Bemidji State (0-0-2) at #16 North Dakota (2-1-1)
Oct. 25-26, 2019
Grand Forks, N.D.
Ralph Englestad Arena (11,643)
Friday: 7:37 pm
Saturday: 7:07 pm
Series: UND leads 31-4-6
Last year: BSU 2-1, Tie 1-1
 
TV
PxP: Alex Heinert
Analyst: Jake Brandt
TV: Midco SportsNet
Web: nchc.tv
 
RADIO
PxP: Tim Hennessy
Analyst: Steve Olson
Radio: 96.1 FM (Flagship) & Home of Economy Radio Network
Web: FightingHawks.com 
 
THIS WEEK
North Dakota opens a five-game homestand Friday with a two-game series against Bemidji State. The Fighting Hawks and the Beavers are no strangers to each other, playing in each of the last six seasons in non-conference action since moving from the WCHA to the NCHC.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
This weekend's games will both be telecast live on Midco Sports Network, the primary TV home of North Dakota hockey. Alex Heinert does the play-by-play, with former UND goalie Jake Brandt handling the color analysis with Katie Hale as the rinkside reporter. The series will also be available via streaming at NCHC.tv.
 
All UND men's hockey games, home and away, can be heard on stations across the UND Sports Home of Economy Radio Network, as well as through the iHeart Radio app. The flagship station for the network is 96.1 FM (The Fox). Longtime broadcaster Tim Hennessy, in his 41st season as the voice of UND men's hockey, calls the action while Steve Olson provides color analysis.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow along with the action live during all UND hockey games by following @UNDmhockey and @UNDInsider on Twitter. Fans can also read the action via live chat via the Grand Forks Herald's UND hockey beat writer Brad Schlossman's blog.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets information can be found at the UND Box Office at Ralph Engelstad Arena or online at FightingHawks.com/tickets.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Shane Pinto scored in the first, but second-ranked Minnesota State rallied with goals in the second and third period to gain a 2-1 win Saturday in Mankato, Minn.
 
KILLING ME SOFTLY
The North Dakota penalty kill unit has been perfect thus far through four games (13-13). UND remains just one of four NCAA Division I teams to not allow a power play goal this season (UMass, St. Cloud State, Notre Dame).
 
EAST END BOYS...
East Grand Forks, Minn., native Dixon Bowen leads UND in goals through the first two weeks with three. That total matches his season tally from last season and gives him 14 for his career.
 
AND WESTIN GOALS
Senior transfer Westin Michaud now has 31 career goals, 15 of those coming on the power play after his PPG in the Oct. 18 tie at Minnesota State. UND's other forwards have combined for 14 PPG in their respective careers.
 
SHANE POINT-O
Freshman Shane Pinto was named the NCHC Rookie of the Week for his performance at second-ranked Minnesota State Oct. 24-25. He scored a goal and added an assist, running his team-best current point streak to four.
 
RIGHT IN THE PUBLIC
North Dakota, as usual, has played to near-capacity rinks this season. Despite poor weather in the series vs. Canisius, UND filled the Ralph Engelstad Arena (11,634 cap.) to 97 percent. Last weekend, MSU (5,280 cap.) held 90.9 percent of its capacity in the two-game series, with many of those fans dressed in green.
 
Date            Venue                Att.      Pct. Cap.
Oct 11     REA vs Canisius   11,068              
Oct 12     REA vs Canisius   11,579     97.3%
Oct 18     at Minn. State        4,565
Oct 19     at Minn. State        5,038       90.9%
                                              33,207   95.3%
                                              
MIDDLE FRAME MAYHEM
Last Friday's featured five goals combined, three from North Dakota. UND got it going quickly in that period as Harrison Blaisdell scored on the opening shift, potting his second goal of the season just 16 seconds in.
 
STREAK SNAPPED
Minnesota State had won 11 consecutive games at home until Friday's 4-4 tie with UND. MSU had won 23 of its last 24 games and had not allowed four goals to any opponent in that stretch.
 
WCHA WATCH
North Dakota is in the midst of three straight opponents from the WCHA (at MSU, vs Bemidji State, vs Michigan Tech). Coming into the season, UND was a combined 264-110-23 (.693) against those three teams all-time.
 
MULTI-POINT PRODUCERS
North Dakota already has 17 players with multiple points this season, including 10 that have at least three points through two weeks.
 
KILLER "B"s
Of those multi-point producers, three players lead the way with at least four points: Jacob Bernard-Docker (0g, 5a), Dixon Bowen (3g, 1a), and Harrison Blaisdell (2g, 2a).
 
SEASON OPENERS
North Dakota is now 3-1-1 in season-opening games under Coach Berry. Last season, UND dropped a 2-1 decision at Bemidji State before opening the home schedule with a1-1 tie the following night.
 
POLL POSITION
UND held steady at No. 16 in the Oct. 21 USCHO.com poll. North Dakota was outside the top 15, receiving votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll for the fourth straight week.
 
STRONG NCHC FLAVOR IN THE POLLS
Seven of the eight NCHC teams are ranked or receiving votes in the USCHO.com poll this week. Denver took over the top spot two weeks ago with two-time defending national champion Minnesota Duluth slipping to eighth. St. Cloud State was 14th with North Dakota at No. 16 and Western Michigan at 18. Colorado College and Omaha are both receiving votes in the third poll of the regular season.
 
SPEAKING OF RANKINGS
North Dakota had 10 wins against teams that were ranked when they played last season. UND went 10-9-1 against ranked teams in 2018-19, including a 1-1 record against Minnesota State, who was ranked No. 7 at the time.
 
SCHEEL DO
Sophomore goalie Adam Scheel earned the first NCHC Goalie of the Week after his performance against Canisius. The Lakewood, Ohio product squandered just one goal on 23 shots in the series and registered his second career shutout in the Friday win.
 
PERFECT 10
UND came at Canisius in every direction, with 10 different scorers on the weekend. Cole Smith, Dixon Bowen and Gabe Bast each had two goals in the victories as UND outscored the Golden Griffs, 13-1.
 
OFFENSIVE DEFENSE
North Dakota racked-up 38 points in the opening weekend sweep of Canisius (13g, 25 a). A dozen of those points came from the blue-liners as Gabe Bast had two goals, Andrew Peski added another, Jacob Bernard-Docker had four assists and both Matt Kiersted and Colton Poolman recorded a pair of assists to lead the way.
 
FOUR-PLAY
Jacob Bernard-Docker charted four assists in the Saturday win over Canisius, marking the first UND player with four assists in a game in more than eight years. The last UND player to achieve it was Chay Genoway, when he tallied four helpers in an 8-0 blowout win over Michigan Tech Mar. 11, 2011 in the opening round of the WCHA playoffs.
 
HOW DO YOU RATE?
UND gave up just one goal so it's no surprise that every player was even or a plus rating after the opening weekend against Canisius. However, 20 of UND's 21 skaters that dressed in the series registered a plus rating and all but three of those were +2 or better. Jacob Bernard-Docker was on the ice for five of UND's even-strength goals to lead the way for North Dakota.
 
PINTO DEBUT
Freshman phenom Shane Pinto made his much-anticipated collegiate debut against Canisius, scoring just four-and-a-half minutes in for UND's first goal. It came on his first shot on goal and it would go down as the game-winner in North Dakota's shutout.
 
ADAM 5-OH
Sophomore goaltender Adam Scheel registered his second career shutout in the season opener, both coming by 5-0 scores. He needed just 11 saves Oct. 5 to pick up his 14th career win.
 
POOR WEATHER, GOOD WEATHERBY
Sophomore Jasper Weatherby tallied a pair of assists in the season-opening 5-0 win over Canisius. Weatherby's night came in a snow-soaked season opener that didn't dampen UND's offense, which churned out four goals in the final 25 minutes.
 
WEATHERBY FORECAST
Sophomore Jasper Weatherby won 75 percent of his faceoff draws in the opening week (24 of 32) to lead  the way in the dot for UND. Weatherby won 56.5 percent of his faceoff draws as a rookie last season, just trailing Rhett Gardner (62.3) and Nick Jones (56.7) among players with more than 100 opportunities. 
 
SHANE WIN-TO
Shane Pinto won 25 of his 36 faceoff draws in his NCAA debut weekend vs. Canisius. He was 14 of 18 in the opener as UND won 57 percent of its draws for the weekend.