March 5-6, 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: Fighting Sioux Sports Network, Fox College Sports Pacific, NHL Network (Friday only)

THIS WEEK: Seventh-ranked North Dakota, riding a season-best five-game winning streak, wraps up the regular season when it hosts Michigan Tech on Friday and Saturday at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

UND can still finish as high as third place in the WCHA and no lower than fifth. The Sioux enter the weekend alone in fifth place with 29 points, two behind fourth-place Minnesota Duluth and four behind third-place St. Cloud State. UND holds the tiebreaker over both teams.

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.

Friday's game will be broadcast live on the Fighting Sioux Sports Network, the Midcontinent channel, Fox College Sports Pacific and the NHL Network. Saturday's game will be on the Fighting Sioux Sports Network, the Midcontinent Channel and Fox College Sports Pacific.

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

TICKET INFORMATION: An extremely limited amount of single tickets remain available as of Tuesday afternoon for both games of this weekend's series against Michigan Tech.

SENIOR NIGHT: Saturday night's game will be the final regular season home game for UND's three seniors -- defenseman Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) and forwards Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead, Minn.) and Darcy Zajac (Winnipeg, Manitoba) -- and the trio will be honored on the ice prior to the game.

Genoway, out since Nov. 13 with an injury, has 10 points in nine games this season and 90 in 132 career games at UND. He was a second-team All-American as a junior last season and was named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year.

VandeVelde and Zajac lead all active Sioux with 157 career games played, second only to Wisconsin's Ben Street (161 GP) among current WCHA players.

VandeVelde recently surpassed the 100-point plateau for his career and this season leads the team in scoring with 31 points, his third straight 30-point campaign.

A two-time All-WCHA Academic selection, Zajac is one of the top penalty killers in the WCHA and has contributed six goals and nine assists in 32 games this season.

ABOUT MTU: The Huskies suffered a sweep at the hands of Wisconsin last weekend in Houghton, dropping a pair of 5-2 losses in which they were outshot a combined 113-54 ... Sophomore F Bryce Reddick scored the first two goals of his career in Saturday's defeat ... Freshman G Kevin Genoe made 58 saves on Friday, the most by a Husky goalie in four years ... MTU cannot finish higher than 10th place and will travel to MacNaughton Cup champion Denver for the first round of the WCHA playoffs ... Sophomore C Brett Olson is tied for sixth in the WCHA with a team-leading 18 goals.
MTU COACHING STAFF: Head coach Jamie Russell (MTU '89) is in his seventh year at MTU and is 66-163-33 (.315).

Russel is assisted by Chris Tok (Wisconsin '96) and Pat Mikesch (MTU '96).

THE ALL-TIME SERIES: UND leads the all-time series with MTU by a 138-90-9 (.599) edge after sweeping their November series in Houghton.

UND picked up 4-2 and 4-1 victories in that series, led by Brad Eidsness (.935 sv%), Evan Trupp (3g) and Brad Malone (4a).

The Sioux are 77-33-4 (.693) against the Huskies in Grand Forks and 6-1-0 in the last seven.

POLL POSITION: UND is tied for sixth in the most recent USCHO PairWise Rankings.

UND also climbed one spot to No. 7 in both the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports poll and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls, and is sixth in the Inside College Hockey Power Rankings.

Please refer to page three for complete national poll information.

UND'S LAST ACTION: The Sioux are coming off a sweep at Colorado College, their first sweep at CC since the 1998-99 season. The sweep enabled UND to clinch home ice in the WCHA playoffs for a league-leading eighth straight year.

UND won 3-2 in overtime on Friday and capped the sweep with a 3-2 win on Saturday.

Junior F Matt Frattin (Edmonton, Alberta) scored the overtime winner on Friday and had a goal and an assist each night. Danny Kristo (Fr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Brad Malone (Jr., Miramichi, New Brunswick) also scored on Friday. Frattin, Kristo and Chris VandeVelde (Sr., Moorhead, Minn.) accounted for Saturday's goals. Sophomore G Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) stopped 53 of 57 shots in the series.

UND's penalty kill went 5-for-5 each night.

HOME SWEET HOME: UND has clinched home ice in the first round of the WCHA playoffs for the eighth straight year, the longest current streak of any WCHA team.

The last time the Sioux ventured on the road to open the playoffs was 2001-02 (at Minnesota), the first year of the new Ralph Engelstad Arena.

TOURNEY WATCH: The Sioux are also looking to extend their string of seven straight NCAA tournament appearances, the third-longest active streak in the NCAA behind only Michigan (19) and New Hampshire (nine).

PROVING THEIR MEDAL: The Fighting Sioux hockey family was well represented during the 2010 Winter Olympics, which concluded Sunday in Vancouver.

Former Sioux All-American and Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews (2005-07) led Canada to a 3-2 gold medal victory over the United States, scoring the game's first goal and tying for the tournament lead in points and +/-. He also led all players in assists on his way to Best Forward and All-Tournament honors. Toews became the third former Sioux to win men's hockey Olympic gold, joining Dave Christian (1980, USA) and Ed Belfour (2002, Canada).

Additionally, former Sioux defenseman Brad Pascall (1988-92), a teammate of UND head coach Dave Hakstol while with the Sioux, served as Hockey Canada's Senior Director of National Men's Teams.

Another former Sioux, two-time Hobey Baker finalist Zach Parise (2002-04) earned the silver medal with Team USA and joined Toews on the All-Tournament Team. Parise, who sent the gold medal game to overtime by scoring the tying goal with 24.4 seconds left, tied for the team lead in goals and points and was the subject of a Sports Illustrated feature article during the Games.

KILL OR BE KILLED: UND's penalty kill went 5-for-5 each night at Colorado College and has now killed 28 of the last 29 opponent power plays.

During that time, UND has logged PKs of 8-8, 7-7, 3-4, 5-5 and 5-5.

The Sioux rank second in the WCHA and fifth in the NCAA in penalty kill (87.4%).

THE DEFENSE DOESN'T REST: The Sioux are the top defensive team in the team WCHA and are tied for third nationally (w/ RIT), allowing only 2.18 goals per game.

Only Miami (1.72) and Cornell (2.07) have allowed fewer goals per game than the Sioux.

UND has allowed two goals or fewer in each of its last five games, all wins.

FAMOUS DAVE: Head coach Dave Hakstol is two wins away from 150 for his career, which would make him the third-winningest coach in UND history.

With 148 career wins behind the Sioux bench, Hakstol trails only Gino Gasparini (392, 1978-94), Dean Blais (262, 1994-04) and Rube Bjorkman (149, 1968-78).

Hakstol is a five-time finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award and was the 2008-09 WCHA Coach of the Year.

SECOND-HALF SURGE: In Hakstol's six years as head coach, UND has posted a .682 winning percentage (90-38-15) in games played after Christmas (including playoffs), compared to a .569 mark (49-36-9) prior to Christmas.

In each of the last five seasons, UND has dramatically increased its winning percentage following the holiday break.

Below is a year-by-year comparison of UND's pre and post-Christmas records:

Year Before After
2004-05 13-7-2 (.636) 12-8-3 (.587)
2005-06 12-7-1 (.625) 17-9-0 (.654)
2006-07 7-10-1 (.417) 17-4-4 (.760)
2007-08 8-6-1 (.567) 20-5-3 (.768)
2008-09 9-8-1 (.528) 15-7-3 (.660)
2009-10 9-6-3 (.583) 9-5-2 (.625)

EIDS OF MARCH: Sophomore G Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) owns a 1.59 goals against average and a .942 save percentage during UND's current five-game winning streak.

In his previous four games, Eidsness had posted an .880 save percentage.

Eidsness ranks second in the WCHA and 10th in the NCAA in save percentage and needs two wins to move into a tie for 10th on UND's career wins list with 43.

He also continues to solidify himself among the top five all-time at UND in goals against average and save percentage:

FRATT PACK: Junior F Matt Frattin (Edmonton, Alberta), who played in his 100th career game last Friday, is riding a career-long five-game point streak with five goals and three assists during that stretch.

Last weekend at CC, Frattin notched a goal and an assist each night, including the overtime winner on Friday.

Frattin had just three assists in his first 11 games after re-joining the team immediately following the Christmas break.

LINE ITEM: The line of Frattin (5-3--8), Brad Malone (1-5--6) and Evan Trupp (0-6--6) has combined for 20 points over UND's last five games.

Both Malone and Trupp have already set career highs in assists and points this season. Malone has 13 points and 21 points while Trupp has a team-leading 22 assists and 27 points.

THE COUNT OF HOCKEY KRISTO: Freshman F Danny Kristo's (Eden Prairie, Minn.) goal last Friday was his team-leading eighth power-play goal of the year, which ties him with New Jersey Devils star and Olympic silver medalist Zach Parise for 10th-most ever by a Sioux freshman:

Kristo leads all WCHA rookies in goals (12), points (27), points per game (0.84), power-play goals (eight) and power-play points (18). His eight power-play goals rank first nationally among freshmen.

FINE AND VANDY: Senior F Chris VandeVelde's (Moorhead, Minn.) goal last Saturday was his 107th career point, tying him with Adam Calder (1995-99) for 62nd on UND's all-time scoring list:
VandeVelde leads the team with 31 points, including 13 goals and a career-high 18 assists. He has 12 points (6g, 6a) in his last seven games.

NO AVERAGE JOE: Freshman D Joe Gleason (Edina, Minn.) owns a team-leading +13 plus/minus rating, second only to Wisconsin's John Ramage (+15) among WCHA freshmen.

Gleason is aiming to become the second straight rookie defenseman to lead the Sioux in plus/minus after Ben Blood (So., Plymouth, Minn.) did it last season (+11).

NON-CONFERENCE CALL: The Sioux finished their non-conference schedule with a 5-1-2 record, with the lone loss coming Jan. 22 at No. 9 Cornell.

UND's five non-conference wins included a season-opening sweep of Merrimack and victories over Ohio State, Niagara and Cornell.

ROAD WARRIOR: In two road appearances this season, both starts, freshman G Aaron Dell (Airdrie, Alberta) has stopped 30 of 31 shots (.968 SV%) and boasts a tidy 0.51 goals against average.

However, after allowing two goals on 11 shots in one period on Jan. 29 against Denver, Dell is now 0-2-1 with a 3.69 goals against average and an .815 save percentage in three home appearances (two starts).

Overall, Dell is 1-3-1 with a 1.81 goals against average and an .897 save percentage.

EIDS WIDE SHUT: When Cornell scored its lone goal with 10 seconds remaining in the third period on Jan. 23, it marked the fifth time in his career that sophomore G Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) has lost a shutout bid with less than nine minutes left in regulation. It was the second time he has lost a shutout bid in the game's final two minutes:

Date Opponent Time Rem. Final
1/07/08 at Colorado College 1:27 3-1
1/10/09 Minnesota 7:50 6-1
2/20/09 at Alaska Anchorage 8:43 ot 2-1
1/03/10 vs. Niagara 8:56 3-1
1/23/10 at Cornell 0:10 3-1

Earlier this season, Eidsness had a starting streak of 38 games come to an end, the third-longest in UND history:
Eidsness has been pulled from a game just once (Nov. 14 vs. SCSU) in 73 career games.

BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS IT: Sophomore F Jason Gregoire's (Winnipeg, Manitoba) goal 39 seconds into UND's season opener was the second-fastest UND goal on record to open a season (UND's box score records are incomplete prior to the 1966-67 season).

The fastest Sioux goal to open a season is six seconds, scored by Lee Davidson on Oct. 13, 1989 against Alabama-Huntsville. That goal is also the fastest Sioux goal to open any period.

FAB FROSH: The Sioux roster includes 10 freshmen in 2009-10, UND's largest freshman class since 2005-06, when 13 rookies donned the Kelly Green and White.

That 2005-06 class included the likes of 2007 Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Duncan and current NHLers Jonathan Toews (Chicago), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis) and Brian Lee (Ottawa).

In fact, 11 members of that 13-player 2005-06 freshman class, eight of whom graduated as seniors last season, are currently playing professional hockey.

GENOWAY, CICHY HONORED: A pair of Sioux were recognized when InsideCollegeHockey.com announced its 2009-10 preseason All-America and all-rookie teams.

Senior D Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) was named to the INCH preseason All-America third team. Last season, Genoway was named a second-team All-American and the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year after collecting a career-high 32 points. He was also named an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American and a WCHA Scholar-Athlete.

Freshman F Mike Cichy (New Hartford, Conn.) was named to INCH's preseason All-Rookie team. A seventh-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Cichy led the Indiana Ice to a United States Hockey League championship and was named the league's playoff MVP with 25 points (including a USHL-record 16 assists) in 16 games. He totalled 76 points in 56 regular season games.

FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA: So much for the notion that hockey is a "regional" sport.

UND junior F Brad Malone (Miramichi, New Brunswick) is the first New Brunswick native to ever play for the Sioux while sophomore F Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) is the first Californian to suit up for the Sioux.

Freshman Mike Cichy (New Hartford, Conn.) is just the second native of Connecticut to ever play for the Sioux and the first since Frank Morgan way back in 1951-52.

Below is a geographical breakdown of the entire 2009-10 Sioux roster:

• Minnesota (6): Ben Blood (Plymouth), Corey Fienhage (Apple Valley), Joe Gleason (Edina), Ryan Hill (Hermantown), Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie), Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead)
• Alberta (6): Aaron Dell (Airdrie), Brad Eidsness (Chestermere), Matt Frattin (Edmonton), Corban Knight (High River), Andrew MacWilliam (Calgary), Carter Rowney (Sexsmith)
• Manitoba (5): Brent Davidson (Morden), Chay Genoway (Morden), Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg), David Toews (Winnipeg), Darcy Zajac (Winnipeg)
• North Dakota (2): Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks), Jake Marto (Grand Forks)
• Alaska (1): Evan Trupp (Anchorage)
• California (1): Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach)
• Colorado (1): Tate Maris (Denver)
• Connecticut (1): Mike Cichy (New Hartford)
• Nebraska (1): Brett Bruneteau (Omaha)
• New Brunswick (1): Brad Malone (Miramichi)
• Wisconsin (1): Derrick LaPoint (Eau Claire)

FEELING A DRAFT: UND 2009-10 roster includes 16 players who have been drafted by National Hockey League teams. The group includes goalie Brad Eidsness (Buffalo), defensemen Andrew MacWilliam (Toronto), Derrick LaPoint (Florida), Corey Fienhage (Buffalo), Joe Gleason (Chicago) and Ben Blood (Ottawa) and forwards Danny Kristo (Montreal), Mike Cichy (Montreal), Corban Knight (Florida), Brett Bruneteau (Washington), Jason Gregoire (New York Islanders), David Toews (New York Islanders), Brad Malone (Colorado), Brett Hextall (Phoenix) , Matt Frattin (Toronto) and Chris VandeVelde (Edmonton).

A total of 24 Sioux have been drafted during the tenure of sixth-year head coach Dave Hakstol, including first-rounders Jonathan Toews (Chicago, 2006), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis, 2005), Brian Lee (Ottawa, 2005) and Joe Finley (Washington, 2005).

WELCOME TO THE SHOW: Fourteen former Sioux have seen action in the NHL this season: Jason Blake (Anaheim/toronto), Brandon Bochenski (Tampa Bay), Taylor Chorney (Edmonton), Mike Commodore (Columbus), Matt Greene (Los Angeles), David Hale (Tampa Bay), Ryan Johnson (Vancouver), Brian Lee (Ottawa), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis), Zach Parise (New Jersey), Matt Smaby (Tampa Bay), Drew Stafford (Buffalo), Jonathan Toews (Chicago) and Travis Zajac (New Jersey).

Four of those players -- Commodore, Greene, Hale and Oshie -- were in Grand Forks Feb. 19-20 to watch UND's sweep of Minnesota Duluth.

Seventeen former Fighting Sioux played in the NHL last season, the most of any team in the WCHA and UND's most since sending 21 in 1993-94.

Additionally, four former Sioux can be found in the NHL coaching ranks, including Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett, Tampa Bay assistant coach Rick Wilson, Buffalo assistant coach James Patrick and Phoenix video coach Steve Peters.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: UND's 2009-10 roster features five players who have had family members previously play for the Fighting Sioux: defenseman Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) and forwards Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks), Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), David Toews (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Darcy Zajac (Winnipeg, Manitoba).

Genoway, Toews and Zajac each have older brothers who once played at UND, Lamoureux's father and brother played for the Sioux and Hextall has a great uncle who played for the Sioux.

Genoway's brother, Colby, was a forward at UND from 2002-05 and scored 81 points in 115 career games. He most recently played for the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.

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.

Lamoureux's 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 first year as UND's student-assistant coach while twin sisters Jocelyne and Monique are sophomore forwards on the Fighting Sioux women's hockey team and both recently won a silver medal with the U.S. Olympic team.

Toews' brother, Jonathan, was a forward at UND from 2005-07, scoring 85 points in 76 career games and earning All-America honors in 2007. He is now the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks and won a gold medal with Canada at the 2010 Olympics.

Zajac's brother, Travis, scored 96 points in 91 games from 2004-06 and currently plays for the New Jersey Devils.

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 Scott Koberinski (1985-89) each played for the Fighting Sioux.

Additionally, hockey operations manager 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.