GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Coming off of Western
Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) regular season and playoff championships,
as well as a berth in the NCAA Frozen Four, the University of North Dakota is
ranked sixth in the 2011-12 College Hockey News Preseason Top 10 poll.
Miami
tops the CHN Preseason Top 10, while second-ranked Boston University,
third-ranked Notre Dame, fourth-ranked Colorado College and fifth-ranked Boston
College make up the top five.
UND
went 32-9-3 in 2010-11 on its way to capturing its second MacNaughton Cup in
three years as WCHA regular season champions, and its second consecutive
Broadmoor Trophy as WCHA playoff champions. The Sioux then captured the NCAA
Midwest Region title to advance to the program's fifth NCAA Frozen Four berth
in seven years.
The
Fighting Sioux, under eighth-year head coach Dave Hakstol, return 14
letterwinners from last year's team, including 2010-11 American College Hockey
Association (ACHA) first-team All-American goalie Aaron Dell (Jr., Airdrie, Alberta).
Junior
center Corban Knight (High River,
Alberta) notched a career-high 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists) last season and
is UND's top returning scorer. Fellow junior Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Alberta), the WCHA Rookie of the Year
two years ago, also returns after a 28-point (8 goals, 20 assists) sophomore
campaign.
Senior
defenseman Ben Blood (Plymouth,
Minn.), who led the NCAA with a plus-33 plus/minus rating, anchors a blue line
that also includes veterans Andrew
MacWilliam (Jr., Calgary, Alberta), Joe
Gleason (Jr., Edina, Minn.), Derek
Forbort (So., Duluth, Minn.), and Dillon
Simpson (So., Edmonton, Alberta).
UND
will open the season on Oct. 1 when it hosts the University of Regina in
exhibition action at Ralph Engelstad Arena. The Sioux open the regular season
when they host the Ice Breaker Tournament Oct. 7-8 against Air Force and either
Boston College or Michigan State.
2011-12 CHN Preseason
Top 10
1. Miami
2. Boston University
3. Notre Dame
4. Colorado College
5.
Boston College
6. North Dakota
7.
Denver
8. Western Michigan
9. Michigan
10. Yale.
~ Go Sioux ~
