It's Time to Write History -- Men's Hockey National Championship

UND fans again showed why they're the best in the college hockey world
and they were treated to an epic finish on Thursday. (Photo: GF Herald)

It came in a split second and it resonated in the pit of DDC's stomach.

It's a feeling that he and the rest of the Green and White faithful have become all too familiar with.

A centering pass from the sideboards deflected off of UND junior captain Gage Ausmus' stick and bled through netminder Cam Johnson's five hole and to the back of the net.

Sixteen years of heart-wrenching memories popped to the forefront of DDC's mind. A collective uneasiness could be felt from Tampa, to the Twin Cities, to Grand Forks and back.

Nathan Gerbe. Shawn Hunwick. 0.6.  Jack Eichel.

"Not again," DDC mumbled to himself under his breath.

With nine minutes left to go in the national semifinals, UND was on the ropes as Denver knotted the game at 2-2.

While the narrative of the past 16 years of disappointments flooded the minds of the fans, first-year head coach Brad Berry never lost faith in his team. The sentiment was clear. Not this year. Not this team. They've come too far, fought too hard. It's time for history to change. It's time for the narrative to change.

Denver continued to jump. Johnson continued to come up large in the UND net.

Then, in less than four seconds, the haunting narrative died.

Exactly one minute to go with a faceoff in the Denver zone. Brock Boeser won the draw. Drake Caggiula fired the puck that hit traffic in the slot. Boeser gathered the bounce and fired a backhander towards the net. Nick Schmaltz snagged the shot, stayed on his backhand --- and buried it.

The sophomore forward not only buried the puck to the back of the net ... he buried the narrative.

UND So. F, Nick Schmaltz buried the game-winning goal with 57 seconds left in the third period on Thursday. The Green
and White topped Denver 4-2 to advance to the National Championship game on Saturday. (Photo: Eric Hylden, GF Herald)

An empty netter later, UND was moving on to the national championship game with a 4-2 and the heart-wrenching feeling from Tampa, to the Twin Cities, to Grand Forks and back had been replaced with elation.

With the 16-year run of Frozen Four heartaches shattered, in the post-game press conference, the Green and White had already turned the page.

When asked about his feeling of getting the proverbial national semifinal monkey off their back, the senior Caggiula noted that their job is not over.

"When you first step on the University of North Dakota campus, the first thing you talk about is winning a national championship. For the first three years, we came up short and as a senior class we want to leave this program with a national championship. We're one step closer, there. We're going to get ready for Saturday and hopefully win the national championship we've been working four years for."

UND has their shot.

The Final Box to Check

Two teams are left. Quinnipiac, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, is waiting.

With a 3-2 victory over perennial power Boston College in the first semifinal, the Bobcats are looking to write a narrative of their own.

Quinnipiac is a relative infant to the Frozen Four stage, having made the national championship final just one other time, losing to Yale in 2013, but the Bobcats are looking to make their permanent mark on men's college hockey.

The ECAC champion Bobcats have been at or near the top of the national ranking all season, having lost just three times.

They, like North Dakota, have big aspirations on Saturday night.

Who will be the team to check that final box of season-long goals and hoist the national championship?

The Pick

National Championship game:

North Dakota vs. Quinnipiac -- 7 p.m.
ESPN 2.

Will it be No. 1 for Quinnipiac to cap off a dominant season or will it be No. 8, the long-awaited green banner to hang from the Ralph Engelstad Arena rafters for North Dakota?

Let's get one thing straight. Saturday's title game is featuring the two best college hockey teams in the land. This isn't because they are in the title game, it's because these two teams have shown all season that they belong on this stage. After multiple years of dazzling runs by relative underdog teams like Minnesota Duluth, Yale, Union and Providence, these two teams are the best of the best.

Quinnipiac is dynamic, fast, incredibly structured and very talented in net. Again, this team hasn't just magically lost just three games all season. The Bobcats were relentless against BC in the semifinals and created their goals by flat out outworking the Eagles.

Those superlatives are a mirror image of UND. Each team has the ability to shut their opponent down and bury big-time, clutch goals.

Both teams look to have a key junior forward either out or slowed on Saturday night.

QU junior Hobey Baker finalist Sam Anas battled off a shoulder injury in the ECAC tournament and played through the regionals, but came off the ice in the first period against BC and only came back in a limited role the rest of the way. While he appears ready to play, Anas is nowhere near 100%.

UND Jr. F, Luke Johnson
will likely miss Saturday's
title game after a lower-body
injury forced him out of
Thursday's semifinal victory.

On the other bench, UND junior Luke Johnson collided with a teammate early on in the game on Thursday and never returned to action. He is most likely out for the title game.

For both QU and UND, it's next man up.

With these two teams as about even as can possibly be, what will be the difference?

Both teams are dominant in both zones. QU has the better power play, but UND has the better penalty kill. Both teams have Mike Richter finalist goaltenders.

The media has echoed the difference, in DDC's mind. The X-Factor looks to be talent. Before the average reader fills my comment board, please bear with DDC, here. QU has loads of talent, but the Green and White have just a little bit more.

All season long, UND fans have been treated to a team that has that "It-Factor." That extra special, dynamic, game-breaking, cold-blooded piece that DDC has talked about from the start of the season that separates them from the rest of the pack.

It's the tic-tic-tic-tac-toe goal against Miami.

It's Nick Schmaltz and Brock Boeser (:50 in) toe drags.

It's Drake Caggiula's windmill game winner.

It's Austin Poganski's go-to move.

UND Fr. F, Brock Boeser
is DDC's pick National Title
game-breaker pick.

The "It-Factor".

And for the first time in 16 years, that will make the difference as North Dakota takes home the title.

The National Championship game-breaker: Freshman Forward, Brock Boeser. This kid has been special. And as he has so many times this year, Boeser will do it again, scoring UND's eventual national championship-winning goal in the third period.

UND RAISES IT -- THEIR FIRST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SINCE 2000, 4-2.

Roses and Thorns: Two Boxes Left to Check

UND celebrates their 5-2 win over Michigan in the Midwest
Regional final on Saturday. Coupled with their 6-2 victory over
Northeastern on Friday, the Green and White punched their ticket
to the Frozen Four for the third-straight season. (Photo: GF Herald)

When UND men's hockey coach Brad Berry took over the 2015-16 squad from the NHL-departing Dave Hakstol, he immediately met with the team and made sure they knew that expectations weren't changing.

The Green and White had finished their past two seasons in the national semifinals and Berry made it clear in his first meeting as bench boss that the team had two boxes left to check -- get to the national title game and bring home green banner No. 8 to the REA rafters.

After two convincing wins in the NCAA tournament's Midwest Regional in Cincinnati, North Dakota, once again, has just two boxes left to check.

The Green and White took the crown in the Queen City, overwhelming red-hot Northeastern 6-2 and shutting down Michigan and the vaunted CCM line, 5-2 and punched their ticket to Tampa and the Frozen Four for the third-straight season.

It was an impressive weekend for UND and here's what stood to DDC is his Roses and Thorns column, NCAA tournament style.

Roses

No. 1 -- Relentless Defense

UND head coach Brad Berry
after the 5-2 win over Michigan:

"I truly believe we have a special group
in our locker room," Berry said.
"They do the right things on and off
the ice. It's a team culture. It's a team-first
mentality. We've got a lot of high-end
players in that locker room.
They check their egos at the door.
It's team first and I think you witnessed
that this weekend."

The lead storyline coming into the Midwest Regional, outside of Northeastern's second-half success, was the offenses. The Huskies had the 12th-best scoring offense in the NCAA and the 7th-best power play, UND's was 8th led by the vaunted CBS line and the Wolverines, headlined by a trio of Hobey Baker Finalists, the CCM line, carried the best scoring offense and best power play. Who was going to score the most goals and head to Tampa? Well, simply put, it was the tenacious effort by the UND defense that stole the show and led UND to another Frozen Four. All weekend, the Green and White did not let either the Huskies nor the Wolverines time and space to create. They were incredible in the neutral zone. After dispatching NU in the first round, UND kept the CCM line of JT Compher, Kyle Connor and Tyler Motte at bay and made them do something that no other team had all season -- play dump and chase hockey. The CCM was a combined -7 on Saturday. This allowed the Green and White to control play and let their offense go to work. UND outshot their opponents by a 75-53 margin, allowing Michigan just 27 in the title game.  It was an amazing effort of sticks in lanes, board battle wins and net front efforts that led North Dakota. Goaltender Cam Johnson was solid, allowing just 2 goals per game to earn regional MVP honors. What a weekend from this defense against two tremendous offenses.

No. 2 -- Luke Johnson and the "Heavy Line"

The Junior forward has often been maligned by UND fans for his play in his career due to some ill-timed penalties and inconsistent play. But, Johnson has been nothing short of impressive in the NCAA tournament. Grouped on the newly dubbed "Heavy Line" with Rhett Gardner and Austin Poganski, Johnson notched a goal in each game this weekend and earned all-regional first team honors. The Grand Forks native has now scored a goal in five-straight NCAA tournament games, netting the eventual game winner on Friday and adding a crucial goal on Saturday with just 45 seconds left in the second period to give UND a 2-1 lead. Johnson and the Heavy Line's impact wasn't just offensive. The trio had a major part in shutting down the CCM line on Saturday with a terrific forecheck. Hats off to this trio, lead by Johnson.

UND's Rhett Gardner and the newly coined "Heavy Line" with Austin Poganski
and Luke Johnson had a tremendous weekend, notching 3 of UND's 11 goals and
leading a staunch defensive charge allowing just four goals in two games.
(Photo credit: Jesse Trelstad, Grand Forks Herald)

No. 3 -- UND's Depth

UND So. F, Johnny Simonson
scored a huge goal on Friday
with the Green and White trailing
1-0. It was Simonson's first goal
since October. The forward tallied
one of eight non-CBS line goals
on the weekend for UND.

For much of the season, a consistent storyline for the Green and White was their ability, or inability, of players outside of the top-flight CBS line to score goals. Once again, this is clearly in the rear-view mirror. The CBS did their part as both Brock Boeser and Drake Caggiula scored on Friday while Caggiula netted UND's first goal on Saturday, but the rest of the team did the heavy lifting on the weekend. The Green and White scored 11 goals on the weekend and the effort was from all over the lineup. Johnny Simonson scored UND's first goal on Friday, with the team trailing 1-0 in the first, his first since October. Then, Tucker Poolman, Luke Johnson and Bryn Chyzyk tallied the next three to put Northeastern away. On Saturday, it was more of the same. Caggiula opened the scoring for UND, but with the game tied 2-2, the Green and White depth took over with goals by Rhett Gardner and Coltyn Sanderson just 1:14 apart in the third period to send the Green and White to Tampa. Paul LaDue added an empty-netter to round out the 5-2 win. Scoring 11 goals in a regional is impressive. Even more impressive when just three of those came from UND's best forward line. This is a huge statement for the Green and White. This squad is absolutely not a one-line team.

Thorns

No. 1 -- John Siminson, Cam Jansen, UND's CCM line and the TV Announcers

Woof. DDC knows this is silly, but it's worth mentioning -- who were these guys calling the games at the Midwest Regional? Ok, ok .... yes, this doesn't matter, but it certainly was annoying listening to the color man mention how many times he was the MVP of the regional when he played for Boston University while butchering simple names for UND. He certainly knew the names of the CCM, except when he called the CBS line the CCM. The Green and White dominated both teams in the regional, but somehow, the game always seemed close with this duo's constant love for non-existent consistent offensive pressure. Thank you for the coverage of this tournament, ESPN, but c'mon, let's get these guys to do a little pregame prep, eh? *Deep breath* ok... rant over.

No. 2 -- The Ref Check Heard 'Round the World

Ok, so this might be a bit of a rose, as it was hilarious, but where in the heck did that ref come from that delivered a huge check behind the net after Caggiula's goal on Saturday? If you haven't yet seen it, check out this bomb of a hit.

Cag was just about to go for a big celly, but this ref wasn't having it. DENIED! UND has done more celebrations this season than in years past with a more relaxed team style, so maybe former head coach Dave Hakstol got in this guy's ear to not allow this anymore. Great form. DDC is dying to know what Caggiula said to the man in stripes, but Troy Stecher did a good job to keep this laughable. Good stuff.

For fans of the Green and White, we've been here before. Up next, it's UND vs. Denver in the national semifinals in Tampa. Check back this week for more as North Dakota's chase for No. 8 continues. Thanks for reading!

Friday Gameday: It's Time to Forget

With six games left to go in the 2015-16 season, the UND men's hockey team has lost just five times.

However, when two of those losses come in sweeping fashion on the road for the first time since 2011 against a bitter rival, with a chance to clinch home ice in the first round of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference playoffs, and with the race for the NCHC championship as tight as it is, it's hard to fight off a sense of concern.

That concern aside, the Green and White have a job to do this weekend against Minnesota Duluth.

Those two important pieces, the aforementioned chases for home ice and the Penrose Cup, are still  directly in front of UND. Three points this weekend at home against the Bulldogs or if Nebraska Omaha loses three, the Green and White will clinch playoff home ice for the 14th-straight season. With a sweep, UND will for sure stay atop the NCHC standings.

Simply put, last weekend no longer matters.

The Green and White hosts a desperate UMD squad in the Ralph that is looking to cement their spot in the NCHC playoffs and make a run at the NCAA tournament.

Here's what to watch for as No. 4 North Dakota takes on UMD in this week's "Who? What? How?" series preview.

Who?

Players to watch

UMD Sr. F. Tony Cameranesi

Minnesota Duluth

Sr. F, Tony Cameranesi, 9 goals, 18 assists -- 27 points; Sr. F, Austin Farley, 13g, 13a -- 26 pts (out this weekend due to injury); Sr. D, Andy Welinski, 4g, 13a -- 17 pts; Jr. F, Dom Toninato, 10g, 4a -- 14 pts; Jr. F, Alex Iafallo, 6g, 8a -- 14 pts; So. G., Kasimir Kaskisuo, 11-11-5, 2.01 goals against average, .918 save percentage, 4 shutouts (T-7 in NCAA).

UND

Fr. F, Brock Boeser, 19g (2nd in NCAA in rookie goals, T-6 overall in NCAA), 14a -- 33 pts (T-3 in NCAA in rookie scoring); Sr. F, Drake Caggiula, 15g, 17a -- 32 pts; So. F, Nick Schmaltz, 4g, 25a (T-5 in NCAA) -- 29 pts; Jr. D, Troy Stecher, 6g, 14a -- 20 pts; Sr. F, Bryn Chyzyk, 9g, 8a -- 17 pts; So. G, Cam Johnson, 13-3-1 (4th in NCAA in win percentage), 1.61 GAA (2nd in NCAA), .937 SV PCT (3rd in NCAA), 5 shutouts (T-4 in NCAA).

What?

Standout Stats

Despite being swept last weekend at Denver, North Dakota can clinch home ice in the first round of the NCHC playoffs with at least three points this weekend or if Omaha loses three points. The Green and White have hosted the first round for 13 straight years, the longest active streak in men's hockey.

UND Jr. F, Luke Johnson

Last weekend, the Green and White dropped back-to-back games for the first time since last year's NCHC Frozen Faceoff tournament. UND bounced back from those losses one week later and punched their ticket to the Frozen Four with two West Regional wins in Fargo.

Junior Luke Johnson has tallied 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) in 8 career games against UMD.

UND is allowing just 1.90 goals per game which is fourth in the NCAA. UMD is 11th, allowing just 2.18 goals per game.

The Bulldogs are outshooting teams by a 10.96 margin this season, the second-best mark in the NCAA and has the third most shots per game with 36.14.

North Dakota has the country's 5th best penalty kill at 87.1%. In the past 14 games, UND has killed 96.3% of their PK chances, including 20 straight. The Bulldogs have struggled on the power play this season, converting just 14.5% of their opportunities, slating them 42nd in the NCAA.

UND is 10-2-1 at the Ralph this season while UMD is just 5-6-2 away from home.

The Green and White has won three straight and 5 of 6 against UMD.

How?

How'd they get here?

No. 4 UND (No. 3 in PWR, 22-5-3, 13-4-1-1 -- 41 points, T-1st in NCHC) were swept on the road last weekend against Denver 6-4, 4-1, for the first time since 2011.

Minnesota Duluth (No. 23 in PWR, 7-8-3-1 -- 25 pts, T-4 in NCHC) lost a rescheduled game from earlier in the season at home against Bemidji State, 2-1, on Feb. 9.

The Green and White swept the Bulldogs in Duluth on December 4-5. Cam Johnson shutout UMD 3-0 in both games despite the Bulldogs outshooting UND by 18 in each game.

The Pick

As mentioned earlier, it's hard to shake off the lingering effects of last weekend's series in Denver.

The Green and White spent the entire weekend chasing a hungry Pioneers squad that pushed one of the nation's best defenses in a way DDC hadn't seen so far this season.

DU netted 10 goals in the series while UND constantly left Pioneer skaters wide open for easy shots in the slot and on backdoor feeds. The Green and White got back three skaters last weekend, Drake Caggiula, Nick Schmaltz and Chris Wilkie, but the team seemed to lack a bit of chemistry it had shown earlier in the season.

The powerful CBS line of Caggiula, Schmaltz and Brock Boeser were kept off the scoresheet as a group for the first time this season, while the team as a whole, struggled to generate offense.

With all of that said, all of UND's regular season goals are still in front of them and this weekend's series against the Bulldogs is easily the most important, to date.

As noted by the Grand Forks Herald's Brad Schlossman, UMD is a dominant puck possession team that will test UND's defensive corps that played arguably it's worst series of the year last weekend at Denver.

That will put much of the onus on UND sophomore netminder Cam Johnson, who shutout the Bulldogs in December with back-to-back sterling 3-0 shutouts that saw UMD outshoot the Green and White by 18 shots in each game.

UND netminder Cam Johnson shined in December against UMD in back-to-back
3-0 shutouts in Duluth. The Green and White will look to their sophomore goalie
this weekend as the Bulldogs visit the Ralph. (Photo Credit: Duluth News Tribune)

The loss of UMD's leading goal scorer, Austin Farley, cannot be understated as UND's defense has one less key cog to worry about.

Despite a terrible weekend in Denver, the Green and White have had a special year.

Injuries to a young squad, a new head coach and a difficult schedule has yet to derail this UND team that has shown the ability to take over games when they play with speed, heavy forecheck and grit. DDC expects to see a very fired up squad wearing Green and White this weekend and also expects North Dakota to return to from as the stretch run winds down.

The Ralph will be rocking.

UND SWEEPS, 5-2, 4-3.

There you have it. Come back later to see how it all unfolded. Thanks again for reading.

Rose and Thorns: Shippin' Up to Boston

UND gives a stick salute to the Scheels Arena faithful after their 4-1 win
over St. Cloud State on Saturday. (Photo: Eric Hylden, Grand Forks Herald)

Two weekends ago, the UND men's hockey team entered the NCHC Frozen Faceoff in Minneapolis fresh off a 5-1, 3-2 sweep of Colorado College as the favorites to take home some more hardware.

Two uninspiring losses later, their first in back-to-back form in two years, the Green and White suddenly found themselves looking for answers coming into the NCAA tournament.

As noted in last weekend's preview, what a difference a week makes.

The NCAA West Regional at Scheels Arena in Fargo saw UND get back to the form that got them the No. 1 seed in said regional. North Dakota rode the emotional wave of a raucous, green and white clad, highly-partisan crowd with a pair of convincing 4-1 wins over Quinnipiac and St. Cloud State to punch their ticket to the Frozen Four in Boston.

Here's what stood out to the DDC in this week's Roses and Thorns.

ROSES

No. 1 -- Scheels Arena

The aforementioned barn, just 70+ miles from the UND campus, provided a special dynamic that willed the Green and White to Boston. North Dakota sure did provide the crowd something to cheer about. The sold out arena delivered a distinct, home-ice advantage to the Green and White and UND played with a passion that could not be slowed all weekend. Every goal, big hit and timely save brought an enormous cheer from the 5,000+ in Fargo.

“It was awesome,” UND head coach Dave Hakstol said following the 4-1 win over Quinnipiac on Friday. “Right from walking in the building a couple of hours before the game right through the final buzzer. What a tremendous atmosphere for our players to have an opportunity to play in.”

No. 2 -- Tucker Poolman and Luke Johnson

DDC didn't give these two separate roses just to avoid getting too long, but, this pair certainly deserved it. Both Poolman and Johnson scored goals on Friday. Saturday, Poolman notched an assist and Johnson scored again, leading UND to the west region title. Outside of the scoresheet, these two both played uptempo, physical games all weekend. The pair led the way on the forecheck, as well. After a weekend that saw few players deliver on the energy part of the game in Minneapolis, these two set the tone for the Green and White.

No. 3 -- Andrew Panzarella

Before Saturday night's game, the senior defenseman had been a healthy scratch in 15 consecutive games for UND, so, to expect much of an impact from a player who hadn't scored all season was a bit of a long shot. In the biggest of spots, the Washington, D.C. native delivered. Playing for Keaton Thompson who was out with the flu, Panzarella scored a big-time goal in the first period that tied the game 1-1 and got North Dakota going when it desperately needed it. As it has been said many times this season, UND's strongest feature may be its depth. No stronger testament to that was the play of Panzarella on Saturday.

From Tom Miller of the Grand Forks Herald:

When UND coach Dave Hakstol was chatting with broadcasting crews before the regional, Hakstol mentioned Panzarella as one of the players who sets the bar for the team.

Before the regional, Hakstol mentioned Panzarella as one of the players who sets the bar for the team.

Hakstol said he received a few puzzling looks, because Panzarella hasn’t been in the lineup much lately.

“He sets the tone for our hockey team,” Hakstol said. “His work ethic and what type of teammate he is is what sets the bar.

“It’s not by accident that he’s able to step in and be successful. That’s not easy. That says all you need to know about the extra work that young man does to be prepared."

UND's Andrew Panzarella (22) celebrates his goal with Tucker Poolman
on Saturday. (Photo: Eric Hylden, Grand Forks Herald

No. 4 -- Zane McIntyre

Seriously. What else can be said about this kid? The Hobey Baker and Mike Richter Award finalist proved his mettle once again in Fargo. For the 14th and 15th time this season, McIntyre allowed just one goal in a game. Although not tested as much on Friday, the junior netminder certainly was tested on Saturday, making several point-blank saves against St. Cloud, leading his team to Boston.

THORNS

UND's Michael Parks (15) and Drake Caggiula celebrate a goal on Saturday
during their 4-1 win over St. Cloud State. (Photo: Eric Hylden, Grand Forks Herald

No. 1 -- Rand Pecknold

Quinnipiac looked to be down its best scorer, Sam Anas, in Friday night's game and Pecknold went as far as to say that they'd be "dreaming" to have the forward play. Well, he did. Although Anas was an afterthought throughout, this was interesting talk coming into a NCAA tournament. Was he trying to fleece the UND faithful? Who knows? Then, after QU fell to UND, Pecknold took a shot at the Fargo regional selection, stating it wasn't a neutral site. He later noted that being the No. 14 seed provided them no help. Sounds like sour grapes to this blogger.

No. 2 -- The Flu

Having several players fighting illness certainly isn't an ideal situation, but UND had to fight through just that this weekend. The Green and White were without a top defenseman, Keaton Thompson, due to the flu and reportedly had another player receiving IVs during intermissions. Here's to hoping the week off can get UND back to full health.

No. 3 -- Heartbreaking Final Game for MTU's Riley Sweeney

Man, this was tough. With Michigan Tech under a minute away from its first NCAA tournament win since 1981, Michigan Tech senior Riley Sweeney skated to the red line with an open St. Cloud State net, looking to seal the victory. Sweeney missed the net. SCSU netted the game-tying goal moments later and sent the game to overtime. Then, things got worse for Sweeney. MTU carried the zone in OT and the senior held the puck, but slipped to the ice. A two-on-one rush the other way led to the game-winning goal off the stick of St. Cloud's Judd Peterson. Absolutely heartbreaking stuff. Keep your head up, Mr. Sweeney.

So, that's it. Thanks again for reading. Check back in over the next handful of days leading up to UND's Frozen Four battle with Boston University on April 9.