#3 North Dakota (12-1-2, 5-0-1-1 NCHC) at RV/17 Western Michigan (7-5-2, 3-2-1-1 NCHC)
Dec. 6-7, 2019
Kalamazoo, Mich.
Lawson Arena (3,667 cap.)
Friday: 6:00 pm
Saturday: 6:00 pm
Series: UND leads 19-7-0 (.731)
Last series with WMU: UND, 5-1; WMU, 4-2
Feb. 15-16, 2019 in Kalamazoo, Mich.
TV: None
Web: nchc.tv
Radio: 96.1 FM (Flagship) & Home of Economy Radio  Network
PxP: Tim Hennessy
Analyst: Steve Olson
Web: FightingHawks.com 
 
THIS WEEK
North Dakota puts its 11-game unbeaten streak on the line when it heads to Kalamazoo, Mich., returning to NCHC play against the Western Michigan Broncos.
 
FRIDAY FLASHBACK
UND, despite being outshot for just the second time this season, out-paced the Golden Gophers for a 3-2 win and a series sweep. North Dakota trailed 1-0 early but roared back with three straight goals then hung on for the win, its 12th of the season, tying for the NCAA lead in wins.
 
TURKEY DAY RECAP
North Dakota racked up nine goals in a 9-3 rout of its rival Thursday, breaking a Mariucci Arena record for opponent goals in the process. Jordan Kawaguchi scored a pair of goals and eight others chipped in for the UND win. Grant Mismash tallied three assists and a goal for a career-best four-point night, helping his line pile up eight combined points.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Most UND home games and NCHC road games are available via internet stream at nchc.tv. Both games of this series will be streamed on nchc.tv with radio coverage on the Home of Economy radio network.
 
All UND 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 and beat writer Brad Schlossman.
 
Clark, that's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year
North Dakota is operating at a 26.9% power-play success rate in conference play this season (7-of-26). UND's overall season power play percentage is at 17.5% (10-of-57).
 
Dad, you taught me everything I know about exterior illumination
UND has been illuminating the lamp with regularity in 2019-20. The Fighting Hawks have 62 goals in just 15 games, equating to 4.13 per game, the highest per-game average in a pre-Christmas segment in Coach Berry's tenure.
 
CAN'T SEE THE LINE, CAN YOU, RUSS?
North Dakota has been getting consistent production from multiple line combinations this season. UND's "third" line (since being reunited) of Gavin Hain, Mark Senden and Cole Smith has been the starting group in eight of the last 11 games. In the Thursday win at Minnesota, the top line of Grant Mismash, Collin Adams and Jordan Kawaguchi produced eight combined points in the Thursday win at Minnesota. That threesome has generated 45 combined points this season while the Westin Michaud, Shane Pinto, Judd Caulfield line has 27 combined points already this season.
 
If that thing had nine lives, he just spent 'em all. Whoo!
UND's nine-goal output on Thanksgiving marked the most goals allowed by Minnesota in the history of Mariucci Arena. North Dakota's nine goals on Thanksgiving were the most by a UND team since a 9-1 win in Omaha on Jan. 6, 2017.
 
Is your house on fire, Clark?
UND finished a perfect home record in the pre-Christmas portion of the schedule (9-0-0) and has won 11 consecutive home games dating back to last year.
 
Worse? How can things get any worse? Take a look around you, Ellen!
Defending NCHC regular-season champion St. Cloud State has yet to earn a conference win or tie, falling to the bottom of the early-season standings. North Dakota is  well out in front of the pack through three weeks, collecting 17 points while two-time defending national champion Minnesota Duluth is in second with 13. This week's opponent, Western Michigan, sits in third with 11 points through six games.
 
Eat my road grit, Liver Lips!
North Dakota improved to 3-1-2 on the road this season with the sweep at Minnesota. if UND were to sweep this weekend at WMU, it would already tie last season's mark for road wins (5).
 
Save the neck for me, Clark
The top 10 players in the NCHC currently in plus/minus rating? All UND players. It's a neck-and-neck race with Collin Adams (+17) pacing the group followed by Jordan Kawaguchi (+16) and Matt Kiersted (+14). Tied for fourth is Ethan Frisch and Andrew Peski (+11) with Jacob Bernard-Docker, Westin Michaud and Grant Mismash tied for sixth at +10 and Colton Poolman and Shane Pinto tied for ninth (+9).
 
Russ, go get the hammer.
When leading after two periods, UND has put the nail in the coffin, closing the deal with a 9-0-1 record when leading after two periods. North Dakota has outscored its opponents, 19-7, after the second period.
 
That's pretty low, mister!
Scheel's career 1.91 goals against average currently ranks at the top of UND's record books for lowest GAA in a career. He sits well in front of leaders Cam Johnson and Zane McIntyre (2.10). His save percentage (.913) ranks sixth in the UND record books.
 
Career GAA
1. Adam Scheel (2017-).............. 1.91
2. Cam Johnson (2014-18)................... 2.10
    Zane McIntyre (2012-15................... 2.10
4. J.P. Lamoureux (2004-08)............... 2.14
    Jordan Parise (2003-06).................... 2.14
 
Career Save Percentage
1. Zane McIntyre (2012-15)................. .926
2. Jordan Parise (2003-06).................... .921
3. J.P. Lamoureux (2004-08)............... .920
4. Karl Goehring (1997-01) ................. .918
5. Cam Johnson (2014-18)................... .914
6. Adam Scheel (2017-).............. .913
 
You really think it matters, Eddie?
North Dakota, who is the lone unbeaten in conference play, was picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll. UND is currently nine points in front of the fourth-place team in the current NCHC standings (Miami- 8 points).
 
YOu surprised to see us, Clark?
So far this season, five different UND players have piled up 10 NCHC weekly award mentions but none were preseason all-conference selections. North Dakota's Jordan Kawaguchi and Adam Scheel were bestowed with NCHC monthly awards for November. Kawaguchi (6g, 10a) was the player of the month while Scheel (8-0-1, 1.75 GAA, .918 save pct.) was the league's goalie of the month. Each have also racked up three conference weekly awards already this season.
 
NO, NO. WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
UND has enjoyed having scoring production from the entire roster. 19 different players have scored this season and seven different players have at least five goals on the year.
 
Oh, no, that there is an RV
RV/17 Western Michigan is North Dakota's third ranked opponent of the season. UND is 1-1-2 against ranked teams so far. 
 
FIXED THE NEWEL POST!
The Fighting Hawks have chopped down the time spent in the penalty box this season, averaging 9.1 minutes per game compared to 13.9 last season.
 
POLL POSITION
UND remained steady at No. 3 in both the USCHO.com poll and the  USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll this week.  
 
STRONG NCHC FLAVOR IN THE POLLS
Five of the eight NCHC teams are ranked in the USCHO.com poll this week. UND and Denver held steady at No. 3 and 4, respectively, while  Minnesota Duluth tumbled to 14th. Western Michigan is 17th and Omaha is 18th for the second straight week.
 
HIGH FIVES FOR SMITTY
Cole Smith scored in the 9-3 blowout of Minnesota Nov. 28 to give him six  goals on the season already. That total marks a new career high for him. His next goal would give him 20 for his career. 
 
HIGH FIVES FOR COLLIN, TOO
Collin Adams found the five-hole for his fifth goal of the season in the win over St. Cloud State Nov. 22, also matching a career best. Three of his goals this season have stood up as the game winners, one of only two UND players with multiple game-winners this season (Kawaguchi, 2).
 
FOUR PLAY
UND has scored four goals already in nine games this season. North Dakota is 8-0-1 in those contests.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
UND is 9-0-0 at home this season and has been good offensively and defensively. North Dakota is out-scoring its opponents, 40-12 at home this year through nine games and leads the nation in goal margin (+28), shots on goals allowed/game (16.8) and wins (9).
 
SIMPLY THE BEST
North Dakota leads the country in wins (12), goal margin (+37) and shots on goal against per game (20.13). Additionally, the Fighting Hawks pace the NCHC in goals for (62), fewest goals against (25) and shots on goal margin (+9.73).
 
CLUTCH-AGUCHI
Jordan Kawaguchi has four game-winning goals this season including in each of the last three games. Kawaguchi has scored or assisted on the game winner eight times in UND's 12 wins. He leads the NCAA in primary assists (13). He has five multi-assist games, including a pair of three-helper games.
 
NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER
North Dakota was unbeaten in November, going 8-0-1 and outscoring opponents, 38-16.
 
PERMISSION GRANT-ED
Grant Mismash had a career night Thursday at Minnesota, tallying three assists and a goal for his first-ever four-point night. His three assists were also a personal best.
 
LIFE MOVES PRETTY FAST
North Dakota outscored Minnesota, 3-1, in the opening period Thursday and now holds a 19-7 edge in the first period this season on its opponents. UND is out-scoring its opponent, 7-2, in the first period of road games this season.
 
GO GO JORDAN
Jordan Kawaguchi continued his hot streak of late, registering two more goals and an assist to give him a current point streak of four straight games and points in nine of his last 10 games. He again paces the Fighting Hawks in goals (7) and assists (15) after doing the same last season.
 
POOLMINNESOTA
Colton Poolman scored a goal in the Thursday win at Minnesota and now has four goals against the Gophers in his career in just seven games.
 
KAWA-GWG-UCHI
Jordan Kawaguchi has a flair for the dramatic, scoring three overtime goals in his career. The latest came Nov. 23 in a 2-1 win over St. Cloud State. According to research dug up by Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, Kawaguchi is the first UND player to notch three career OT winners since Justin Duberman (1990). For his career, Kawaguchi has seven game-winners among his 22 tallies.
 
PIN-TWO
Shane Pinto registered his first career two-goal game in Friday's 4-2 win over St. Cloud State. Three of his first four season goals came in the first period this season.
 
THE ONE GOES TO 11
North Dakota remained perfect on the season (9-0-0) and ran its home winning streak overall to 11 with its Nov. 23 win over St. Cloud State.  This run is the second longest winning streak at the new Ralph Engelstad Arena.   
 
DATES                  Consecutive wins
1/23/16 - 10/22/17                    12
3/8/19 - current                                  11
1/11/08 - 2/24/08                        8
1/22/11 - 10/7/11                        8
11/7/15 - 1/2/16                          7
11/30/13 - 2/7/14                        7
11/30/02 - 12/28/02                    7
3/2/02 - 11/23/02                        7
 
DID I HEAR A NINER IN THERE?
UND's 9-0 record at home to start the season is its best in the history of the new Ralph Engelstad Arena. The last time a UND team started the season 9-0 at home was in the 1964-65 season (that team started 10-0 at home).
 
STAR-AGUCHI
Jordan Kawaguchi has been named one of the three stars of the game in seven of the nine home games this season, including in each of the last five. In the last home series, Kawaguchi earned the second star with his two-assist performance on Friday and then was the first star after his game-winning OT goal. He piled up six points in the NCHC-opening sweep of Miami, tallying a goal and five assists. He had three points each night, giving him three games already this season with at least three points. For his efforts he was named the NCHC Forward of the Week (second time) and the NCAA's Third Star of the Week.
 
100 PERCENT EFFORT
UND head coach Brad Berry etched his 100th career win in the victory over St. Cloud State last Saturday. A look at his milestone games in his five years behind the UND bench:
 
MILESTONE WINS FOR COACH BERRY
1-     Oct. 9, 2015      5-2 vs. Lake Superior State
10-   Nov. 20, 2015   4-3 at St. Cloud State
25-   Feb. 26, 2016    4-2 at Omaha
50-   Feb. 4, 2017      2-1 ST. CLOUD STATE
100- Nov. 23, 2019   2-1 ST. CLOUD STATE
 
HELPING YOUR OWN CAUSE
Goalie Adam Scheel had an assist on the game-winning goal Nov. 16 at Denver. It marked his second career assist.
 
WEATHERBY OR NOT TO BE
Jasper Weatherby turned in his third straight power play goal at Denver, becoming the first UND player to score a PPG in three consecutive games this season. The last to do it was Rhett Gardner last year (Nov. 17-24). The last North Dakota player to make it four straight was Shane Gersich in 2017 (Nov. 12-25).
 
SCHEEL THING
Adam Scheel picked up his 10th win over a ranked team in the Nov. 16 victory at Denver.
 
TAKING DOWN THE BIG BOYS
Wins over ranked teams for Scheel in '19-20
Date            Opponent                                              Score
Nov 16    at #2/1 Denver                           4-1
 
Wins over ranked teams for Scheel in '18-19
Date            Opponent                                              Score
Oct 20     vs.#7  Minnesota State               4-3
Oct 27     vs. #5  Minnesota                       3-1
Nov 2      vs. #16 Wisconsin                       5-0
Nov 3      vs. #16 Wisconsin                       3-2
Nov 9      at #19 Miami                              3-1
Dec 1       at #2 Minn. Duluth                     2-1
Dec 7       vs. #6 Denver                             4-1
Jan 26      vs. #1 St. Cloud St                       5-1
Feb 15     at #9 Western Michigan             5-1
 
THE NEW 30
Adam Scheel recorded 30 saves Nov. 15 at Denver for the third time in his career. He is 1-1-1 in those games (33 saves vs St Cloud on Jan 25, 2019 (L) and 32 at Western Michigan Feb. 15, 2019 in a win).
 
GETTING THEM OFF THEIR PEDESTAL
UND has beaten the No. 1 team in the country (in either national poll) in each of the last five seasons.
 
2019-20     Nov 16 at Denver             W, 4-1
2018-19     Jan 26 vs. SCSU                W, 5-1
2017-18     Nov 17 at Denver             W, 5-4
2016-17     Mar 17 vs Denver             W, 1-0
(NCHC Semifinals)
2015-16     Apr 9 vs Quinnipiac         W, 5-1
(national championship game)
 
MAGNESS BUSINESS
North Dakota sported the business suits at Magness Arena Nov. 16 as its bested Denver, 4-1, to take the series against the Pioneers. It marked the first series win at Magness for UND since the 2003-04 season.
 
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
UND's +37 goal differential tops all Division I schools heading into this week.  North Dakota has outscored its opponents, 62-25, and already has five games with five goals or more this season, already tying last season's tally.
 
SHOT DOWN
North Dakota leads the NCAA in fewest shots on goal allowed per game with just 20.13 per contest through 15 games. Conversely, UND had thrown 29.87 shots on goal per game, a difference of +9.73 which ranks third-best in the country.
 
WELCOME MATT
Matt Kiersted earned his first career NCHC weekly honor, being named the league's defenseman of the week Nov. 11 The junior recorded four assists in the sweep of Miami, including setting up all three power-play tallies.
 
JONNY NUMBER 5
Jonny Tychonick already has surpassed his freshman total for points with his three-point night Nov. 8, giving him five at the time. Tychonick has all three career goals in his last eight games and has seven points this season (3g, 4a).
 
POOLY BULLY
Colton Poolman missed just his third career game after sitting out the US Hockey Hall of Fame game against Michigan Tech and returned to the lineup Friday vs. Miami. His only other missed series was the Denver trip last season in the regular season. Poolman has played in 129 of 132 games in his career. 
 
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 then-team-best point streak to four.
 
FORWARD THINKING
Junior assistant captain Jordan Kawaguchi broke a three-year curse of UND players not earning an NCHC Forward of the Week honor. Prior to Kawaguchi winning it Oct. 28, the last UND player to be honored with that particular honor was Brock Boeser after his hat trick and five total goals against Bemidji State nearly three years to the date (Oct. 24, 2016).
 
EAST END BOYS...
East Grand Forks, Minn., native Dixon Bowen has five goals through the first 15 games. That total already surpasses his season tally from last season and gives him 16 for his career.
 
AND WESTIN GOALS
Senior transfer Westin Michaud now has 35 career goals, 15 of those coming on the power play after his PPG in the Oct. 18 tie at MSU.
 
WCHA WATCH
North Dakota completed a stretch 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 and finished this run at 3-1-1 in those five games.
 
STREAK SNAPPED
Minnesota State had won 11 consecutive games at home until the Oct. 11 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.
 
Out of Their League
UND is now 41-13-10 (.719) all-time in regular-season non-conference games under fifth-year head coach Brad Berry.