T-3) UMD,4-3-1, 13 pts; T-3) Omaha, 4-3-1, 13 pts;
5) DU, 3-2-1,10 pts; 6) Miami, 2-7-1, 7 pts;
T-7) CC, 2-6-0, 6 pts; T-7) WMU, 2-6-0, 6 pts.

So, DDC has been busy with a bunch of stuff of late and if you've missed the blog over the last couple of weekends, consider this an official apology.

Once piece of housekeeping before the recap. DDC wants to take a second to mention his Twitter and Blogosphere buddy, RWD (if you don't know who she is, follow Runnin' With the Dogs for all the best Minnesota Duluth hockey tidbits) and her awesome fundraiser for local food shelves all over the country. Check it out and help out a great cause and hashtag #FromTopShelfToFoodShelf all over social media. Sorry there wasn't a blog before this weekend, RWD. DDC hopes you'll take more if this helps at all!

On to the matters at hand.

Across the college hockey world, a prime cliche is used on a nightly basis of "playing a complete 60 minutes." Period by period, teams look to execute at their best level. A full weekend's effort would be considered a "complete 120 minutes."

The UND men's hockey team certainly lived up to this cliche this weekend.

The No. 4 Green and White battled the No. 9 Denver Pioneers in an important National Collegiate Hockey Conference series at the Ralph Engelstad Arena and while doing everything here to not sound trite, UND took DU to the woodshed.

Again, it the was the vaunted CBS line of Drake Caggiula, Brock Boeser and Nick Schmaltz leading the way. Boeser scored twice while Caggiula and Schmaltz both netted a goal en route to a 5-1 win on Friday night as the trio racked up six points. On Saturday night, UND got some serious secondary scoring as Austin Poganski potted a pair of goals, then the CBS buried the Pios late, as Caggiula and Boeser scored 27 seconds apart in the third period, pacing a 4-0 win and a pulverizing series sweep.

Here's what stood out from what was possibly the best 120 minutes of dominating hockey DDC has ever seen in his weekly (kind of, of late) Roses and Thorns series recap.

Roses

No. 1 -- CBS line

Duh. This line racked up 10 points this weekend (Caggiula, 2g, 2a; Boeser, 3g; Schmaltz, 1g, 2a) and was a whopping +15 for the series, but the impact wasn't just on the scoresheet against Denver. The trio's compete level really stood out on the defensive end all weekend as they shut down the Pioneers with a tenacious forecheck and backcheck. Schmaltz was an absolute horse, consistently stick checking DU players and leading offense the other way. This line is constantly facing the top groups of defenders and lines, but nothing is slowing this group down. The chemistry, the playmaking ability and the cold-blooded scoring punch has UND on a roll, right now. It's one thing for this line and team as a whole to be better then any particular team in regards to talent, which they have been all season, but it's a whole different to outwork them. UND fans are seeing both, right now and it's certainly been a treat.

No. 2 -- Austin Poganski

UND So. F, buries a short-handed tally with 0.6 left in the first period on Saturday.
Poganski netted three goals on the weekend. (Photo: Eric Hylden, GF Herald).

As much fun as it has been to watch the CBS line dominate teams over the course of this season, UND has lacked a bit of secondary scoring, of late. Well, sophomore Austin Poganski certainly had something to say about that, this weekend. The St. Cloud native netted three goals in the series, including both game-winning goals. Poganski was particularly good in front of the net, using his big frame to slam home two of his three. The other was probably his biggest one, on Saturday. UND dominated DU in the first period, outshooting the Pios 19-3, but the game was scoreless until Poganski stole the puck at the UND blue line, skated in alone and potted a short-handed goal with just 0.6 left in the period. Much like the CBS line's performance, Poganski's impact wasn't just in scoring as he drew a couple of penalties on Friday, using his heavy skating and hard effort and joined his teammates in the forechecking barrage. Great weekend for the sophomore.

No. 3 -- Cam Johnson

It's easy for a goalie to get a bit overshadowed when the team in front of him is dominating all over the ice, but without the sophomore netminder, this weekend could have been much different for UND. Johnson wasn't overwhelmingly tested at any point in this series, but made key saves in both games to lead the Green and White to the sweep. Johnson has allowed just three goals in the last four games, all starts, after returning from an early-season injury last weekend in East Lansing. The Michigan native stopped 44 of 45 shots in the series, earning his first-career shutout on Saturday and is showing the ability to become UND's true No. 1 netminder.  Back-to-back NCHC goaltender of the weekend honors should be on tap for Johnson.

No. 4 -- Compete level

If DDC wasn't so lazy before the series to do a preview, he would have honestly picked a split for this weekend. It was a top 10 battle pitting two bitter and long-time rivals in an important conference series. Let's make one thing clear.... Denver is good. In fact, they are really good. However, UND was flat out better in every single phase this weekend and it started from the drop of the puck on Friday and didn't stop until the final buzzer on Saturday. Like previously mentioned, it's one thing to have more talent and play better than a team on a particular weekend, but it's another to outwork the other team. The Green and White won nearly every battle in all three zones, shutdown Denver with a sterling 10 for 10 penalty kill that actually outscored the Pios 1-0 for the series and scored back-breaking goals when needed. Head coach Brad Berry really had his team ready to play this weekend. That was a special level of play UND had in this series.

Thorns

No. 1 -- It's only December?!

Head coach Brad Barry after UND's 4-0 win on Saturday:
"I think tonight, we took another step as a team,"
Berry said."I talked to the guys after the game,
and we're not done. We're not done yet.
We have two games to go before Christmas.
We have a good thing going here."

This was a statement series for UND. If the college hockey world didn't know enough about the Green and White coming into this weekend, they certainly know them now. This wasn't a non-conference series against a pairwise-busting opponent. This destruction was against the No. 9 team in the country and bitter rival, Denver. DDC's only thorn this weekend is the fact that it's only December and as everyone knows, banners aren't hung for December sweeps, regardless how impressive. As unlikely as it may seem by the way this team is playing of late, there are going to be bumps in the road. However, when times to get tough, UND will be able to look back on this dominating series and know that they have the capability to dominate any team they face. What an impressive weekend. Consider this blogger blown away.

There's just one more series remaining for UND in 2015 as they travel to Duluth to take on the Bulldogs in another NCHC battle, this coming Friday and Saturday.

Roses and Thorns: A No Surprise Split

NCHC Standings:
T-1) UND, 5-1-0-0, 15 points; T-1) SCSU,
5-1-0-0, 15 pts; T-3) DU, 3-0-1, 10 pts; T-3)
UNO, 3-2-1, 10 pts; T-5) UMD, 2-3-1, 7 pts;
T-5) Miami, 2-5-1, 7 pts; 7) WMU, 2-4-0, 6 pts:
8) Colorado College, 0-6-0, 0 pts

Despite his homer pick of a UND sweep, the "no-sweep series" once again lived up to its billing and DDC is certainly not surprised.

North Dakota and St. Cloud State, the top two teams in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, both earned a win over the weekend at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. UND, paced by a hat trick by senior Drake Caggiula won a 4-3 contest on Friday, but the Huskies earned the split with a 6-1 victory on Saturday.

All things considered, this wasn't a terrible result for either team as the rivals leave the series the same way they entered -- tied a top the NCHC.

Here's what stood out to DDC in his weekly Roses and Thorns series recap.

Roses

No. 1 -- Drake Caggiula

The senior forward paced the vaunted CBS line along side Nick Schmaltz and Brock Boeser this weekend, notching his first-career hat trick on Friday night. Caggiula was a force in the opening game of the series, scoring his third goal, the eventual game winner, just 28 seconds into the third period as UND held on for the victory. The CBS line was dominant on Friday, tallying 7 points, led by Caggiula. As it has all season, as the CBS line goes, so goes the Green and White.

No. 2 -- Rhett Gardner

UND Fr. F, Rhett Gardner

Nursing a 4-3 lead with just five seconds left in the game, UND lined up for a decisive faceoff in their defensive zone. St. Cloud had dominated the dots all game and this was by far the biggest one of the night. Gardner stepped in, won a clean draw and UND held on for the win. The closing play wasn't the only mark that the freshman made in Friday's game as he netted another goal-front goal, his fourth of the season and added an assist. Outside of the CBS line, Gardner might be the Green and White's most consistent player of late. His heavy frame and offensive skill has had Moose Jaw, Sask., native on the ice a lot in the last handful of games for UND. A friend noted that Gardner is developing much like another familiar 22 for UND, Brad Malone. For fans of the Green and White, this would be a welcomed development. Gardner keeps impressing.

No. 3 -- Charlie Lindgren 

The St. Cloud State goaltender came into this weekend's series sporting numbers that had him among the top of the NCAA goalie stats and Lindgren certainly impressed. Despite allowing four goals on Friday, Lindgren made several big saves to keep it close. On Saturday, the Husky netminder was dominant, stopping 28 of 29 UND shots, including 16 in the third, to earn SCSU the split. With the game 4-1 in the third, UND peppered Lindgren as the Green and White pressed to get back in the game and Lindgren shut the door. Props to the first non-UND rose on the season.

Thorns

No. 1 -- UND's Penalty Kill

This is becoming a bit of a trend for UND as the PK struggled, allowing 3 goals on 10 chances on the weekend. St. Cloud has a dynamic bunch of scoring forwards and they move the puck incredibly well on the power play and that hurt the Green and White, particularly on Saturday as the Huskies scored twice with the extra man. UND's lack of discipline has put this unit on the ice a lot this season and North Dakota has yet to find a consistent group of penalty killers. With the game tightening at 3-1 late in the second period, Trevor Olson took a silly, five minute interference penalty and SCSU cashed in and essentially sealed the game. This unit must find some consistency. A paltry 77.4% success rate on the PK just won't cut it.

No. 2 -- Concerns in Net

UND Jr. G, Matt Hyrnkiw

Following an injury to starting goaltender Cam Johnson, just two plus games into the season, Matt Hyrnkiw was pressed into duty and did well, losing just one game in his first nine starts. However, Hrynkiw seemed to fight the puck this weekend against a SCSU squad that has the most scoring touch UND has played against this season, leaving several juicy rebounds to St. Cloud sticks on Friday. That continued a bit on Saturday and the junior was pulled in the second period with UND down 3-0. Johnson relieved Hyrnkiw and didn't do much to assure anything going forward for the Green and White as he too allowed three goals. Not all the blame can be placed on Hyrnkiw for either result as he made several big saves on Friday with St. Cloud pressing late, but the rebound control has been somewhat of a problem all season. UND had the luxury over the past two seasons of a goaltender in Zane McIntryre that had the ability to steal games if the Green and White were struggling. Neither Hrynkiw nor Johnson have proven this ability so far this season. While both are certainly serviceable, UND will need to find more consistent play if they have hopes of hanging banner No. 8 in the rafters of the REA. Freshman Matej Tomek is still on the shelf with nagging injuries, but will get his shot in net once healthy as neither Hrynkiw or Johnson have truly taken the reigns.

So there you have it. Come back later this week as UND prepares to travel to East Lansing, Mich., for a non-conference, turkey day weekend series with Michigan State.

Friday Gameday: New Name, Same Game

It's certainly been an interesting week for the UND men's hockey team.

A decades long battle to officially replace the beloved Fighting Sioux nickname came to an end on Wednesday as the UND brass announced Fighting Hawks as the newly chosen moniker.

DDC isn't quite ready to transition and will refrain from doing so until he shakes his jitters of replacing an icon that's close to his heart.

For North Dakota, unfortunately, they do not have the luxury of waiting. We are... Fighting Hawks.

In all reality, nothing has changed for the Green and White and business is at hand. Despite all the nickname hoopla, UND has it's hands full this Friday and Saturday night as they travel to St. Cloud and the Herb Brooks Arena to take on their long-time rival, the St. Cloud State Huskies.

These two teams know each other very well.

Dubbed "The no-sweep series" by DDC's friend, former colleague and the best college hockey writer in the biz, Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, the stats are flat out insane. Since the 2001-02 season, UND and SCSU have played at least one two-game series. None of those series have resulted in a sweep for either team. In another oddity, during a 10-year span from 2002-03 to the 2012-13 season, the Green and White went 0-8-2 on Friday night and 10-0 on Saturday. Can any of that change this weekend?

The Huskies topped UND in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semis 3-1 last season, but, just eight days later, the Green and White earned the biggest win between the two, beating SCSU 4-1 in the Western Regional Final in Fargo, to advance to the Frozen Four.

First place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference is on the line this weekend and here's what to watch for in DDC's "Who? What? How?" series breakdown.

Who?

Players to watch

SCSU Sr. F, Joey Benik

SCSU

So. F, Patrick Russell, 6 goals, 6 assists -- 12 points; Sr. F, Kalle Kossila, 2g, 10a -- 12 pts; Sr. F, Joey Benik, 7g, 3a -- 10 pts; So. F, Judd Peterson, 6g, 3a -- 9 pts; Jr. G, Charlie Lindgren, 7-2-0, 1.49 goals against average (6th in the NCAA), .944 save percentage (7th in the NCAA).

UND

Sr. F, Drake Caggiula, 4g, 9a -- 13 pts; So. F, Nick Schmaltz, 2g, 11a -- 13 pts; Fr. F, Brock Boeser, 7g, 5a -- 12 pts; Sr. F, Bryn Chyzyk, 6g, 3a -- 9 pts; Jr. D, Troy Stecher, 2g, 7a -- 9 pts; Jr. G, Matt Hrynkiw, 8-1-1, 1.81 GAA (10th in NCAA), .920 SV PCT.

What?

Standout Stats

UND leads the country in shots allowed, giving up just 22.25 shots per game. On the offensive end, the Green and White also lead the country in shot margin with a +176.

The "CBS line" of Drake Caggiula (+16), Nick Schmaltz (+15) and Brock Boeser (+13) ranks 1st, 2nd and 4th respectively in the NCAA in plus/minus rating.

St. Cloud State is 6th in the NCAA in goals per game with a whopping 4.10 mark. UND isn't far behind, scoring 3.58 goals per game. Defensively, the Huskies are third in the NCAA in goals allowed, averaging just 1.50 goals against. Again, the Green and White are not far behind with a 7th-best NCAA mark of 1.83 goals against per game.

UND topped SCSU 4-1 last March in the West Regional Final in Fargo
to advance to the Frozen Four. (Photo credit: St. Cloud Times)

How?

How'd they get here?

This weekend's series in St. Cloud is a match up of the top two teams in the NCHC and two top 10 teams in the national rankings.

No. 3 UND (9-1-2, 4-0-0-0 NCHC) swept Miami last weekend 6-2 and 4-3 in OT.

No. 7 St. Cloud State (8-2-0, 4-0-0-0 NCHC) is on a four-game winning streak including a sweep against Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, Mich., 5-2 on Friday and a whopping 11-1 on Saturday. The 11-goal explosion set a NCHC record for goals in a game.

The Pick

It's time for DDC to, for the first time publicly, embrace something he's avoided for the duration of his time writing this blog.

For far too long, DDC has hidden behind a facade, a smokescreen, a masquerade. After years of non-biased nonsense, it's time to admit it.

I am DDC and I am a homer.

Man, that felt good.

The history, the statistics, the rivalry all scream split, but DDC won't hide anymore.

Let's get this straight. Both of these teams are very good. This series will be tight. Both teams are solid defensively and can flat out light the lamp, but DDC feels this Green and White squad has that killer instinct and that was evident last Saturday against Miami.

UND dominated the RedHawks throughout, but trailed 3-2 with time ticking down in the third. Then, the killer instinct, the dynamic, cold-blooded, game-breaking scoring ability took over and North Dakota got it done.

It's time for the Green and White to shake off a week to forget and exercise the "No-sweep series" demons.

This is a statement series for both teams that could go a long way towards a Penrose Cup title. DDC thinks UND makes the statement this weekend and, for the first time in 17 years ... sweeps the Huskies in St. Cloud.

UND SWEEPS, 4-3, 4-2

Come back after the series and see if the homer call held up. Thanks for reading.

Roses and Thorns: Dynamic, Game-Breaking, Cold-Blooded Goal Scoring

Following the UND men's hockey team's exhibition win over Manitoba, the DDC wrote in his Roses and Thorns column that this year's team might have something that had been lack over the last handful of years in Grand Forks: dynamic, game-breaking, cold-blooded goal scoring.

If there was any doubt that the 2015-16 Green and White lack that special knack, one play may have put that all to rest.

UND raced out to a 5-0 lead on Miami on Friday night, but gave up back-to-back goals in the third period to make the game interesting. Then, one play put the college hockey world on notice that this North Dakota squad has a scoring punch that is something to behold.

Any questions?

The goal had Grand Forks, social media and the college hockey world buzzing. But, UND didn't stop with that goal and 6-2 win.

On Saturday night, despite being heavily out shot, Miami looked to hush all the hype and scored a goal with just under 6 minutes to go in the third to take a 3-2 lead. But, once again, the cold-blooded scoring punch rang true for UND when Nick Schmaltz buried the game-tying goal with an extra attacker to tie the game at three and Luke Johnson scored just 1:23 into overtime to give the Green and White a National Collegiate Hockey Conference sweep, 4-3.

Here's what stood out from this weekend's series at the Ralph in DDC's weekly Roses and Thorns column.

Roses

UND Sr. F, Drake Caggiula leads the Green and White with 13 points (4g, 9a)
this season. The senior paces his vaunted "CBS line" with sophomore Nick
Schmaltz and freshman Brock Boeser. (Photo credit: Grand Forks Herald.

No. 1 -- The CBS line

Honestly, DDC could just go ahead and say "see above" and point you to the attached video, but that would diminish the impact that the line of Drake Caggiula, Nick Schmaltz and Brock Boeser had again this weekend. Leading the way once again, this line racked up 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) including a 1 goal, 3 assist Friday night from both Schmaltz and Boeser. DDC's friend told him earlier this past week before the Miami series that he thinks Schmaltz might be the best passer he's ever seen in college hockey. His opinion is one that DDC respects pretty much more than any, but he was hesitant to give Schmaltz that honor. However, after this weekend, it really is becoming hard to argue. Couple the play-making touch of Schmaltz with the pure scoring from Boeser and Caggiula, UND has something special this season.

No. 2 -- Rhett Gardner

With heralded freshmen of the likes of Boeser, Shane Gersich and Chris Wilkie coming into the program, the big-bodied Gardner was a bit of an afterthought. After a goal in each game against Miami, the Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan native appears to be carving out a big role with this UND squad. With a team full of scoring touch, Gardner is adding a net-front presence and that showed against Miami. Gardner tipped in a Troy Stecher point shot on Friday and buried a pass from Caggiula on the door step on Saturday, netting his second and third goals of the season. As the Green and White continue on their schedule with defenses keying on UND's elite scoring, greasy, tough-guy goals from guys like Gardner and Austin Poganski will be very important.

No. 3 -- Tucker Poolman 

Speaking of big bodies... after missing the previous four games with a leg injury, the sophomore defenseman got back in to the lineup this weekend and Poolman did not miss a beat. The East Grand Forks native was a plus 4 and assisted on UND's first goal on Saturday night. With junior d-man Paul LaDue missing Saturday's game with an injury, Poolman logged heavy minutes and was on the ice for all four of UND's goals. Fans of the Green and White know what this guy is capable with his rocket of a slap shot from the point, but Poolman showed his lock down defensive ability this weekend.

Thorns

No. 1 -- Injuries

UND Jr. D, Paul LaDue

Even though it may turn out not to be a serious one, LaDue's injury in the second period on Friday is certainly a cause of frustration for UND. LaDue has had a bit of a slow start to the 2015-16 season, but potted his first goal of the season on Friday night before leaving before the start of the third. Early indications are that LaDue may not miss any time, but if he does, the junior will be the ninth player to sit because of injury this year for the Green and White.

No. 2 -- Special Teams

Miami came into this weekend's series boasting the nation's third-best penalty kill and despite UND notching a power play goal early in the first period on Friday, the Green and White struggled the rest of the weekend, going a total of 1 for 7 with the extra man. The penalty kill didn't fare any better, allowing three power play goals in the series. After a nice stretch of penalty kill play over the previous two weekends, UND reverted to its early-season struggles a bit and are a dismal 79.1% while down a man on the season. With the scoring touch that the Green and White have shown this season, 14.3% on the power play certainly isn't a game-breaking number. These two areas will need to improve going forward.

There you have it. Come back later this week as UND travels down I-94 to take on rival St. Cloud State from Herb Brooks Arena in St. Cloud. Thanks for reading.