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Mar. 20—ST. PAUL, Minn. — UND has dominated the National Collegiate Hockey Conference's regular season, winning the Penrose Cup in half of the league's 12 seasons.
The conference tournament has been another story.
UND has one playoff title. It came during the 2021 event that was played in Grand Forks due to the pandemic.
The semifinal game has been a hex.
UND is 1-7 in semifinal games played in the Twin Cities — 1-3 in the Target Center and 0-4 in Xcel Energy Center — during the NCHC era.
The Fighting Hawks need to break that to keep their season alive.
UND (21-14-2) plays top-seeded Western Michigan (28-7-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday night on CBS Sports Network.
The winner will play either Denver or Arizona State for the championship on Saturday night.
"For us, it's a business trip, knowing our path to the NCAA is two games, starting on Friday," UND coach Brad Berry said. "It's going to be a little bit of enjoying it, but making sure we're focused on what we have to do to keep playing."
It won't be easy.
Western Michigan has been the NCHC's dominant team this season.
The Broncos won the Penrose Cup as regular season champions. They're 17-3 in their last 20 games. Two of those three losses came in overtime. The lone regulation loss was at Arizona State. Half of Western Michigan's team was dealing with the flu that weekend.
"We want to keep playing the same way," Western Michigan captain Tim Washe said. "We want to stick to our game plans. We're an excited group, a motivated group. We're really looking forward to being back at the Xcel here."
UND went 1-3 against Western Michigan during the regular season. Two of the four games went to overtime.
"North Dakota is a great team," Washe said. "They play really, really hard. It's exciting every time you get to play them, especially when we travel out West a little bit. I'm sure they're going to have a nice crowd. We're just really looking forward to it. It's going to be a highly competitive game for us."
This season marked Western Michigan's first regular-season conference title in program history. The Broncos have won two playoff titles — 1986 and 2012 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
UND swept Omaha last weekend on the road to reach the conference semifinals for the 20th time in 21 seasons.
The Fighting Hawks improved to 10-3-1 on the road in NCHC play this season.
Berry hopes UND's road success continues at the Frozen Faceoff.
"One thing that's different this year is our road record is pretty impressive," Berry said. "Our home record is OK, but our road record is vastly different. We've had more success on the road."
Western Michigan swept St. Cloud State 6-2 and 6-2 to reach the Frozen Faceoff for the first time since 2022.
"It's a tough place just to get to," Broncos coach Pat Ferschweiler said. "Some teams make it look easy. Certainly, North Dakota has been there year in and year out — and the league thanks them for that and the fans, for sure.
"What a quality event they put on. What a great experience for our players to play in that big-time building."
Although Western Michigan hasn't reached the Frozen Faceoff in three years, several of its players have experience in the building.
Washe, a fifth-year senior, played in the 2022 event. NCHC Player of the Year finalist Alex Bump starred at the state tournament, scoring five goals in a game. Brothers Hampton and Grant Slukynsky both played at the state tournament with Warroad, too.
"We're lucky enough to have some Minnesota guys," Ferschweiler said. "They appreciate coming home and playing back at the Xcel Center."
It has been a roller-coaster season for the Fighting Hawks.
UND won its season-opener 5-2 over nationally ranked Providence. Defenseman Bennett Zmolek suffered a season-ending injury on that day, though.
UND went 4-6 in the first 10 games without Zmolek, using a defensive corps made up entirely of underclassmen.
Since then, UND is 16-8-2, led by a second-half surge from goalie T.J. Semptimphelter.
"Yeah, we might have been a little inconsistent early on," Berry said. "But we're playing our best hockey right now and guys are excited to play."
Despite the surge, UND is not in position to make the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid. The NCHC had its worst nonconference record since 2013-14 and might only get two teams in the NCAA tournament — Western Michigan and Denver.
UND and Arizona State need to win the Frozen Faceoff to make it.
It's an abnormal position. UND hasn't missed the NCAA tournament with a 20-win squad since 1990.
"It's one last ride for all eight of us seniors here," UND senior Cameron Berg said. "It's our last chance to go out with a win. It's nice to be able to do it with the group we have here. We have something special here. We're just going to play loose and see what happens."
Friday's semifinals: Denver vs. Arizona State, 4 p.m., UND vs. Western Michigan, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday's championship: Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn.
TV: CBS Sports (GF Ch. 314/635 HD).
Radio: The Fox (96.1 FM).
Continue reading...
The conference tournament has been another story.
UND has one playoff title. It came during the 2021 event that was played in Grand Forks due to the pandemic.
The semifinal game has been a hex.
UND is 1-7 in semifinal games played in the Twin Cities — 1-3 in the Target Center and 0-4 in Xcel Energy Center — during the NCHC era.
The Fighting Hawks need to break that to keep their season alive.
UND (21-14-2) plays top-seeded Western Michigan (28-7-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday night on CBS Sports Network.
The winner will play either Denver or Arizona State for the championship on Saturday night.
"For us, it's a business trip, knowing our path to the NCAA is two games, starting on Friday," UND coach Brad Berry said. "It's going to be a little bit of enjoying it, but making sure we're focused on what we have to do to keep playing."
It won't be easy.
Western Michigan has been the NCHC's dominant team this season.
The Broncos won the Penrose Cup as regular season champions. They're 17-3 in their last 20 games. Two of those three losses came in overtime. The lone regulation loss was at Arizona State. Half of Western Michigan's team was dealing with the flu that weekend.
"We want to keep playing the same way," Western Michigan captain Tim Washe said. "We want to stick to our game plans. We're an excited group, a motivated group. We're really looking forward to being back at the Xcel here."
UND went 1-3 against Western Michigan during the regular season. Two of the four games went to overtime.
"North Dakota is a great team," Washe said. "They play really, really hard. It's exciting every time you get to play them, especially when we travel out West a little bit. I'm sure they're going to have a nice crowd. We're just really looking forward to it. It's going to be a highly competitive game for us."
This season marked Western Michigan's first regular-season conference title in program history. The Broncos have won two playoff titles — 1986 and 2012 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
UND swept Omaha last weekend on the road to reach the conference semifinals for the 20th time in 21 seasons.
The Fighting Hawks improved to 10-3-1 on the road in NCHC play this season.
Berry hopes UND's road success continues at the Frozen Faceoff.
"One thing that's different this year is our road record is pretty impressive," Berry said. "Our home record is OK, but our road record is vastly different. We've had more success on the road."
Western Michigan swept St. Cloud State 6-2 and 6-2 to reach the Frozen Faceoff for the first time since 2022.
"It's a tough place just to get to," Broncos coach Pat Ferschweiler said. "Some teams make it look easy. Certainly, North Dakota has been there year in and year out — and the league thanks them for that and the fans, for sure.
"What a quality event they put on. What a great experience for our players to play in that big-time building."
Although Western Michigan hasn't reached the Frozen Faceoff in three years, several of its players have experience in the building.
Washe, a fifth-year senior, played in the 2022 event. NCHC Player of the Year finalist Alex Bump starred at the state tournament, scoring five goals in a game. Brothers Hampton and Grant Slukynsky both played at the state tournament with Warroad, too.
"We're lucky enough to have some Minnesota guys," Ferschweiler said. "They appreciate coming home and playing back at the Xcel Center."
It has been a roller-coaster season for the Fighting Hawks.
UND won its season-opener 5-2 over nationally ranked Providence. Defenseman Bennett Zmolek suffered a season-ending injury on that day, though.
UND went 4-6 in the first 10 games without Zmolek, using a defensive corps made up entirely of underclassmen.
Since then, UND is 16-8-2, led by a second-half surge from goalie T.J. Semptimphelter.
"Yeah, we might have been a little inconsistent early on," Berry said. "But we're playing our best hockey right now and guys are excited to play."
Despite the surge, UND is not in position to make the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid. The NCHC had its worst nonconference record since 2013-14 and might only get two teams in the NCAA tournament — Western Michigan and Denver.
UND and Arizona State need to win the Frozen Faceoff to make it.
It's an abnormal position. UND hasn't missed the NCAA tournament with a 20-win squad since 1990.
"It's one last ride for all eight of us seniors here," UND senior Cameron Berg said. "It's our last chance to go out with a win. It's nice to be able to do it with the group we have here. We have something special here. We're just going to play loose and see what happens."
Friday's semifinals: Denver vs. Arizona State, 4 p.m., UND vs. Western Michigan, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday's championship: Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn.
TV: CBS Sports (GF Ch. 314/635 HD).
Radio: The Fox (96.1 FM).
Continue reading...
