Feb. 10-11, 2012 • 7:07 pm CT • AMSOIL Arena (6,726) • Duluth, Minn.
RADIO: 96.1 The Fox (KQHT-FM) • WEBCAST: www.b2tv.com
TV: CBS Sports Network (Friday only)

THIS WEEK: North Dakota, which has lost just three times in the last 15 games (11-3-1), returns from a bye week with a Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) series at Minnesota Duluth.

UND enters the week with 22 points, good for a three-way tie for fifth place in the WCHA with Nebraska Omaha and Michigan Tech. Those three teams trail fourth-place Denver by two points, third-place Colorado College by three points and second-place UMD by five points.

The same three teams hold just a one-point lead over eighth-place St. Cloud State,

MEDIA COVERAGE: All UND men's hockey games, home and away, can be heard on 96.1 FM (The Fox) and on stations across the Fighting Sioux Radio Network. Veteran broadcaster Tim Hennessy is in his 33rd season as the voice of the men's hockey program. Steve Olson provides color analysis. Free audio is available at www.fightingsioux.com.

Friday night's game will be broadcast nationally live on CBS Sports Network. Ben Holden calls the action with Dave Starman as his color analyst. Shireen Saski will be the in-game reporter. Saturday's game will not be televised.

Video webcasts of both games can be purchased at www.b2tv.com. Free live stats are available at www.umdbulldogs.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive real-time updates during all UND men's hockey games by following
@UNDMHockey. Additional coverage can be found at @UNDathletics and @UNDSID.

Fans can also follow the action via live chat at FightingSioux.com, hosted by Grand Forks Herald hockey writer Brad Schlossman and UND media relations director Jayson Hajdu during every home and road game.

TICKET INFORMATION: Visit www.umdbulldogs.com for ticket information.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: Defending NCAA champion Minnesota Duluth is ranked No. 3 in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls after a WCHA split last weekend at Alaska Anchorage. The Bulldogs defeated the host Seawolves 4-1 on Friday before falling 3-2 the next night.

Sophomore forward J.T. Brown scored five goals in the series, including all four UMD goals in Friday's win, and was named WCHA Offensive Playe rof the Week.

UMD will come into this weekend's series against UND armed with the top-scoring offensive in the country (3.75 goals per game) and three of the nation's top 10 point producers in senior Jack Connolly (third with 42 points) and Travis Oleksuk and Brown (tied for ninth with 37 points).
UMD COACHING STAFF: Former UND All-America defenseman Scott Sandelin (UND '86) is in his 12th season at Minnesota Duluth and is 210-206-56 (.504) in his career, including an 88-46-19 mark (a .637 winning percentage) since the 2008-09 opener.

Sandelin's staff includes another former standout Sioux defenseman, assistant coach Jason Herter (UND '05), as well as Derek Plante (UMD '09) and Bill Watson (UMD '90).

SERIES HISTORY: UND leads the all-time series with UMD 134-74-8 (.639), including a 54-38-5 (.582) record in Duluth.

Last season UND took two of three meetings, including a WCHA series split in November in Grand Forks, as well as a 5-0 non-conference win on Dec. 30 that opened Duluth's AMSOIL Arena.

Junior forward Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) leads all active Sioux with seven points (2g, 5a) in eight career games against UMD.

Goaltenders Brad Eidsness (Sr., Chestermere, Alberta) and Aaron Dell (Jr., Airdrie, Alberta) have combined to go 6-4-1 lifetime against the Bulldogs. Eidsness has posted a 1.84 goals against average and a .933 save percentage in eight career starts, while Dell has recorded a 1.66 GAA and a .937 SV% in three career starts.

UND'S LAST ACTION: UND, which was idle last week, entered its final bye week of the regular season with a home sweep over Wisconsin on Jan. 27-28, winning 5-3 on Friday and 4-2 on Saturday. It was UND's first sweep of the Badgers in Grand Forks since 2002.

In Friday's win, freshman forward Stephane Pattyn (Ste. Anne, Manitoba) scored his first career goal with 1:54 remaining in the third period to break a 3-3 tie in the eventual 5-3 win. The goal came on Pattyn's 21st birthday.

Michael Parks (Fr. St. Louis, Mo.), Dillon Simpson (So., Edmonton, Alberta), Danny Kristo (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Brock Nelson (So., Warroad, Minn.) (ENG) also scored in Friday's win, with Aaron Dell (Airdrie, Alberta) earning the win between the pipes.

On Saturday, senior Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) received the start and won his 54th career game, tying him with Mike "Lefty" Curran (1965-68) for fourth on UND's all-time wins list.

Kristo and Nelson each had a goal and an assist for the second straight night.

POLL POSITION: For the first time since Halloween, UND is ranked both major national polls.

The Sioux are ranked No. 15 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, and No. 16 in the USCHO.com poll.

UND is also ranked 15th in the most recent Inside College Hockey Power Rankings.

UND is tied for 15th in the PairWise Rankings, 14th in RPI and 16th in the KRACH Rankings.

INJURY UPDATES: On Wednesday, head coach Dave Hakstol announced that freshman forward Brendan O'Donnell (Winnipeg, Manitoba) would undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.

O'Donnell, who had five goals and one assist in 17 games, became the third Sioux forward to undergo season-ending surgery. In January, Hakstol announced that forwards Derek Rodwell (So., Taber, Alberta) and Rocco Grimaldi (Fr., Rossmoor, Alberta) were also out of the remainder of the season.

Six players have combined to miss 52 games due to injury so far this season:

Rocco Grimaldi, 23
Brendan O'Donnell, 10
Derek Rodwell, 8
Derek Forbort, 5
Corban Knight, 3
Mario Lamoureux, 3

WE'RE GOING STREAKING!: After sweeping Wisconsin in its last action two weeks ago, UND has lost just three times in the last 15 games, going 11-3-1 during that stretch.

IT'S HOW YOU FINISH: With just two losses in nine games to start the second half, UND has continued its trend of playing its best hockey after Christmas under eighth-year head coach Dave Hakstol:

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) 16-7-2 (.680)
2010-11 13-5-2 (.700) 19-4-1 (.813)
2011-12 9-8-1 (.528) 6-2-1 (.722)
Totals 80-57-12 (.577) 121-46-17 (.704)

UND has been particularly effective once the calendar turns to February. Over the previous two seasons, the Sioux have gone 25-4-1 (.850) from February to April, and 76-23-12 (.739) overall in those months during Hakstol's entire tenure.

KNIGHTLINE IS ALWAYS ON: UND's top line of juniors Corban Knight (High River, Alberta) and Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and sophomore Brock Nelson (Warroad, Minn.) accounted for 10 points in UND's sweep of Wisconsin and has 17 points during UND's current three-game winning streak.

The unit has now played together for 18 of UND's 27 games, including 11 wins and seven losses.

In those 11 wins, the trio has combined for 59 points (28, 31) and an average of 5.4 points per game.

In the seven losses, they have combined for nine points (5g, 4a), which equates to just 1.3 points per game.

Nelson (19-12-31), Kristo (14-17-31) and Knight (8-18-26) are UND's top three scorers and have scored exactly 50 percent of the team's goals (41 of 82) this season.

BROCK 'N' ROLL: Sophomore forward Brock Nelson (Warroad, Minn.) closed out the month of January with three straight 2-point games, notching a goal and an assist in each.

Nelson's has scored a WCHA-leading 16 goals in 20 league games, and ranks second in the overall goal-scoring race with 19. Only Minnesota's Nick Bjugstad, who has 21 goals, has more.

Nelson is also tied for second nationally with nine power-play goals despite having gone 11 games without.

DAN THE MAN: Junior forward Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) is just five points away from becoming the 83rd UND player to score 100 career points, and the first active Sioux to do so.

Kristo enters the week with 95 points (37g, 58a) in 102 career games. His career average of 0.93 points per game is the highest by a Sioux since Ryan Duncan averaged 0.98 (172 points in 175 games) from 2005 to 2009.

Kristo is in the midst of a three-game scoring streak, having accounted for two points in each of the three games.

"GENERAL" PATTYN LEADS THE WAY: Freshman forward Stephane Pattyn (Ste. Anne, Manitoba) made his first career goal one to remember.

Pattyn scored with 1:54 remaining in the third period to break a 3-3 tie in an eventual 5-3 win over Wisconsin on Jan. 27. To top it off, the goal came on Pattyn's 21st birthday.

KILL OR BE KILLED: North Dakota boasts the WCHA's top penalty kill during league games, having successfully killed 85.5 percent of its opponent's power plays.

UND's overall penalty kill of 83.8 percent ranks third in the WCHA.

Over the last seven games, UND has killed 24 of the last 26 (92.3%) short-handed situations.

PARKS AND REC: Freshman forward Michael Parks (St., Louis, Mo.) scored a goal in each game against Wisconsin and has now reached the scoresheet in five of the last six games, with three goals and two assists during that time.

Parks leads all UND freshmen with six goals and has added three assists through 27 games.

YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST: UND has scored the game's first goal in each of the last four games after having done so just seven times in the first 23 games.

BIG MAC ATTACK: Junior defenseman Andrew MacWilliam (Calgary, Alberta) was UND's top-scoring defenseman in January with five points (2g, 3a) in seven games after collecting just one assist through the team's first 20 games.

He has two goals in the last six games after going his first 101 career games without a tally.

MacWilliam is a team-leading plus-5 during UND's current three-game winning streak.

EIDS WIDE SHUT: Senior goalie Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) stopped 20 of 22 shots in UND's most recent game, a 4-2 win over Wisconsin on Jan. 28.

The win was the 54th of Eidsness' career, tying him with Mike "Lefty" Curran (1965-68) as the fourth-winningest goal in UND history:

It was Eidsness' 97th career appearance, leaving him on the verge of joining select company among UND goalies with 100 appearances:

Eidsness also ranks fifth all-time at UND in goals against average (2.44), sixth in save percentage (.905), tied for eighth in shutouts (four), ninth in saves (2,131) and 10th in winning percentage (.657).

In eight games (five starts) this season, Eidsness is 4-2-0 and leads the team in goals against average (2.31) and save percentage (.917).

NET GAINS: UND has gone 10-3-1 over its last 14 games, and the improved play of goalies Aaron Dell (Jr., Airdrie, Alberta) and Brad Eidsness (Sr., Chestermere, Alberta) has been a key factor.

Over those 14 games, Dell and Eidsness have combined for a 2.27 goals against average and a .913 save percentage.

The duo had combined for a 3.18 GAA and .883 SV% over the team's first 13 games, during which UND went 5-7-1.

First 13 games Last 14
Aaron Dell 3.30/.875 2.32/.910
Brad Eidsness 2.61/.914 2.11/.920

SIMMER HEATING UP: After opening the season without a point in UND's first nine games, sophomore defenseman Dillon Simpson has 13 points (1g, 12a) in his last 18 games.

Simpson, who scored his first goal of the year (PPG) in UND's Friday, Jan. 27, win over Wisconsin, also boasts a +11 rating during that stretch.

In 27 games this season, Simpson leads the team with a +10.

SUPER DAVE: UND's 3-2 win at SCSU on Jan. 21 was the 200th victory for Dave Hakstol, enabling him to join John "Gino" Gasparini (392 wins, 1978-94) and Dean Blais (262 wins, 1994-2004) as the only UND coaches to reach that milestone.

Hakstol, Gasparini and Blais each won their 200th game in their eighth season. Hakstol played under Gasparini at UND, and was brought to the UND coaching staff as an assistant coach by Blais.

With 32 wins last season, UND has reached the 20-win plateau in each of Hakstol's first seven seasons behind the bench. It was also the 3rd-highest win total in program history.

Hakstol's streak of seven straight 20-win seasons is the second-longest in UND history, behind only Gasparini's 13 in a row (1978-79 to 1990-91).

CROWDED HOUSE: UND played in front of capacity crowds in both games against Wisconsin, giving the Sioux sellouts in four straight games in the 11,634-seat Ralph Engelstad Arena.

UND is averaging 11,267 fans per game., down slightly from last season's school-reord 11, 756 average attendance, and has sold out seven of 16 home games so far this season.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE: UND's win over Clarkson at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg on Jan. 7 drew 7,075 fans, out-drawing all but three NCAA Division I men's hockey games that night.

Only New Hampshire vs. Maine (38,456 at Fenway Park), RIT at Wisconsin (12,453) and Notre Dame at Minnesota (10,242) drew more.

Dubbed the 'U.S. College Hockey Classic,' the game was UND's first on Canadian soil in 59 years. The last time UND played a men's hockey game in Canada was Dec. 29-30, 1953, when UND lost a pair of games to host Fort Frances (Ontario).

The last time UND played outside of the United States was Dec. 26-29, 1982, when the team competed in the Spengler Cup in Switzerland.

DUDE, WE'VE GOT A DELL: Junior goalie Aaron Dell (Airdrie, Alberta) earned a 26-save shutout in UND's 1-0 win over Nebraska Omaha (Dec. 10) to close out the first half of the season. It was his first shutout of the season and eighth of his career, which ranks fourth all-time at UND:
Dell was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week following the UNO series.

VOTE FOR HOBEY: Senior defenseman Ben Blood (Plymouth, Minn.) and junior forward Danny Kristio (Eden Prairie, Minn.) are among the 77 players on the ballot for the Hobey Baker Award 'Vote for Hobey' fan balltoing.

Blood, who logs more minutes than any other UND player, has emerged as one of the top two-way defensemen in NCAA hockey.

He has played in all 27 games this season, registering two goals and 11 assists. Both of his goals have been game-winners, tying him for fifth-most by a UND defenseman in a single season.

Blood leads all active UND skaters with 145 games played and has appeared in 127 straight games. Last season, Blood led the nation with a +32 rating and was named to his second straight Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) All-Academic Team.

Kristo is tied for the team scoring lead with 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) in 27 games and ranks second on the team with three game-winning goals.

The Eden Prairie, Minn., native has figured in on eight of UND's 15 game-winning goals this season, scoring three and assisting on five. The 2009-10 WCHA Rookie of the Year, Kristo is UND's active scoring leader with 95 points (37g, 58a) in 102 career games.

This first phase of fan balloting will run now through March 4, 2012. Phase two of fan balloting will begin on March 16 from the list of Top 10 Hobey Baker finalists. The fan vote accounts for a full 1 percent of the total ballot in each phase in selecting this year's award recipient.

HELLO, MY NAME IS: UND head coach Dave Hakstol announced on Jan. 10 that forward Mitch MacMillan (So., Penticton, British Columbia) transferred to UND and will join the team immediately. MacMillan is eligible to begin practicing with the team, but will not be eligible to compete until January 2013.

MacMillan will have two years of NCAA eligibility remaining when he resumes competition next January.

MacMillan transferred to UND from St. Cloud State, where he had five assists in 14 games this season. In 28 games last season as a freshman, MacMillan had four goals and two assists.

MacMillan's younger brother, Mark, is currently a freshman forward at UND. The last time the two were teammates was in 2009-10 with Alberni Valley of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), when they were the team's top two scorers and combined for 173 points (87 goals, 86 assists) in 59 games.

ASSISTANCE PLAN: Junior goalie Aaron Dell (Airdrie, Alberta) has four career assists, a total topped by only one goalie in the history of the program: current volunteer assistant coach Karl Goehring.

Goehring amassed a school-record seven assists from 1997 to 2001.

MARIO'S MILESTONE: When senior captain Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks, N.D.) scored the game-winning goal on Nov. 19 at Bemidji State, he entered the UND history books by scoring the 10,000th goal in program history.

Perhaps it was fitting that Lamoureux would be the one to score the milestone goal, considering he is from Grand Forks, and his extensive family ties to UND hockey.

Lamoureux's sisters, Jocelyne and Monique, are junior forwards on UND's women's hockey team.

His father, Pierre, played goalie for UND from 1979-82 and was a member of two NCAA championship teams.

His brother, Jean-Philippe, was a goaltender at UND from 2004-08 and was an All-American as a senior.

Another brother, Pierre-Paul, is currently in his third season on UND's coaching staff as assistant video coordinator.

Finally, his uncle, Roger Lamoureux, was a four-year letterwinner at forward for UND from 1973 to 1977.

SUPER MARIO: In addition to the 10,000-goals milestone, Lamoureux's tally on Nov. 19 was significant for another reason.

With the goal, UND improved to 13-0-0 all-time when Lamoureux scores.

THE EAGLE SOARS INTO THE HALL: UND legend Ed Belfour made history on Nov. 14 when he became the first UND product to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Belfour parlayed a historic 1986-87 freshman season into a distinguished professional career that saw him become the third-winningest goalie in NHL history. Only Martin Brodeur (636 wins) and Patrick Roy (551) have won more games than Belfour, who won 484 from 1988 to 2007.

A native of Carman, Manitoba, Belfour won a UND-record 29 games (since broken) in 1986-87 and was named an NCAA All-American after leading UND to the 1987 national championship. He was the backbone of the famed "Hrkac Circus" team that won a then-NCAA-record 40 games.

Belfour twice won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goalie and helped lead the Dallas Stars to a Stanley Cup championship in 1999.

A six-time all-star game participant, Belfour ranks third in NHL history in wins (484), fourth in games played (963) and saves (24,750), and ninth in shutouts (76). He finished his career with a 2.50 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.

Belfour also excelled on the international stage, winning a Canada Cup in 1991 and an Olympic gold medal in 2002 for Canada.

WE WERE MERELY FRESHMEN: Forwards Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif.) and Mark MacMillan (Penticton, British Columbia) were both ranked among the top 20 freshman forwards in the country by InsideCollegeHockey.com in October.

Grimaldi was ranked No. 5 and MacMillan was ranked No. 11.

UND's overall freshman class was ranked No. 2 in the nation behind only Miami's.

CALLING ALL CAPTAINS: Senior forward Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks, N.D.) was named team captain at UND's annual preseason media day luncheon.

In 43 games last season, Lamoureux established career highs in points (17) and assists (14) while earning his second straight WCHA All-Academic selection. In 109 career games, Lamoureux has amassed 13 goals and 22 assists.

Lamoureux's younger sister, Jocelyne, was named captain of UND's women's this season.

Mario Lamoureux joins Steve Johnson (1987-88), Jeff Panzer (2000-01) and Andy Schneider (2003-04) as the only Grand Forks natives to captain their hometown team.

Senior defenseman Ben Blood (Plymouth, Minn.), junior defenseman Andrew MacWilliam (Calgary, Alberta) and junior forward Corban Knight (High River, Alberta) were named assistant captains.

HELLO, MY NAME IS: UND welcomes 10 freshmen to the lineup this season, including forwards Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif.), Connor Gaarder (Edina, Minn.), Mark MacMillan (Penticton, British Columbia), Brendan O'Donnell (Winnipeg, Manitoba), Michael Parks (St. Louis, Mo.), Stephane Pattyn (Ste. Anne, Manitoba) and Colten St. Clair (Gilbert, Ariz.), and defensemen Nick Mattson (Chanhassen, Minn.), Dan Senkbeil (Fremont, Calif.) and Andrew Panzarella (Washington, D.C.).
It is UND's largest freshman class since 2005-06, when UND brought in 13 freshmen.

That class included future NHLers Jonathan Toews, T.J. Oshie, Taylor Chorney and Brian Lee, as well as 2006-07 Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Duncan.

FEELING A DRAFT: The 2011-12 UND roster boasts 15 National Hockey League draft picks, including 2011 selections Rocco Grimaldi (Fr., Rossmoor, Calif.) and Dillon Simpson (So., Edmonton, Alberta).

Grimaldi was taken in the second round (33rd overall) by Florida, while Simpson went in the fourth round (92nd overall) to Edmonton.

Simpson's father, Craig, won two Stanley Cups with Edmonton during his 10-year NHL career. He is now the lead color analyst on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) Hockey Night in Canada.

UND's current collection of draft picks features two 1st-rounders (Derek Forbort, Brock Nelson), two 2nd-rounders (Rocco Grimaldi, Danny Kristo), three 4th-rounders (Ben Blood, Mark MacMillan, Dillon Simpson), four 5th-rounders (Brad Eidsness, Corban Knight, Michael Parks, Derek Rodwell), two 6th-rounders (Nick Mattson, Brendan O'Donnell) and two 7th-rounders (Joe Gleason, Andrew MacWilliam).

TRADITION NEVER GRADUATES: Fourteen former UND players have played in the NHL this season: Jason Blake (Anaheim), Taylor Chorney (Edmonton, St. Louis), Mike Commodore (Detroit), Joe Finley (Buffalo), Matt Frattin (Toronto), Matt Greene (Los Angeles), Brian Lee (Ottawa), Brad Malone (Colorado), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis), Zach Parise (New Jersey), Chris Porter (St. Louis), Drew Stafford (Buffalo), Jonathan Toews (Chicago), and Travis Zajac (New Jersey).

With the exception of Blake, who played at UND from 1996-99, each of the above players was coached by Hakstol during his tenure as a head coach or assistant coach at UND.

Other UND products in the NHL include Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett, Columbus assistant Brad Berry, Buffalo assistant James Patrick, Minnesota assistant Rick Wilson, Phoenix video coach Steve Peters, Minnesota Wild Director of Player Development Brad Bombardir, and Chicago Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray. Additionally, former UND football letterwinner Mark Chipman is the chairman of the Winnipeg Jets.

Sixteen UND products played in the NHL last season, including: Jason Blake (Anaheim), Taylor Chorney (Edmonton), Mike Commodore (Columbus), Matt Frattin (Toronto), Matt Greene (Los Angeles), David Hale (Ottawa), Ryan Johnson (Chicago), Brian Lee (Ottawa), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis), Zach Parise (New Jersey), Chris Porter (St. Louis), Matt Smaby (Tampa Bay), Drew Stafford (Buffalo), Jonathan Toews (Chicago), Chris Vande Velde (Edmonton), and Travis Zajac (New Jersey).

CALLING ALL CAPTAINS: A pair of UND products currently serve as captains of their NHL clubs: Zach Parise (2002-04) of the New Jersey Devils and Jonathan Toews (2005-07) of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Additionally, defenseman Matt Greene (2002-05) serves as an assistant captain for the L.A. Kings and forward Drew Stafford (2003-06) holds the same title for the Buffalo Sabres.

FOREVER UND: Every member of UND's coaching 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 Goehring (1998-2001) each played for UND.

Additionally, nearly every member of the support staff is also a graduate of UND, including director of hockey operations Pat Swanson (2002), athletic trainer and strength coach Mark Poolman (1992), team physician Dr. Greg Greek, media relations director Jayson Hajdu (2000) and administrative assistant Carmen Pester.

UND ON CANADIAN TV: It was announced on Jan. 10 that a minimum of three UND men's hockey games will be televised on theScore throughout Canada in the next two months.

All three games will be Friday night contests seen on a tape-delay basis on Saturday at 5 p.m. Eastern time.

The first game was last Friday's tilt against Minnesota, followed by the UND and Wisconsin game on Jan. 28th and Minnesota State and UND on March 3rd.

If UND hosts a first-round Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) playoff series, the first game of the series will be seen on March 10.

UND played its first men's hockey game in Canada in 59 years when it defeated Clarkston 3-1 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg on Jan. 7.

theScore Television Network is a national television channel available in more than 6.8 million homes across Canada.

RANK AND FILE: UND was voted No. 2 (four first-place votes) in the 41st annual Grand Forks Herald WCHA Coaches Preseason Poll and No. 3 (two first-place votes) in the 93X (Duluth) WCHA Media Preseason Poll.

In both polls, UND freshman forward Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif.) was named the preseason WCHA Rookie of the Year.

2011-12 Grand Forks Herald
WCHA Coaches Preseason Poll

Rk Team (1st place votes) Points
1. Denver (7) 115
2. North Dakota (4) 110
3. Colorado College (1) 105
4. Nebraska Omaha 89
5. Minnesota Duluth 75
6. Minnesota 74
7. St. Cloud State 61
8. Wisconsin 54
9. Alaska Anchorage 36
10. Bemidji State 30
11. Minnesota State, Mankato 29
12. Michigan Tech 14

POY: Jaden Schwartz, So., F, Colorado College
ROY: Rocco Grimaldi, F, North Dakota

2011-12 93X Radio
WCHA Media Preseason Poll

Rk Team (1st place votes) Poll Avg.
1. Denver (16) 11.35
2. Colorado College (7) 10.54
3. North Dakota (2) 10.31
4. Nebraska Omaha (1) 8.31
5. Minnesota Duluth 8.12
6. Minnesota 7.73
7. Wisconsin 5.54
St. Cloud State 5.54
9. Alaska Anchorage 3.85
10. Bemidji State 2.92
11. Minnesota State 2.12
12. Michigan Tech 1.69

POY: Jason Zucker, So., F, Denver
ROY: Rocco Grimaldi, F, North Dakota
COY: Mel Pearson, Michigan Tech