Oct. 29-30, 2010 • 7:37/7:07 pm CT • Ralph Engelstad Arena (11,634) • Grand Forks, N.D.
RADIO: 96.1 The Fox (KQHT-FM) • WEBCAST: FightingSioux.com
TV: FSSN, FCS Central, Midco Sports Network, NHL Network (delay)

THIS WEEK: After three straight road trips to open the season, No. 8 North Dakota makes its home debut this weekend when it hosts No. 12 Denver in WCHA action at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

The puck drops at 7:37 p.m. Central on Friday and 7:07 p.m. on Saturday.

MEDIA INFORMATION: All Fighting Sioux men's hockey games, home and away, can be heard on 96.1 FM (The Fox) and on stations across the Fighting Sioux Hockey Network. Veteran broadcaster Tim Hennessy is in his 30th season as the voice of the Fighting Sioux. He is joined by color analyst Steve Olson.

This weekend's games will be broadcast live on the Fighting Sioux Sports Network, Fox College Sports Central and Midco Sports Network. Pat Sweeney calls the action with Jim Scanlan providing color analysis. Friday night's game will be re-broadcast on the NHL Network (U.S. only) on Saturday at 1 p.m. Central.

Video webcasts of this weekend's games are available at www.FightingSioux.com, where FREE live stats are also available.

HALL OF FAME WEEKEND: This weekend is UND Letterwinners Association Hall of Fame weekend in Grand Forks. The Class of 2010 includes legendary Fighting Sioux goalie Ed Belfour (1986-87), as well as Tiffany Pudenz-Mannausau (basketball) and the 1997 NCAA DII championship women's basketball team.

The Class of 2010 will be recognized during the first intermission of Friday night's game.

ED BELFOUR NIGHT: Friday night is also 'Ed Belfour Night' at Engelstad Arena, paying tribute to one of the most prominent players to ever wear the Sioux uniform.

Each member of the Sioux men's hockey team will wear customized No. 29 Ed Belfour jerseys during the pre-game warmup on Friday. The jerseys will be autographed by Belfour and taken to the Sioux Shop immediately following the warm-up and will be on sale for $199.29 each. Proceeds from the jerseys, which were donated by the Sioux Shop, will be donated to the Perry Nakonechny Fund and the Fighting Sioux Men's Hockey Scholarship Endowment fund.

Prior to Friday night's game, a video tribute highlighting Belfour's career will be shown on the Engelstad Arena video board. Belfour will then drop the ceremonial puck.

TICKET INFORMATION: Fewer than 200 tickets remain available for each game this weekend as of Wednesday evening. Fans can order tickets by calling 1-800-745-3000, log on to ticketmaster.com or stop by the UND Ticket Office at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.

The REA box office is open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

ABOUT DENVER: The Pioneers opened WCHA play last weekend with a win and a tie against Wisconsin ... Freshman goaltender Sam Brittain (1-1-2, 1.70 GAA, .940 Sv%) has started the last three games. Sophomore Adam Murray (1-1-0, 4.50 GAA, .859 Sv%) missed last weekend's series with a groin injury and is questionable for this weekend's series ... Sophomore Drew Shore (4g, 1a) and senior captain Kyle Ostrow (2g, 3a) lead DU in scoring. Shore scored two goals in DU's 5-3 win at Vermont and Ostrow netted a pair of third-period goals in the 2-2 overtime tie against Wisconsin ... DU has struggled to a 2-for-32 (6.2%) mark on the power-play, but has posted a WCHA-best 27-for-30 (90%) effort on the penalty kill.

DU COACHING STAFF: George Gwozdecky (UW '78) is in his 17th season as DU head coach and is 375-229-52 (.611). Gwozdecky is 458-323-71 (.579) in 21-plus seasons as a college head coach.

He is assisted by Steve Miller and Derek Lalonde.

SERIES HISTORY: UND is 130-114-8 (.549) all-time against Denver and 79-41-5 (.628) in Grand Forks.

The Sioux dropped all four regular season meetings last year, but rebounded with a 4-3 win over then-top-ranked Denver in the WCHA Final Five semifinal.

UND'S LAST ACTION: The Sioux suffered a pair of non-conference losses last weekend at 12th-ranked Maine, losing 7-3 and 4-2.

Maine scored five goals on its first 10 shots in the first period on Friday to race to a 5-1 lead in an eventual 7-3 win. Freshman Derek Rodwell (SHG) and seniors Matt Frattin (PPG) and Brad Malone scored the lone goals for the Sioux.

Junior defenseman Ben Blood put the Sioux up 1-0 with his first goal of the season in the second period Saturday, but the Black Bears stormed back with four straight goals in a 10-minute span bridging the second and third periods. Frattin also scored a shorthanded goal for UND.

The Sioux were forced to kill 19 Maine power-plays in the two-game series. The Black Bears scored five times with the man advantage.

It was the first time UND was swept in a non-conference series since falling to Maine Oct. 20-21, 2006, in Grand Forks.

RANK AND FILE: Following the sweep at Maine, UND fell six spots to No. 8 in the latest USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls released on Monday.

The Sioux are ranked No. 7 in this week's INCH Power Rankings.

Please refer to page three for complete poll information.

SEA TO SHINING SEA: Through the first three weeks of the season, the Sioux have already traveled approximately 7,400 miles, including trips to Alaska and Maine, with a bus trip to Bemidji State sandwiched in between.

It is the first time in program history the Sioux opened the season with three straight road trips.

HOME SWEET HOME: UND has won four straight regular season home games, covering the final two series of the 2009-10 season.

The last team to defeat the Sioux in Grand Forks during the regular season was Denver, which skated to a WCHA sweep of UND last Jan. 29-30.

Nine of UND's last 10 home games have been played in front of a capacity crowd at the 11,634-seat Engelstad Arena. The only game that didn't sell out during that stretch was game three of last season's WCHA playoff series against Minnesota, which fell only seven shy of capacity.

UND has sold out each of its last six home games against Denver.

FRATT PARTY: Senior forward Matt Frattin (Edmonton, Alberta) continued his torrid offensive production last week at Maine with two goals (PPG, SHG) and an assist in two games.

Frattin has now scored at least one goal in 17 of his last 19 games dating back to last Feb. 13 at St. Cloud State.

Frattin takes a five-game goal-scoring streak into the Denver series, having scored seven goals during that stretch.

A fourth-round draft pick of Toronto in 2007, Frattin leads the nation on goals (seven) and is tied for the national lead with four power-play goals.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Senior captain Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) enters the the weekend chasing several milestones.

The leading scorer among active WCHA defensemen with 93 career points, Genoway is bidding to become only the seventh Sioux rearguard to reach the 100-point plateau. No Sioux defenseman has reached that exclusive club since Curtis Murphy in 1997-98:

Additionally, the fifth-year defenseman has 13 career PPG, tying him for fourth all-time among Sioux rearguards. Nick Naumenko and Bill Himmelright are the school's all-time co-leaders with 20.
With 21 career goals, Genoway needs one more to crack UND's top-10 among defensemen.

In six games this season, Genoway has one goal and two assists.

GWG? GAME-WINNING GREGOIRE: When junior forward Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) scored the game-winning goal in UND's 3-1 win over No. 12 Alaska on Oct. 9, it was his 11th career winner, tops among active Sioux.

It also landed Gregoire among UND's all-time leaders in game-winning goals, where he joins some select company:

Gregoire's seven game-winners last season tied him for the fifth-most in UND single-season history. He was UND's leading goal scorer in 2009-10 with 20.

In six game this season, Gregoire has three goals and two assists.

EIDS WIDE SHUT: Junior goalie Brad Eidsness' (Chestermere, Alberta) next appearance will be the 86th of his career and will tie him with Mike "Lefty" Curran (1965-68) for sixth all-time at UND. Toby Kvalevog (1993-97) is the program's all-time leader with 121 career games played:

Eidsness is also just two victories from becoming only the seventh Sioux goalie to win 50 career games.

SIOUX-PER MARIO: The Sioux are 8-0-0 all-time when junior forward Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks, N.D.) scores a goal.

One-third of Lamoureux's career goals (three out of nine) are game-winners.

HEX MARKS THE SPOT: In his two-plus seasons with the Fighting Sioux, junior forward Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) has emerged as arguably UND's most indispensible power-play weapon.

UND's power-play has converted on 20.3 percent of its chances (95-for-467) in Hextall's 78 career games.

In 10 games without Hextall, the Sioux power-play has clicked at just 8.9 percent (5-for-56), including a 6.5 percent (3-for-46) mark last season.

Hextall's 14 career power-play goals lead all active Sioux.

FAMOUS DAVE: With 156 career wins under his belt, UND head coach Dave Hakstol is the third winningest coach in the storied history of Fighting Sioux hockey.

Only Gino Gasparini (392 wins, 1978-94) and Dean Blais (262, 1994-04) have won more games at UND than Hakstol, the 2008-09 WCHA Coach of the Year

Hakstol is a five-time finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award and has guided the Sioux to six NCAA appearances, four NCAA Frozen Fours, two WCHA regular season championships and two WCHA Final Five titles.

UND's 30 WCHA and NCAA playoff wins in Hakstol's first six seasons are six more than any other WCHA school.

FEELING A DRAFT: UND 2010-11 roster includes 16 players who have been drafted by National Hockey League teams. The group includes goalie Brad Eidsness (Buffalo), defensemen Ben Blood (Ottawa), Derek Forbort (Los Angeles), Joe Gleason (Chicago) Derrick LaPoint (Florida) and Andrew MacWilliam (Toronto), and forwards Brett Bruneteau (Washington), Mike Cichy (Montreal), Matt Frattin (Toronto), Jason Gregoire (New York Islanders), Brett Hextall (Phoenix), Corban Knight (Florida), Danny Kristo (Montreal), Brad Malone (Colorado), Brock Nelson (New York Islanders) and Derek Rodwell (New Jersey).

A total of 26 Sioux have been drafted during the tenure of seventh-year head coach Dave Hakstol, including first-rounders Forbort (Los Angeles, 2010), Nelson (New York Islanders, 2010), Jonathan Toews (Chicago, 2006), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis, 2005), Brian Lee (Ottawa, 2005) and Joe Finley (Washington, 2005).

FAB FROSH: The Sioux roster includes only four freshmen in 2009-10: defensemen Derek Forbort (Duluth, Minn.) and Dillon Simpson (Edmonton, Alberta) and forwards Brock Nelson (Warroad, Minn.) and Derek Rodwell (Taber, Alberta). It is UND's smallest freshman class since 2003-04 (four).

That 2005-06 class included the likes of two-time Hobey Baker Award finalist, 2010 Olympic silver medalist and current New Jersey Devils star Zach Parise, as well as current Los Angeles Kings assistant captain Matt Greene.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: UND's 2009-10 roster features four players who have had family members previously play for the Fighting Sioux: defenseman Chay Genoway (Sr., Morden, Manitoba) and forwards Mario Lamoureux (Jr., Grand Forks, N.D.), Brett Hextall (Jr., Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Brock Nelson (Fr., Warroad, Minn.).

Genoway's brother, Colby, was a forward at UND from 2002-05 and scored 81 points in 115 career games. He played professionally in the Czech Republic and Finland last season.

Lamoureux's family ties to the program are extensive. His brother, Jean-Philippe, was a goalie at UND from 2004-08 and is the school's all-time co-leader in goals against average (2.14). His father, Pierre, was a goalie for the Sioux from 1979-82 and was a member of UND's 1982 NCAA championship team. Another brother, Pierre-Paul, is in his second year on UND's coaching staff as an assistant video coordinator, while twin sisters Jocelyne and Monique are sophomore forwards on the Fighting Sioux women's hockey team. Additionally, mother Linda was a swimmer at UND.

Hextall's great uncle, Dennis, was a forward at UND from 1964-66 and scored 101 career points in 63 career games. Hextall's hockey bloodlines extend to his father (Ron), grandfather (Bryan Jr.) and great grandfather (Bryan Sr.), each of whom enjoyed lengthy NHL careers. His father, Ron, is currently the assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Kings.

Nelson had two uncles and one great uncle don the Kelly Green and White. Uncle Dave Christian played at UND from 1977-79 and won Olympic gold with the United States' famed "Miracle on Ice" team in 1980 before going on to play in more than 1,000 career NHL games with Winnipeg, Washington, Boston, St. Louis and Chicago. Another uncle, Eddie Christian, played for the Sioux from 1980-84. Nelson's great uncle, Gordon "Ginny" Christian played at UND from 1947-50 and won Olympic silver with the United States in 1956.

FOREVER SIOUX: Every member of UND's coaching staff and support staff is a graduate of the University of North Dakota.

Head coach Dave Hakstol (1989-92), associate head coach Cary Eades (1978-82), assistant coach Dane Jackson (1988-92) and volunteer assistant Karl Goerhing (1998-2001) each played for the Fighting Sioux.

Additionally, director of hockey operations Pat Swanson (2002), athletic trainer and strength coach Mark Poolman (1992), team physician Dr. Greg Greek and media relations director Jayson Hajdu (2000) are also UND graduates.

PRO-FILES: Eleven former Sioux standouts have seen action in the National Hockey League in 2010-11: Jason Blake (Anaheim Ducks), Mike Commodore (Columbus Blue Jackets), Matt Greene (Los Angeles Kings), David Hale (Ottawa Senators), Brian Lee (Ottawa Senators), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis Blues), Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils), Matt Smaby (Tampa Bay Lightning), Drew Stafford (Buffalo Sabres), Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks), Travis Zajac (New Jersey Devils).

Toews captained the Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup championship last season, while also leading Canada to a gold medal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, where he was named the tournament's top forward.

Commodore, Greene and Parise all serve as assistant captains for their respective teams.

An additional five former Sioux are currently in the NHL coaching ranks: reigning Jack Adams Trophy winner Dave Tippett (head coach, Phoenix Coyotes), Brad Berry (assistant coach, Columbus Blue Jackets), James Patrick (assistant coach, Buffalo Sabres), Steve Peters (video coach, Phoenix Coyotes) and Rick Wilson (assistant coach, Minnesota Wild). A sixth coach, Edmonton Oilers head coach Tom Renney, graduated from UND but did not play for the Sioux.

Also of note:

Former Sioux defenseman, Brad Bombardir, is the director of player development for the Minnesota Wild.

Former Sioux assistant coach Don Boyd is the
Columbus Blue Jackets' assistant general manager.

Former Sioux forward Troy Murray is the radio color analyst for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Ron Hextall, father of current Sioux forward Brett Hextall, is the vice president/assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Kings.

Frank Kollar, father of former Sioux goalie Andy Kollar, is an amateur scout for the Vancouver Canucks.

Also, former UND women's hockey associate head coach and interim head coach Dennis Miller is a pro scout/player development with the Buffalo Sabres.