This weekend, third-ranked North Dakota entertains non-conference foe Niagara University. This is the last non-conference series of the regular season. This season, UND is 7-1-1 against non-conference opponents.
Series History
All-time, UND leads the series 5-0-0 (1.000) In Grand Forks: UND leads 2-0-0 (1.000)
In Niagara: N/A. At neutral sites, UND leads the series 3-0-0 (1.000). Under coach Hakstol, UND leads the series, 2-0-0 (1.000)
Tale of the tape
#3 North Dakota (14-5-2, 7-4-1 NCHC) vs. Niagara University (3-15-2, 3-11-2 AHA).
Date: January 16-17, 2015
Game Time: Friday 7:37 p.m. CT, Saturday 7:07 p.m.CT
Location: Ralph Engelstad Arena, Grand Forks, ND
Last time out: Niagara was swept by Air Force (3-4 L, 3-4 L)
Last time out: North Dakota split with Minnesota-Duluth (1-4 L, 5-2 W).
NU Offense: 51st Nationally
NU Defense: 57th Nationally
NU PWR: 59th
UND Offense: 13th Nationally
UND Defense: 19th Nationally
UND PWR: 6th
TV: Friday – Midco Sports Network, My9 TV (Duluth viewing area)
TV: Saturday – Midco Sports Network, TSN2 (tape delay)
Live Streaming: NCHC.TV
Key Players to watch
North Dakota – Forwards: Drake Caggiula (9g-14a—23pts), Michael Parks (6g-14a—20pts), Mark MacMillan (9g-7a—16pts), Nick Schmaltz (3g-13a—16pts), Luke Johnson (4g-6a—10pts), Brendan O’Donnell (8g-2a—10pts). Defense: Jordan Schmaltz (3g-13a—16pts), Paul LaDue (3g-7a—10pts), Tucker Poolman (5g-2a—7pts), Gage Ausmus (2g-2a—4pts). Goalies: Zane McIntyre (14-5-2, 2.01 GAA, .930 SV%), Cam Johnson (0-0-0, 5.54 GAA, .765SV%).
UND Injuries: Troy Stecher (lower body injury), Colton St. Clair (upper body injury) and Trevor Olson (mono) are out indefinitely.
Niagara University – Forwards: Isaac Kohls (4g-6a—10pts), Dan Kolenda (4g-5a—9pts), Hugo Turcotte (5g-4a—9pts), Robert Anqiolella (5g-3a—8pts). Defense: Keegan Harper (2g-4a—6pts), Nick Cecere (2g-3a—5pts), Kevin Albers (0a-4a—4pts). Goalies: Jackson Teichroeb (3-9-2, 3.11 GAA and a .903 SV%), Adrian Iqnaqni (0-6-0, 5.17 GAA and a .842 SV%).
Special teams
Niagara University – The Purple Eagles penalty kill is ranked 56th in the nation (72/97, 74.2%). The Purple Eagles power play is ranked 57th in the nation (7/94 7.4%).
North Dakota – UND’s penalty kill is ranked 11th in the nation (80/92, 87.0%). UND’s power play is ranked 17th in the nation (18/88, 20.5%).
Join us this weekend for the Green-Out! pic.twitter.com/KnT1clqhvW
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDmhockey) January 14, 2015