Friday Gameday: Burn the Ships

Author Napoleon Hill wrote about The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and Conquistador Hernán Cortés in his 1937 personal development book Think and Grow Rich.

“Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat. Only by so doing can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win, essential to success.”

Cortés called for his soldiers to burn the ships, never to retreat from battle.

While this excursion is not war, but hockey, the concept of burning the ships was expressed by senior Nick Mattson in last week’s episode of Through These Doors and in a well-penned article by the Grand Forks Herald’s Brad Schlossman. The UND men’s hockey team has sold out and bought in.

The epitome of buying in and selling out for North Dakota was expressed last weekend in an epic 5-on-3 penalty kill on Saturday night against SCSU that saw the Green and White block four shots and rip all momentum from the Huskies en route to a 3-1 win that clinched UND a share of the Penrose Cup as National Collegiate Hockey Conference champions.

This kill unfortunately led to a leg injury to senior leader Mark MacMillan who blocked a rocket shot with his knee off the stick of SCSU’s Jonny Brodzinski, which could be the hardest in all of college hockey. The assistant captain is tied for the team lead in goals for UND this season, but his effort and defensive ability will be missed even more.

While the Green and White will certainly miss the services of one of their senior leaders, at this time of the year, the cliché “next man up” holds true.

With one weekend remaining in the regular season, No. 1 North Dakota is 1 point shy of clinching the Penrose outright. Standing in their way, the Miami RedHawks, who with a sweep in Oxford, Ohio, would share the Penrose with UND and take the No. 1 seed into the conference tournament.

Burn the ships.

Here’s what to watch for in the title-deciding faceoff between UND and Miami in DDC’s “Who? What? How?” preview.

Who will hoist the Penrose Cup this weekend?

Who?

Players to watch

Miami:

Sr. F, Austin Czarnik, 2 goals, 30 assists – 32 points
Jr. F, Riley Barber, 16g, 15a – 31 pts
So. F, Anthony Lewis, 6g, 21a – 27 pts
Jr. F, Sean Kuraly, 16g, 7a – 23 pts

Jr. G, Jay Williams, 16-6-0, .920 save percentage, 1.90 goals against average (7th in NCAA), started in 6-2 L at DU last weekend.
Jr. G, Ryan McKay, 4-5-1, .907 save percentage, 2.81 goals against average, started in 5-3 W at DU last weekend.

UND:

UND Jr. F, Drake Caggiula

Jr. F, Drake Caggiula, 15 goals, 16 assists  – 31 points
Sr. F, Michael Parks, 12g, 19a – 31 pts
Jr. D, Jordan Schmaltz, 3g, 22a – 25 pts

Jr. G, Zane McInyre, 24-6-3, 1.93 goals against average (8th in NCAA), .933 save percentage (7th in NCAA). 24 wins lead NCAA.

16 players with at least nine points.

What?

Standout stats

Miami:

2.97 goals per game (19th in NCAA), 2.18 goals allowed per game (11th in NCAA), 19.3% power play (20th in NCAA), 83.1% penalty kill (30th in NCAA)

+24 in second period, -4 in third, 13-5-1 when scoring first, 7-6-0 when allowing first, +262 in shots

UND:

3.39 GPG (7th in NCAA), 2.09 GAG (7th in NCAA), 20.9% PP, 84.1% PK

17-0-3 when scoring first, 20-0-2 when leading after 2.

7-game unbeaten streak is longest current streak in NCAA.

Haven’t allowed a 5-on-5 goal in 259:28 (Third period, Feb. 14 vs. DU).

How?

How’d they get here?

UND's Michael Parks celebrates his goal against Miami in November
(Photo credit: UND Sports)

Miami:

No. 4 PWR, No. 5 USCHO, 20-11-1 overall, 13-8-1, 41 points, 2nd in NCHC.

Last weekend:

5-3 W, 6-2 L @ Denver.

UND:

No. 1 PWR, No. 1 USCHO, 24-6-3 overall, 15-5-2, 47 pts, 1st in NCHC.

Last weekend:

3-2 W, 3-1 W vs. St. Cloud State.

Last meeting:

Split Nov. 14-15 in Grand Forks. Miami won 3-2 on Friday and UND got the split with a 4-1 win on Saturday.

The Pick

It’s hard to take emotion out of an article like this. The gut-wrenching loss of MacMillan leaves a gaping hole for a UND team that has prided itself in outworking its opponent. MacMillan is a heart and soul player and his absence won’t go unnoticed.

That being said, depth has been the key to the Green and White’s success all season and DDC believes it will be “next man up” for UND. It will be interesting to see North Dakota’s line combinations this weekend after having the same lineup for over a month. However, DDC’s expects to see a fired up team on Friday that desperately wants to win for their injured leader and to bring the Penrose to Grand Forks while not sharing it with anybody.

On the other side of the ice, Miami is a talented as they come. The forward group led by Czarnik, Barber, Kuraly and Louis is as good as it gets in college hockey. This series in back in November in Grand Forks was high-octane, racehorse hockey and DDC expects to see this again in Oxford. No doubt, these two teams want six points. These two teams want the No. 1 seed in the NCHC tourney. These two teams want the Penrose.

The key difference comes on the backend. While Miami has certainly showed its defensive ability this season with a pair of solid goaltenders, neither Williams or McKay will be in the net for UND. Zane McIntyre will be and he has proven he’s a big-time goalie this season and DDC thinks the junior netminder shows it once again.

This is must-see college hockey.

DDC will take the criticism as a “homer” or whatever you will call him, but this UND team has truly burned the ships.

UND SWEEPS, 4-2, 3-2

Roses and Thorns: A Piece of the Penrose

NCHC Standings -- 1 Week Remaining:
1) UND, 15-5-2. 47 points
2) Miami, 13-8-1, 1 SO win, 41 pts
3) Nebraska Omaha, 11-8-3, 3 SO wins, 39 pts
4) Denver, 12-9-1, 1 SO win, 38 pts
5) Minnesota Duluth, 11-8-3, 36 pts
6) St. Cloud State, 10-11-1, 31 pts
7) Western Michigan, 5-12-5, 4 SO wins, 24 pts
8) Colorado College, 2-18-2, 8 pts

After a gritty 3-2 win on Friday, the No. 1 UND men’s hockey team led St. Cloud State 1-0 half way through the first period.

But, a pair of minor penalties shortly after brought the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s top-ranked power play to the ice for a 5-on-3 power play for two full minutes. The Huskies netted both their goals on Friday night with the extra man, so needless to say, this was an important two minutes for both teams.

Four body-sacrificing blocks (three by defenseman Troy Stecher) and a handful of saves later, the 12,000 plus at the Ralph Engelstad Arena erupted into a frenzy as UND killed off the pair of penalties.

“That’s a huge part of the game with those guys laying it on the line and everybody that was on the ice during that,” UND coach Dave Hakstol said after the game. “That’s an awful big part of the game, and those guys, probably in that two-minute span, showed what heart and character are all about.”

The huge penalty kill paced a 3-1 North Dakota win for a monster-sized sweep that earned the Green and White at least a share of the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular season champions.

While that penalty kill helped earn an important win, it may have brought a bigger loss for UND.

Senior assistant captain Mark MacMillan had one of those blocks on the 5-on-3 kill, but his injured the forward and forced him to miss the remainder of the game with what appeared to be a leg injury. UND announced Tuesday that MacMillan is out indefinitely with a lower body injury.

MacMillan’s injury aside, it was an eventful sweep on senior weekend for North Dakota. There’s a bunch of roses and one, glaring thorn in DDC’s Roses and Thorns from this past weekend.

Roses

Before jumping into the roses, a quick shout out must be given to DDC’s real MVP.

This past Monday, the DDC household celebrated baby (not so much anymore, unfortunately) DDC’s second birthday.  It’s hard to believe that two years have passed and more great memories of watching UND hockey will come soon enough. Cheers to Emma Jean!

UND's seven seniors (from left to right), Stephane Pattyn, Michael
Parks, Mark MacMillan, Brendan O'Donnell, Connor Gaarder
Andrew Panzarella and Nick Mattson, gather for a photo following
their final regular season home game on Saturday.
Photo Credit: UND Sports

No. 1 – Seniors

For the seven seniors on this year’s squad, their last regular season home series saw UND check off two major goals – secure home ice for the first round of the conference playoffs and clinch the Penrose Cup. While 1 point is needed this weekend against Miami for an outright title, Saturday’s win earned UND at least a share of the league championship. Four of North Dakota’s six goals on the weekend were scored by the senior class. Assistant captain Connor Gaarder was responsible for both game-winning goals. For the last group to wear the Sioux logo, this was a fitting end to an outstanding four years. Captain Steph Pattyn request UND wear the black “business suits” jerseys on Saturday for the first time at home since 2011 and UND certainly took care of business. Despite the injury to MacMillan, the leadership from this group is something special. No doubt, this class will call for the next man up with a player out with injury.

No. 2 – Zane McIntyre and UND’s Defense

For the second weekend in a row, North Dakota did not allow a goal 5-on-5.

Let that sink in for a second.

It has been 250:57 since Denver notched an even-strength goal all the way back in the third period on Feb. 14. UND bottled up an explosive Husky attack for large stretches in both games and the 5-on-3 penalty kill in the first on Saturday showed the character this team possess. It’s been a long time since DDC has seen a team sellout like that on defense and this kind of effort will be hard to beat the rest of the way.

No. 3 – UND’s “4th Line”

UND's Austin Poganski sprawls on the ice after batting in his fourth goal
of the season on Saturday night. Photo Credit: UND Sports.

Depth has been the key to UND’s success all season and the play of their “4th line” of Austin Poganski, Gaarder and Brendan O’Donnell is the epitome of this. This group has been arguably North Dakota’s best line over the past month and they did it again against SCSU, netting three goals on the weekend.

Can we please consider giving this group a name? We’ve had the DOT line and Pony Express in recent memory. DDC heard rumblings of the “GOP” line. That works for him.

Again, with the injury to MacMillan, this line and the depth of the whole team, w

ill need to continue the type of play they’ve been getting over the last handful of games.

No. 4 – The REA Faithful

Wow. If you haven’t had a chance to watch the 5-on-3 kill on Saturday and the following ovation from the REA crowd, figure out a way to watch it. The fans absolutely blew the roof off the Ralph after this PK and that energy didn’t stop for the rest of the game. Recently dubbed “America’s Best Hockey Town”, the fans at the Ralph sure did attest. Watch this as a fan and try not to get chills. This group has surely given this fanbase something to cheer about.

Thorns

No. 1 – Mac’s Injury

UND F. Mark MacMillan

Not enough can be said about this. MacMillan absolutely sold out his body to block a Jonny Brodzinski shot just above his knee, which is noted as one of the hardest in the country.  While UND brass hasn’t ruled out his return, the injury and subsequent surgery, will more than likely keep MacMillan out for the remainder of his senior season. This is a devastating loss for UND as the forward is the team’s leading goal scorer and a fantastic defensive player. MacMillan is stuck on 99 points for his career at UND and here’s hoping that this injury isn’t Mark’s last memory wearing the Green and White. Here’s to a speedy recovery for one of the heart and soul players of this UND squad.

Check back later this week as UND prepares to wrap up the regular season in Oxford, Ohio. With 1 point in this series, North Dakota would close out the year as NCHC champs out right and head into the NCHC tourney as the No. 1 seed. The Miami University RedHawks look to spoil the party, as a sweep over UND would earn them a share of the Penrose Cup and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

Thanks again for tuning in to DDC. It’s been one year since this blog has been going and it’s surely been a fun ride!

Friday Gameday: This One's for the Seniors

New weekend, same script.

With just four games remaining in the regular season, the No. 1 UND men’s hockey team has a critical match up against a conference foe with big points on the line.

This weekend, the Green and White welcome the St. Cloud State Huskies into the Ralph Engelstad Arena and UND controls its destiny in the race for the Penrose Cup as National Collegiate Hockey Conference regular season champions. North Dakota leads the conference by three points over Miami.

While UND may be the team with more to play for in terms of conference play, St. Cloud State’s incentive for wins this weekend comes with national tournament implications, as the Huskies jumped back into PairWise consideration with a big sweep at home against Omaha last weekend.

North Dakota is all but a lock for the NCAA tournament after a sweep last weekend at Western Michigan and with a sweep and some help around the league, could win the Penrose outright on Saturday.

So, needless to say, this series is a big one.

Here’s what to watch for in DDC’s “Who? What? How?” series preview.

Who?

Players to watch

St. Cloud State:

Jr. F, Jonny Brodzinski, 17 goals, 12 assists – 29 points
Jr. F, Joey Benik, 11g, 18a – 29 pts
Jr. F, Kalle Kossila, 4g, 20a – 24 pts

So. G, Charlie Lindgren, 14-13-1, .916 save percentage, 2.30 goals against average

UND:

Jr. F, Drake Caggiula, 15 goals, 16 assists  – 31 points
Sr. F, Michael Parks, 12g, 19a – 31 pts
Sr. F, Mark MacMillan, 16g, 9a – 25 pts

Jr. G, Zane McIntyre, 22-6-3, 1.96 goals against average, .932 save percentage (8th in NCAA). 22 wins are good for No. 2 in the NCAA.

 

Senior Send Off

It's senior weekend for the last class to wear a Fighting Sioux logo. Let that sink in for a second.

UND will honor its seven seniors, Mark MacMillan, Michael Parks, Brendan O’Donnell, Connor Gaarder, Stephane Pattyn, Andrew Panzarella and Nick Mattson, after Saturday night's tilt.

This class deserves every accolade it can get. Here's hoping the Green and White can get six big points for this outstanding, leadership-driven class.

This week, Through These Doors takes a look at UND's senior class.

What?

Standout stats

SCSU:

2.87 goals per game, 2.47 goals allowed per game, 23.4% power play (3rd in NCAA), 79.3% penalty kill (44th in NCAA)

-2 overall in third period, 0-9 on the year when trailing after two periods, 1 short-handed goal on the year

3-0-1 in last four at Ralph Engelstad Arena

UND:

3.42 GPG (7th in NCAA), 2.13 GAG (10th in NCAA), 20.5% PP, 85.0% PK

15-0-3 when scoring first, 18-0-2 when leading after 2, +11 in third, 9 short-handed goals, leads NCAA

Can Mac Hit the Milestone?

MacMillan enters the weekend just one point shy of 100 for his career. He'd be the 85th player for UND to do so.

How?

How’d they get here?

SCSU:

No. 14 PWR, NR USCHO, 15-14-1 overall, 10-9-1, 31 points, 6th in NCHC
Last weekend: 4-3 W, 2-0 W vs. Omaha

UND:

No. 2 PWR, No. 1 USCHO, 22-6-3 overall, 13-5-2, 41 pts, 1st in NCHC
Last weekend: 3-1 W, 3-2 OT win @ Western Michigan

Last meeting:

Two teams split Nov. 21-22 in St. Cloud. SCSU won 3-1 on Friday and UND got the split with a 3-2 win on Saturday.

The Pick

DDC loves to look at the stats when making his pick every week. A few jump out: St. Cloud’s 5th best power play, UND’s 15-0-3 record when scoring the first goal, St. Cloud’s -2 goal differential in the third period, North Dakota’s +11 in the same stat. Important stats, right?

Well, superlatives aside, it’s playoff time and stats can be thrown out the window.

While the Huskies are unbeaten (3-0-1) in their last four against UND in Grand Forks, DDC loves the way the Green and White are getting wins as the stretch run rolls on.

As it has been all season, UND’s success story has one protagonist: Zane McIntyre.

The junior netminder was outstanding last weekend in Kalamazoo, allowing just three goals on the weekend. All three of which came with a WMU extra-attacker on the ice. McIntyre brought his game to a new level last weekend and DDC sees that continuing in this series.

UND shuts down St. Cloud’s dynamic forward group and power play, gets timely scoring from their tremendous depth and inches closer to the Penrose.

UND SWEEPS, 4-2, 3-2

Roses and Thorns: Getting it Done

NCHC Standings:
1) UND, 13-5-2, 41 points;
2) Miami, 12-7-1 (1 SO win), 38 pts;
t-3) Denver, 11-8-1 (1 SO win, 35 pts;
t-3) UNO, 11-8-1 (1 SO win), 35 pts;
5) UMD, 11-8-1, 34 pts;
6) SCSU, 10-9-1, 31 pts;
7) WMU, 5-11-4 (3 SO wins), 22 pts;
8) CC, 1-18-1, 4 pts.

It wasn’t pretty, but at this time of the season, it doesn’t need to be.The UND men’s hockey team entered into hostile territory against a game Western Michigan squad this past weekend that tested the Green and White physically for 120-plus minutes.

But again, UND did what they have done for most of this season – found a way to win.

After a 3-1 victory on Friday, the No. 1 team in the country led WMU 2-0 with just over four minutes to go. However, the Broncos potted two empty-net goals in a furious finish, the second coming with 30 seconds remaining to force overtime.

Despite the deflating finish to regulation, UND gritted its teeth and fought back as junior Drake Caggiula netted the overtime winner at 3:31 in the extra frame for a 3-2 win.

The sweep earned the Green and White six massive points in the race for the Penrose Cup as North Dakota left Kalamazoo, Mich., three points ahead of Miami on top the NCHC standings with just four games remaining in the regular season.

Here’s what stood out to DDC from Lawson Ice Arena in this week’s Roses and Thorns.

Roses

No. 1 – Zane McIntyre

The UND netminder was simply fantastic this weekend. Several times this series, WMU flexed its muscles with highly-physical play and pressed the North Dakota net, but time and time again, McIntyre stood tall. The junior from Thief River Falls, Minn., allowed just three goals on the weekend, all of which came with the WMU net empty.  McIntyre stopped 69-of-72 shots this weekend en route to NCHC goaltender of the week honors. After a run of less-than-perfect starts, McIntyre was UND’s best player this weekend. The Green and White will continue to be tough to beat if they continue to see McIntyre’s best like they did again this weekend.

No. 2 – Tucker Poolman

The freshman defenseman turned forward didn’t light up the statsheet this weekend, but his physical, up-tempo play led UND. Poolman had a beautiful assist on UND’s first goal on Friday and was a +1 with two shots on Friday. Saturday, Poolman was a +2 and added another shot on goal. While he wasn’t always scoring, he played with an edge against a rough and tumble WMU squad. His active stick was in passing lanes both nights as he was a big part of UND keeping the Broncos at bay.  The freshman has shown his versatility all season long and the weekend was no exception.

No. 3 – UND’s Lockdown Defense

After an impressive performance in the third period on Friday that saw UND shutdown the Broncos as they attempted a comeback, the Green and White continued that play on Saturday. While a late WMU push forced OT, UND’s defensive play was still exceptional. UND won nearly every battle late on Friday and it took two late empty netters to break the Green and White on Saturday. The blown two-goal lead was surely disappointing, but it still doesn’t change how UND played defensively. Again, despite the late struggle, UND left Lawson with six points and the defense was the biggest reason.

DDC's hometown Thief River Falls girls hockey team won the Minnesota Class A
state title on Saturday, their first in team history. (Photo: Youth Hockey Hub)

No. 4 – Thief River Falls Girls Hockey

An extra special shout out goes to DDC’s high school alma mater Thief River Falls as the Prowler girls hockey team topped Blake 3-1 in the Class A state championship game to earn the program’s first state championship. DDC had the honor of coaching several of these young women in baseball when they were children and it was very fun watching them take home the hardware up to Northwest Minnesota. DDC is very proud of his Prowlers.

Thorns

No. 1 – UND’s Power Play

Simply put – yuck. DDC will give Western Michigan all the credit as they shutdown UND’s power play this weekend. The Green and White could not get things going with the extra man going 1-for-13 in the series. There was no time and space to be had and the Broncos held UND down. At times this season, North Dakota has been very good on the power play, but this weekend was a poor performance. Special teams play a huge role come playoff time and UND needs to get their power play clicking and in a hurry.

UND's Keaton Thompson battles for the puck on Saturday. (Photo cred: MLive.com)

No. 2 – Another Blown Lead

For the second weekend in a row, UND blew a two-goal lead on Saturday night. Despite playing lights out defensively for the first fifteen minutes in the third period, North Dakota coughed up the lead and clearly, this trend cannot continue. Western Michigan is not the most talented offensive team in the country but they grinded UND down in the third on Saturday. McIntyre can only do so much. Much like the power play, this needs to be fixed and in a hurry. With high-powered offenses St. Cloud State and Miami left on UND’s schedule, the Green and White can’t afford another third period let down like this Saturday.

So that’s it. Tune in later this week as the St. Cloud State Huskies head north up I-29 to Grand Forks and the Ralph Engelstad Arena for another important NCHC tilt. If all things fall right, UND could be playing for the Penrose Cup on Saturday.

Friday Gameday: Ranting and Rolling ON

For regular fans of the DDC, you may have noticed the weekly Roses and Thorns was missing from your week. For that, DDC must apologize, but he could not bring himself past the frustration that surrounded UND’s four-point weekend against Denver.

For the second week in a row, DDC was forced to do something he hates to do, as it shows his fanboy side: blame the officials for a loss.

It’s time for a rant.

After a 4-2 UND win on Friday that saw an interesting no-goal call, another questionable review kept UND off the board on what looked like a go ahead goal off the stick of Brenden O’Donnell on Saturday night that saw the officials change their explanation on two separate occasions. Did the officials not see the puck in the net on a review as first told to UND coach? Evidently not. Did the referee intend to blow his whistle on the play as was expressed after the game? DDC doesn’t know. If so, why would there be a review? Sigh.

Then, as time ticked down in the final seconds of a 2-2 game, Denver fired a shot towards the UND net. The puck clearly ripped the water bottle on top the goal and caromed into the netting behind the North Dakota net. Wait? A goal? Officials called a goal without seeing the puck go in the net. It was overturned and UND lost in a shootout, but c’mon. How can an official call a goal in an important situation as that WITHOUT seeing the puck in the net?

Shame on you, NCHC officials.

Rant over.

Moving On

Now, back to your regular scheduled DDC programming.

Six games remain in the regular season and UND is back on top of the national ranking. Following the Denver series, the Green and White are locked in a three-way, 35-point tie for the NCHC lead and head to Kalamazoo, Mich., to take on the Western Michigan Broncos.

The last time these two teams faced off was in last season’s NCHC tournament. After a disappointing 3-0 loss to Miami, UND rallied for a convincing 5-0 win over the Broncos in the third-place game, that allowed for Wisconsin’s heroics to get North Dakota into the NCAA tournament. The rest, as they say, is history, on that one.

Here’s what to watch for in this weekend’s pivotal NCHC series in DDC’s weekly “Who? What? How?” weekly preview.

Who?

Players to watch

WMU:

Jr. F, Colton Hargrove, 12 goals, 10 assists – 22 points
So. F, Sheldon Dries, 11g, 11a – 22 pts
Sr. F, Justin Kovacs, 4g, 17a – 21 pts

Jr. G, Lukas Hafner, 10-8-4, .919 save percentage, 2.28 goals against average
Sr. G, Frank Slubowski, 2-4-0, .895 SV PCT, 3.18 GAA, started both games in split vs. Omaha, 4 goals allowed, 61 saves

UND:

Jr. F, Drake Caggiula, 13 goals, 16 assists  – 29 points
Sr. F, Michael Parks, 11g, 18a – 29 pts
Sr. F, Mark MacMillan, 15g, 8a – 23 pts

Jr. G, Zane McInyre, 20-6-3, 2.00 goals against average, .930 save percentage. 20 wins are good for No. 2 in the NCAA.

What?

Standout stats

WMU:

2.75 goals per game, 2.64 goals allowed per game, 23.1% power play (5th in NCAA), 80.9% penalty kill (36th in NCAA), 14.79 blocks per game (8th in NCAA)

3-9-3 when giving up first goal, 9-3-1 when scoring first, -17 in second period, +15 in third, zero short-handed goals

UND:

3.45 GPG (7th in NCAA), 2.17 GAG (9th in NCAA), 21.8% PP (10th in NCAA), 84.7% PK

13-0-3 when scoring first, +13 in second, 9 short-handed goals, leads NCAA

Sr. F. Mark MacMillan
is just three points shy
of 100 for his career.

Can Mac Hit the Milestone?

After a scoreless weekend against Denver, senior forward Mark MacMillan still sits three points shy of 100 for his career.

How?

How’d they get here?

WMU:

No. 23 PWR, NR USCHO, 12-12-4 overall, 5-9-4, 3 shootout wins, 22 points, 7th in NCHC.
Last weekend: 2-1 W, 3-1 L @ Omaha

UND:

No. 2 PWR, No. 1 USCHO, 20-6-3 overall, 11-5-2, 35 pts, T-1st in NCHC
Last weekend: 4-2 W, 3-3 tie (SO loss) vs. Denver

Last meeting: NCHC tournament third place game, 5-0 UND win.

The Pick

Western Michigan, despite their current seventh-place standing in the NCHC, has been playing very well of late. The Broncos are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games, including wins over Top 10 teams UMD, Miami and Omaha.

UND will need to bring it this weekend against a physical WMU squad that boasts the nation’s fifth-ranked power play (23.1%) and eighth-best blocks per game (14.8 per game).

North Dakota will need to play fast and break through the Bronco defense to earn these big Penrose points and DDC believes UND will do just that.

The key may be to score early. Western Michigan is just 3-9-3 this season when giving up the first goal of the game. UND? Undefeated at 13-0-1 when scoring first.

Look for the speedy playmakers in Green and White to try and find space. Calling Nick Schmaltz, Mark MacMillan, Drake Caggiula and Bryn Chyzyk. If this group can wheel into the zone and get to the net, UND should be successful this weekend.

UND SWEEPS, 3-1, 4-1.