It’s hard to
believe these words are about to be uttered:
It’s playoff
time.
While this
weekend’s best two-out-of-three first round National Collegiate Hockey
Conference tournament series between No. 1 seeded UND and No. 8 seeded Colorado
College is certainly big for both teams with a berth in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff
on the line, for the visiting Tigers, it’s do-or-die. It’s win or go golfing.
North Dakota
clinched the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular season champions outright this past
Friday in Oxford, Ohio against Miami and comes into this series a lock for the
NCAA tournament in two weeks with the No. 1 ranking in the polls and PairWise. For
UND’s seven seniors, it’s the last time they will play in front of the Ralph
Engelstad faithful.
For CC, simply
put, there’s no other option left but to keep on winning. The Tigers are well
out of the NCAA tournament picture and must win this weekend to keep their
season alive.
Enough of the
fluff. Let’s get to the preview of this weekend’s series in Grand Forks.
Who?
Players to watch
Colorado College:
Jr. F, Cody Bradley, 10 goals, 19 assists –
29 points
Sr. F, Scott Wamsganz, 8g, 11a – 19 pts
Jr. F, Hunter Fejes, 5g, 13a – 18 pts
So. G, Tyler Marble, 5-16-2, .899 save
percentage, 3.39 goals against average (7th in NCAA), started last
13 games. 27 save shutout against WMU on 2/28. 0-4, 5.95 GAA, .850 against UND
this season
Fr. G, Chase Perry, 1-8-1, .873 save
percentage, 4.05 goals against average
UND:
Jr. F, Drake Caggiula, 16 goals, 17 assists
– 33 points
Sr. F, Michael Parks, 12g, 19a – 31 pts
Jr. D, Jordan Schmaltz, 3g, 23a – 26 pts
Jr. G, Zane McInyre, 25-7-3, 1.99 goals
against average (13th in NCAA), .931 save percentage (7th
in NCAA). 25 wins tied for lead in NCAA.
16 players with at least 10 points.
 |
| UND gathers with the Penrose Cup this past Friday after clinching the NCHC regular season title outright with a 2-1 win against Miami in Oxford, Ohio. (Photo Credit: UNDsports.com) |
What?
Standout stats
CC:
2.15 goals per game (49th in
NCAA), 3.88 goals allowed per game (56th in NCAA), 21.0% power play
(11th in NCAA), 77.5% penalty kill (51st in NCAA)
1-15-2 away from home, 0-14-1 when giving
up first goal
UND:
3.34 GPG (10th in NCAA), 2.17 GAG
(8th in NCAA), 20.5% PP, 83.6% PK
14-3-3 at home, 18-1-3 when scoring first, 14-0-1
when leading after 1, 21-0-2 when leading after 2.
13th-straight year hosting first
round of conference tournament.
How?
How’d they get here?
CC:
No. 50 PWR, NR USCHO, 6-24-3 overall, 2-19-3,
10 points, Final Rankings: 8th in NCHC.
Last weekend:
2-2 T (SO win), 4-2 L @ Omaha.UND:
No. 1 PWR, No. 1 USCHO, 25-7-3 overall, 16-6-2,
50 pts, Won Penrose Cup as NCHC regular season champions.
Last weekend:
2-1 W, 6-3 L @ Miami.Last meeting:
UND swept CC, 2-1, 5-3 in Grand Forks Jan. 23-24. Swept CC in Colorado 3-1, 7-2 on Oct. 17-18.Fab 5
 |
| UND Jr. G, Zane McIntyre |
UND lands five on NCHC all-conference teams
First Team
- Sr. F, Mark MacMillan
- Sr. F, Mark MacMillan
- Jr. G, Zane McIntyre
Second Team
- Jr. F, Drake Caggiula,
- Jr. F, Drake Caggiula,
- Jr. D, Jordan Schmaltz
 |
| UND Jr. F, Drake Caggiula |
Rookie Team
- Fr. F, Nick Schmaltz
The Pick
UND has handled the Tigers this season, sweeping the series
4-0 while outscoring CC 17-7. On paper, this looks like a mismatch.
Statistically, North Dakota is near the top in goals per
game and goals against while Colorado College is near the bottom.
That being said, the old adage rings true “it’s hard to end
somebody’s season.”
This was evident last season as the Tigers took the Green
and White to three games in the first round of the NCHC tournament.
But, as hard it is to put a team away, these two squads are
where they are in the standings for a reason. While CC will no doubt be playing
with nothing to lose this weekend in Grand Forks, UND has earned its billing as
one of the nation’s best teams.
CC has certainly come a long way this season in terms of
their play, but UND will not take this challenge lightly. North Dakota plays a
tenacious, end-to-end defensive style that relies on depth and hard work. This
will be the difference this weekend.
Colorado College brings the nation’s 11th best
power play into this series and it will be important for North Dakota to stay
out of the box as the clear edge goes to UND in 5-on-5 play.
With the season on the line for the Tigers, it’s tempting to
call this series to go three games, but again, these two teams are where they
are for a reason. The Green and White get it done in two and head to
Minneapolis.
It’s absolutely hard to close a team’s season, but it’s the
end of the line for Colorado College.
